Another notch up! The AM2 Dual Processor, AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 5600 , 2.8 GHz.

AM2 or AM2+? Who would have thought of the direction AMD would have taken? What this means using AM2 platforms in the advent of Quad core processors is, ever increasing lower prices for greater speed, better cores requiring less wattage, and cooler temperatures - not to mention ever improving performance features.

Why I purchased the AM2 AMD Athlon64 X2 5600+:

AM2 or AM2+? Well, this time the answer is easy! Since AM2 and AM2+ share the same pin design - many motherboard manufacturers have updated their BIOS to accept both offerings! So the (older) lower priced AM2 models offer a great price break as AMD and retailers try to clear older stock. My preference for increased cache has also shown it to be a good decisive point, as this offers a significant internal boost to processing power. The fact I have been using an AM2 Athlon64 X2 5200 CS Box model in another Vista Ultimate system since this past spring, only kept my interest alive in that excellent processor.

When a recent new computer build presented the opportunity, a price check found a price difference of only $10 between the same AM2 5200 CS Box model processor I had only purchased a week before and the 5600 CZ Box model. For a 200MHz. boost, the small price increase was reasonable. Further checking showed the 5600 CZ Box processor was identical with L1 and L2 cache at 256Kb. and 2Mb. respectively. Voltages and an 89 watt current draw on a 90Nm. core also mirrored the 5200 model I had been using. Considering all of this took only a moment before the purchase.

Although I knew this processor would only offer slight improvement over the 5200 CS Box model (200MHz.), I also knew the penalty could be a slight increase in core temperature. Core temperature is a significant margin to be dealt with, but I already knew the case and motherboard I would be using offered significant gains in lowered temperatures - even using the stock AMD supplied HSF and thermal pad.

Since the motherboard I would be using does not offer much in the way of overclocking, the 5600 would be in effect only a slightly more efficient model of the same 5200 core I was accustomed to. $10 more was a small price to pay for better efficiency.

In use:

Having built two almost identical systems in the last two weeks before Christmas, I had an excellent opportunity to see any minor differences between the 5200 CS Box processor and the 5600 CZ Box processor.

The two systems shared the following in use:

Microsoft Vista Home Premium - OS
Antec NeoPower 650 watt Blue - power supply
APEVIA X-QPACK2 - case
ASUS M2A-VM HDMI - motherboard
ASUS DRW-20141T LS SATA - LightScribe burner drive
Crucial 2Gb. BL2KIT12864AL804 - DDR2 800 RAM memory

There was actually no discernible monitored increase in temperature, as I was expecting using the 5600 in place of the 5200 processor. This averaged only 5 degrees Centigrade higher than my 3800 single core processor system, using Arctic Silver Ceramique thermal compound - that is also an almost duplicate of these two systems. The idle temperature of the 5600 after an overnight burn-in with few cooling cycles, averaged only 33 degrees Centigrade in an ambient room temperature of 25 degrees Centigrade.

In normal light use, with the Vista Media Center and using multiple Internet browsers with Microsoft Word, there was no real discernible difference to be felt in any of the three systems. Only after opening Windows Task Manager could the differences be seen. With only music playing in the Media Player, there was about an 11% high in processor use among the two dual processor systems. This naturally spiked higher using the single processor 2.4GHz. 3800 in a similar system. DVD playback appeared no different - although there was spiking of the percentage of processor use to around 60% before the Vista initial automatic startup processes had shut down. Still, allowing much more loading if desired from startup. The loading never reached 30% and averaged much lower (below 11%) after Vista finished its initial checks and processes from a cold boot on the 5200 or the 5600 systems.

While the proper amount of memory and decent video graphics performance is also required, that means a cold boot-up to immediate DVD playback gives excellent and smooth performance using either of these dual processors - all the while performing other tasks. Considering the on-board video graphics chip (on the motherboard I used) is only an ATI 1250 (DirectX 9 capable), that's nothing short of excellent performance.

Perhaps the best thing my testing showed was a single processor chip, running at a stock 2.4GHz. (Athlon64 3800) in a Vista Home Premium or Vista Ultimate environment, is very capable of smooth performance after (even during) the initial processes on cold-boot have shut down (processes auto-managed by Vista) - even while actively using other programs. The AM2 Athlon64 X2 5600 just never loads anywhere near its full capabilities - allowing very intensive programs to run simultaneously. Just burn that music, DVD, or data disk, without worry as you continue doing what have you.

Who said Vista isn't a stable performance OS? They better look to the reason why - it isn't what comes on the Microsoft Vista OS disk. Instability is a hardware issue or a corrupt loading of the OS using incompatible software and poor drivers supplied by the aftermarket - and it certainly won't be due to this AMD processor. (Hint, don't load any software or drivers to Vista on an install - just let Vista find all the drivers and software it wants "online" first - number one cause of excessive processor use in Vista.)

Installation:

Let your components come to room temperature before assembly. Before handling the chip, be sure you have grounded yourself to prevent any static discharge. Handle the chip by its edges and do not touch the pins.

With the power off or the motherboard disconnected from the system. Simply lift the processor restraint socket lever to 90 degrees from the motherboard, align the triangle on the corner of the processor with the one on the socket, and gently drop the chip into place. At this point, I usually lightly press down on the center of the processor with a dry tissue and move the restraint lever back into its normal position - locking the chip in place. I then wipe the exposed processor surface clean with a tissue lightly moistened in alcohol - the alcohol will dry off immediately and any unwanted residues should be removed. To maintain the factory 3 year AMD warranty, you then remove the plastic cover from the AMD supplied fan and heatsink assembly to expose the thermal pad applied to the heatsink. Simply, but carefully, hook the metal catches to the processor socket and rotate the plastic lever (on the side of the heatsink and attached to the clamp) into place for the correct tension needed to secure the heatsink fan assembly. All that's left is connecting the fan wiring to the motherboard processor fan connection header with a simple press into place. (Using the motherboard connection provides motherboard fan monitoring and will allow AMD Cool n' Quiet mode to operate from BIOS or a compliant OS.) Avoid any further handling of the heatsink as this can cause uneven distribution of the thermal material for proper processor heat removal.

In the box:

X2 5600 processor
Certificate of authenticity
Warranty with serial number
Install manual
AMD 64 Athlon X2 sticker
Heatsink and Fan assembly (HSF)

Final thoughts:

The Vista experience rating for this processor is 5.3 out of a possible 5.9. That's an improvement of .2 from the 5200 score of 5.1 in Vista. Overall experience rating for the systems was 3.1 due to the video graphics. A future Upgrade to a DirectX 10 graphics card can easily raise this above 5.0 for an even better Vista experience.

Considering the system performance using the 5600 in Vista, both visibly perceived and mechanically monitored, the Athlon64 X2 5600 should be a nice choice for anyone wanting better than average performance while trying to stay within a budget. Of course, other models will soon take its place offering even higher performance at the same price point. But, for now, it is a good choice you may be interested in - and an excellent AMD product.