Athlon64 3400+: Part 2

Final Words

Our benchmarks show the 3400+ is a fast CPU that is deserving of the 3400+ Performance Rating. It is faster than Intel's comparably priced 3.2 Pentium 4 in almost every benchmark and even outperforms the pricey 3.2EE in most benchmarks. It is certainly the fastest Socket 754 chip available. It runs at the same 2.2 GHz and has the same 1Mb cache as the fastest Socket 940 processor, the Athlon64 FX51, but it operates with common Single-Channel DDR unbuffered memory instead of the Dual-Channel Registered memory required by the FX51 and Opteron. In many benchmarks, the 3400+ comes very close to the top-line FX51 in performance, despite the fact that the memory bandwidth is much lower than the Athlon64 FX. This is particularly true in the "real application" benchmarks, like Multimedia Content Creation Winstone and Office Winstone.

In gaming applications, all of the Athlon64 family processors top our gaming benchmarks and the 3400+ is the top performing Athlon64 Socket 754 chip. The Athlon64 FX51 is still the fastest processor, as expected, but in many cases, the 3400+ comes very close to the FX CPU. In computing intensive applications like Workstation Graphics, Media Encoding, and some of the most demanding games, the Dual-Channel FX chip shows its superiority. However, for most users, the 3400+ will give them all they could want in a processor - for about 40% less than the FX51.

We like the 3400+, but the larger question is where the chip fits in the big AMD picture. For the next year, Socket 754 seems like a safe bet. AMD will be introducing another 754 chip later this year, expected to be the 3700+. However, the 3700+ may be the last Socket 754 chip. The upcoming Socket 939, which will be used for the new version of the Athlon64 FX, is expected to become the dominant AMD socket. Socket 939 will allow the common unbuffered DDR memory (that most already own) to be used in Dual-Channel with the revised FX processor. Many speculate that the 754 will move to low-end or be discontinued after a short period of co-existing with Socket 939.

So where does this leave you as a potential buyer? If you want to wait until Sockets settle down before you buy, then you will likely never own another motherboard or processor. 478 will be going to 775, 939 will be appearing, 754 may move to the low end, 940 will continue with Opteron, and a multitude of other changes are in the works in this industry. However, if you are looking for a fast gaming system, you can build an excellent system with a 3400+ or any of the 3 current Athlon64 Socket 754 processors. The Socket 754 boards are very reasonable, and what you get for your money will be a top gaming rig that can outperform anything on the market.

AMD's marketing directions are as clear as mud, which is really a shame since the Athlon64 chips are really excellent. Normally, a new chip with the highest rating that we have seen so far would be a reason for pulling out all the stops and proclaiming a new Market Performance Leader. However, the 3400+ is introduced between the Opteron-based Athlon64 FX and the Xeon-based Pentium 4EE, so it is hard to proclaim the 3400+ the fastest chip on the market. As Dorothy might say, this isn't Kansas anymore. However, in every area except Media Encoding, the 3400+ equals or outperforms the pricey P4EE, and in most benchmarks, the 3400+ is surprisingly close to the costly FX51. So, we find the Athlon64 3400+ to be the best performing mainstream CPU. To put it another way, if we had about $430 to spend on a CPU, then the 3400+ is the CPU that we would buy.

If you are an ambitious overclocker, however, the greater headroom of the Pentium 4 chips cannot be ignored if you are shopping for a new CPU. You also cannot ignore the fact that the Athlon64 FX chips are completely unlocked, allowing many more options for the overclocker. In another of the twists and turns of the processor market, we now talk about how very overclockable the Intel Pentium 4 CPU is, when Intel was the company not long ago who tried to stop remarking (and kill overclocking as a consequence) with the CPU lock. In the same market we see AMD, the company that recently championed overclocking with unlocked XP and Barton processors, now locking the very same CPUs. However, as we will explore in a future article, the more modest overclocks of the current Athlon64 family, combined with "top-locking" only (lower multipliers can be selected) can still yield some impressive performance increases for those who will overclock the Athlon64. And with 1000 Hyper Transport bus just around the corner, you will likely be able to take the Athlon64 even further . . .