Athlon X2 6000+

[Arkaign]

Why did AMD release this? Maybe if they priced it aggressively at $250-$300, it might make some sense. The competing C2D processors are simply superior .. I think AMD has started to unravel.

They are very close to being dominated at every level of cpu production. This is VERY bad for the consumer .. if AMD goes under .. we can say hello to huge prices again

 

[mroverclocker]

Amd wont go under anytime soon. They'll be always behind intel and once intel relaxes or makes a stupid move, amd will be right back to where they are again. The cycle repeats. I see that trend for about 8-10yrs now. with the mmx 3dnow days. now c2d quad sse4. Intel lost marketshare meaning amd isnt going away anytime soon. they might not be making as much money as intel but their going to hang in there and play the ketchup to big mac.

 

[mhahnheuser]

If you have a current AMD dual core set up (939 or AM2) there is little point upgrading to C2D anyway, so shouldn't affect too many of these current owners. However those in the upgrade market now who currently own 754 A64/Sempron or Socket A will see AMD lose a proportion of these owners to C2D this time round as upgraders look to increase their levels of technology features. In this context the 6000+ makes some sense in that these upgraders can consiser say cheap 3600/3800+ or AM2 solo and upgrade to 5000 - 6000+ thus keeping system rebuilds cheaper and then use the faster CPU's when these CPU's becomes affordable once AM3 is launched, which as far as i'm aware is also able to run on AM2 platform albeit with a performance hit. So the 6000+ is an attempt to keep as many AMD owners as AMD owners as possible.

 

[HannibalX]

LOL AMD isn't "going under".

 

[SlowSpyder]

Around here, everyone likes to cry 'the sky is falling!'. Not all that long ago the XBox 360 meant the end to PC gaming, atleast according to posts here. Seriously, you may think that the 6000+ doesn't make much sense (from our point it doesn't) but AMD will sell some and make money off them. I just got a new socket 939 AMD processor even though C2D is superior. I am just not ready to upgrade my entire system, it still works fine for what I do. There are some people that have an AM2 system that will upgrade in the future, just another option for them.

 

[Boyo]

I'm running a 939 and have no intention on upgrading. Spent too much money before C2D was released, so I'm stuck with what I have. It works for me.

 

[Arkaign]

I see what some of you are saying .. but :

You can get a C2D AND a good mobo AND have $$$ left over for the $600 that the 6000+ costs. Stock, the E6600 should be basically identical in performance, but with even mild overclocks, the 6000+ will get trashed.

As for AMD going under .. people didn't think Cyrix would die either. Or 3dfx. Or dozens of other companies that people thought would be around forever.

With $49 and $59 single-core Conroe-based Celerons coming (wipes out Semprons)
With $100ish single-core Conroe-based Pentiums coming (wipes out single-core AM2)
With Price dropping on Core2 products, and better performance and overclocking overall (wipes out pretty much everything else AMD has)

..

Where's their market? Don't get me started on mobile products, of which AMD's suck bigtime.

The move to purchase ATI is also mysterious, and reminds me of 3dfx buying STB.

AMD is charging insane prices right now for their processors, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if their sales have plummeted. The only way they can compete right now is to undercut on price, but they are charging a PREMIUM for inferior products. I like my X2 4200, but if I was building something today, I'd have to be either a brand zealot, or mildly retarded to choose an AMD setup.

Someone with an existing AM2 setup (w/DDR2 memory), could buy a E6600, a Gigabyte DS3, a great air cooler, and maybe an extra gig of memory for the same price they could 'upgrade' their existing proc to a 6000+.

AMD should be going the route of a total price war, to keep Intel from dominating the volume. We should see $79 X2 4200+, $99 X2 4600+, and so on.

What do they bring? Embarrassment like the 4x4 and 6000+.

 

[SlowSpyder]

All true, but you have to remember AMD isn't going to sit still, they aren't just going to continue rolling out new A64's to compete with C2D. They have new technology coming as well. The P4 was inferior in just about everyway to the A64's, but Intel still sold $1000 'extreme' processors.

 

[DarkMadMax]

AMD made no profits this year (-50 million) and future looks very bleak for them - they just started makeing 65 nm and have only 3 factories and now inferior technology as well. Intel just made 1.5 billion in profit has around a dozen factories and ramps up 45nm process . AMD might not fold tomorrow but isntead will die slow death in 2-3 years unless they put a better processor on the market this year (which I doubt). AMD was technologically superior for last 7 years and only gained 5% of market share. Imho now ,being inferior and in debt, they have no hope at all.

 

[sandorski]

hehe, AMD has been "going under" forever! They just posted their highest CPU Marketshare(over 25%) and starting this year will have Revenue/Profits from ATI to add to the books. They'll be fine.

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: DarkMadMax
AMD made no profits this year (-50 million) and future looks very bleak for them - they just started makeing 65 nm and have only 3 factories and now inferior technology as well. Intel just made 1.5 billion in profit has around a dozen factories and ramps up 45nm process . AMD might not fold tomorrow but isntead will die slow death in 2-3 years unless they put a better processor on the market this year (which I doubt). AMD was technologically superior for last 7 years and only gained 5% of market share. Imho now ,being inferior and in debt, they have no hope at all.

Awww, does your daddy work for Intel?

You know you shouldn't be on his computer unsupervised.

On a more serious note, AMD and Intel have slugged it out for years. The P3 > K6, the K7 > P3, the P4 > K7, the K8 > P4, the C2D > K8, the ??? > C2D.

AMD is also making up ground with low-priced CPUs in the laptop market, and price drops will help that.

 

[sonoma1993]

the athlon x2 6000+ pretty much allows amd more or less to say they have a processor that runs at 3ghz. to my knowledge this their first processor that runs at 3ghz. I couldn't tell ya if one of the athlon 64 x2 fx processors ran at 3ghz. I don't think the athlon x2 6000+ is really a mainstream processor, more of a high end processor.

 

[A554SS1N]

This 6000+ is still 90nm isn't it? Maybe when they release a 65nm version, it might be enough to reduce that $600 price by quite alot.

 

[sonoma1993]

Originally posted by: A554SS1N
This 6000+ is still 90nm isn't it? Maybe when they release a 65nm version, it might be enough to reduce that $600 price by quite alot.

I checked on newegg, it listed it as a 90nm

 

[coldpower27]

Originally posted by: DarkMadMax
AMD made no profits this year (-50 million) and future looks very bleak for them - they just started makeing 65 nm and have only 3 factories and now inferior technology as well. Intel just made 1.5 billion in profit has around a dozen factories and ramps up 45nm process . AMD might not fold tomorrow but isntead will die slow death in 2-3 years unless they put a better processor on the market this year (which I doubt). AMD was technologically superior for last 7 years and only gained 5% of market share. Imho now ,being inferior and in debt, they have no hope at all.

Thats a very broad generalization, AMD had a competitive part for the better part for the last 7 years, but not overall technological superiority.

 

[coldpower27]

Originally posted by: Arkaign
Why did AMD release this? Maybe if they priced it aggressively at $250-$300, it might make some sense. The competing C2D processors are simply superior .. I think AMD has started to unravel.

They are very close to being dominated at every level of cpu production. This is VERY bad for the consumer .. if AMD goes under .. we can say hello to huge prices again

This is simple, you don't just give up and head home when your being beaten in performance, you still continue to release faster performing parts.

Intel released the Pentium D 950 and 960 at fairly high price points 637USD and 530USD respectively when faster AMD X2's could be had for less. It has to follow the pecking order of the processor line. Though in Intel's case it was artificially limited in performance as Presler has plenty of headroom but Conroe was on the way anyway so no need to ramp speed to high.

AMD's currently better off then in the past, they are still the choice in the Server MP space, as Intel is still utilizing NetBurst products there.

Considering it's around 607USD officially, the issue probably is yield, AMD simply cannot afford to sell that many of these as they can't yield 3GHZ X2's reliably in large quantities hence the high price.

 

[coldpower27]

Originally posted by: A554SS1N
This 6000+ is still 90nm isn't it? Maybe when they release a 65nm version, it might be enough to reduce that $600 price by quite alot.

I serious doubt we will see that frequency officially for a 65nm K8, as the Brisbane transition is looking very much like the Winchester change, smaller and cooler, but at lower clockspeeds.

 

[programmer]

Amazing ... the X2 6000 seems to have dropped to the $240 range! I am not a "fan boy" of either manufacturer, and will generally go for the "best-bang-for-the-buck" when I need to buy a new CPU, and am thankful that both Intel and AMD make fantastic processors.

I haven't been keeping up with Intel or AMD prices but the X2 6000 at $240 seems a great deal to me.

 

[RamIt]

thanks for dragging a 3 month old post back from the dead. :roll:

 

[Krakn3Dfx]

Originally posted by: DarkMadMax
AMD made no profits this year (-50 million) and future looks very bleak for them - they just started makeing 65 nm and have only 3 factories and now inferior technology as well. Intel just made 1.5 billion in profit has around a dozen factories and ramps up 45nm process . AMD might not fold tomorrow but isntead will die slow death in 2-3 years unless they put a better processor on the market this year (which I doubt). AMD was technologically superior for last 7 years and only gained 5% of market share. Imho now ,being inferior and in debt, they have no hope at all.

Hate much?

AMD does more with 10% of Intel's resources than Intel does with their overabundance. Yes, they are losing to Intel performance wise right now, but I can pick up a $65 dual core AMD processor right now and pair it with a cheap motherboard and cheap DDR2 and have a smokin budget PC. Where's the $65 C2D? Heck, where's the $65 P-D 9xx that compete with current AMD dual core technology.

Your line of reasoning is very short sighted. If company execs thought like you, there would be a lot of companies giving up prematurely.

The processor business, like almost any other well designed business, comes with a longterm vision. Just like Intel didn't push out the C2D when AMD had the upper hand for the last several years, AMD is not just going to push something out the door for short term gains.

 

[yh125d]

Originally posted by: SlowSpyder
All true, but you have to remember AMD isn't going to sit still, they aren't just going to continue rolling out new A64's to compete with C2D. They have new technology coming as well. The P4 was inferior in just about everyway to the A64's, but Intel still sold $1000 'extreme' processors.

because of people with way too much money that only care about clock speed

 

[coldpower27]

Originally posted by: programmer
Amazing ... the X2 6000 seems to have dropped to the $240 range! I am not a "fan boy" of either manufacturer, and will generally go for the "best-bang-for-the-buck" when I need to buy a new CPU, and am thankful that both Intel and AMD make fantastic processors.

I haven't been keeping up with Intel or AMD prices but the X2 6000 at $240 seems a great deal to me.

It won't be for very long, Intel will be dropping their Core 2 Duo E6600 to $224 on April 22nd.

 

[spacejamz]

local frys has this with an ECS K8m890 motherboard for $229 today and tomorrow...