AMD's Athlon 64 3800+ and FX-53 processors
Socket 939 at last
I KNOW FOR A FACT that more than one PC enthusiast has been eyeing the Athlon 64 with anticipation, but has been paralyzed by the Osborne Effect field surrounding the Socket 754 versions of the processor. You see, back when the Athlon 64 was launched, AMD promised the world—right out of the gate—a new, 939-pin socket that would bring dual-channel memory to every Athlon 64. That was eight months ago, and since then the only way to get dual-channel memory with an Athlon 64 has been with a 940-pin Athlon 64 FX that requires registered DIMMs.
Socket 939 at last
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That's all about to change. Today, AMD finally delivers on its Socket 939 promise with three new processors. We've had two of these CPUs, the Athlon 64 3800+ and Athlon 64 FX-53 (939-pin edition), in Damage Labs for review. Naturally, we've run them through our gauntlet of benchmarks and compared them to nearly 20 different competing processors. Keep reading to find out whether Socket 939 lives up to its promise.
