AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 3800+ 2.0GHz Processor

I like it.

Strengths: Fast for the money. Dual Core.

Weakness: None

Used for first PC build. Overclocked 8% with no overheating, yet. At the time it was the best bang for the buck. Dual Core at half the price of CPU's only slightly faster. This CPU will last a good while before needed upgraded. Definetly would recommend.

By west30capt - Oct 1, 2006

First AMD purchase, satisfied

Strengths: Price/performance, warranty

Weakness: Power consumption, cache size

There isn't much to comment on with respect to a processor. There are plenty of reviews and benchmarks that describe its performance aspect, which show that it is comparable to or slightly better than an Intel Pentium D 930. It is positioned as the entry level dual-core AMD offering, a position that Intel Pentium D 805 occupied just a few months ago. For its price, the AMD AM2 X2 3800 is a good...
Read Full Review

There isn't much to comment on with respect to a processor. There are plenty of reviews and benchmarks that describe its performance aspect, which show that it is comparable to or slightly better than an Intel Pentium D 930. It is positioned as the entry level dual-core AMD offering, a position that Intel Pentium D 805 occupied just a few months ago.

For its price, the AMD AM2 X2 3800 is a good deal. There are just enough AM2 motherboards around to make a low-cost but up-to-date system possible.

With the advent of Intel's Core 2 Duo, AMD processors no longer monopolize the claim to be cool-running. Whilst there are low power versions of this processor available at a slight premium, the standard version is still quite a lightbulb (38C idle, 50C under load), but never so much so as to be a problem. Cool'n'Quiet works, but somehow just isn't all that impressive. For example, I don't believe there is core shutdown or anything beyond what the last generation of mobile processors have implemented (although to be fair, this is a desktop processor design). Hardware virtualization support is there, but it doesn't even get used. VMWare seems to have implemented Intel's virtualization technology, for now.

Bottom line: For the price-sensitive, this seems to be a good value at the moment.

By gluon - Sep 7, 2006

good bang for buck, but look out for core 2 duo

Strengths: good price/performance ratio, AMD setups are currently cheaper than core 2 duos

Weakness: AM2 platform requires lots upgrades for older AMD users (DDR-->DDR2, AGP-->PCIe, compatible HSF); doesn't come with the AMD copper heatpipe cooler (standard aluminum block HSF is included)

Built a completely new AM2 X2 3800+. The move to AM2 is probably going to mean a whole new set of components as this is now DDR2. I got this because I needed to build a system quickly. Got a good deal when AMD cut prices to compete w/ Conroe, but now that Conroe/Core 2 is available I'd definitely wait for that and its motherboard prices to go down as it will be faster/better. It's still a great...
Read Full Review

Built a completely new AM2 X2 3800+. The move to AM2 is probably going to mean a whole new set of components as this is now DDR2. I got this because I needed to build a system quickly. Got a good deal when AMD cut prices to compete w/ Conroe, but now that Conroe/Core 2 is available I'd definitely wait for that and its motherboard prices to go down as it will be faster/better. It's still a great processor (especially with the price drop), but I wouldn't recommend buying another AMD product right now.

By hhitmen22 - Aug 24, 2006

Dual-Core Power, Extreme Speed

Strengths: Low Price, Ultra-Fast Performance, DDR2 Support, Cool-Running Temperatures

Weakness: Too Fast :-)

If you are the person thinking about Conroe, think again! I honestly don't think that this price/performance ratio can be beat! It's amazing that Windows boots so fast, yet the processor runs cool, and AMD Cool and Quiet Works great! If you are looking to buy a cheap, but super fast computer, look no further then this processor. The reliability and availability of the AM2 platform makes this...
Read Full Review

If you are the person thinking about Conroe, think again! I honestly don't think that this price/performance ratio can be beat! It's amazing that Windows boots so fast, yet the processor runs cool, and AMD Cool and Quiet Works great! If you are looking to buy a cheap, but super fast computer, look no further then this processor. The reliability and availability of the AM2 platform makes this processor a sure win.

By startrek90 - Aug 17, 2006

Great Processotr, excellent price

Strengths: value for dollar, now that they cut the price. 3 year warranty, great support, excellent instructions, easy to install.

Weakness: none

This AMD boxed processor is a great value, and has an excellent 3 yr warranty. I called AMD support to ask a question about this processor, and they promptly answered my question with a minimum amount of hold time. The instruction manual has large illustrations and are very easy to understand.

By OpinPC - Aug 16, 2006