Would like information on the Sempron cpu. Please help.

Well, *what* kind of info do you need, exactly?

Specifications? - go here' ">http://forums.amd.com/index.php?showtopic=23474

General product info? - go here' ">http://www.amd.com/us-en/Proce...,,30_118_11599,00.html

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AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 89W :: Asus M2N32SLI Deluxe :: 2x1024MB Muskin XP2-6400 DDR2-800 :: BeQuiet! Darkpower Pro 530W :: 2x WD Raptor 74GB/10k rpm, RAID 0 :: ATI Radeon X1950XTX

I am wondering about the differences between Sempron and Athlon XP.
So far, I know this:
- L1 cache the same; 128kB
- L2 cache the same; 256kB
- Bus speed 333MHz DDR, 166MHz actual clock speed
- AMD 3DNow!, MMX, SSE supported.
What about SSE2 support?
Any other similarities/differences between these two?

QUOTE (edin @ Sep 9 2004, 07:17 PM) I am wondering about the differences between Sempron and Athlon XP.
So far, I know this:
- L1 cache the same; 128kB
- L2 cache the same; 256kB
- Bus speed 333MHz DDR, 166MHz actual clock speed
- AMD 3DNow!, MMX, SSE supported.
What about SSE2 support?
Any other similarities/differences between these two?
The socket A Sempron is really the same thing as a socket A Athlon XP.

The Sempron is based on the Thoroughbred-B & Thorton Core's, but it runs at the faster 333 (2x166MHz) bus speed. No SSE2 support since the T-bred/Thorton did not support SSE2 either. It's not a new core, just a faster version of the older core.

Thats it, no big surprises.

Later

MD

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The opinions expressed above do not represent those of Advanced Micro Devices or any of their affiliates.

Physics? Ha! This is clearly magic and devilry at work. Prepare firewood! We have witches to burn!


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Like MD pointed out, the Socket A Semprons use the same Thoroughbred(model 8) and Thorton(model 10 /w 256K L2-cache) cores as the Athlon XPs.

The only difference are the slightly different bus speeds and clockspeeds when compared to an Athlon XP with a corresponding model number, e.g. an Athlon XP 2600+(model 8 with 166MHz FSB) runs at 2.08GHz(166x12.5) wheras a Sempron 2600+ runs at 1.83GHz(166x11.0).

The Sempron 3100+ (Socket 754) is a totally different story than the Socket A Semprons, however - it benefits from nearly all architectural enhancements of the Athlon 64 with the exception of 64-bit capability and some cache - with an integrated memory-controller, Hypertransport-I/O as well as features like Cool'n'Quiet, Enhanced virus protection(Execution prevention/NX) and SSE2-support, it is clearly superior to any Socket A processor.

The reason for this difference and the resulting lower performance of a Sempron vs. an Athlon XP with the same model number is that Semprons are primarily targeted at the value/low-end segment - they are meant to compete mainly with intels' Celeron D-line, NOT the Athlon XP, Athlon 64 or Pentium 4...consequently, their model numbers aren't meant to be comparable to those of the Athlon XP or Athlon 64-line either.

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The opinions expressed above do not represent those of Advanced Micro Devices or any of their affiliates.

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<center><font color=red>MODERATOR</center></font>

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AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 89W :: Asus M2N32SLI Deluxe :: 2x1024MB Muskin XP2-6400 DDR2-800 :: BeQuiet! Darkpower Pro 530W :: 2x WD Raptor 74GB/10k rpm, RAID 0 :: ATI Radeon X1950XTX

Fry's Electronics currently has an ECS N2U400 (nVidia chipset) motherboard and boxed (Retail) Sempron 2800 combo for $99.
If Sempron is about the same or close to the performance of Athlon XP 2800+, this would be a nice value. Power consumption seems to be a bit lower in Sempron.
As far as I can see, the only difference between XP 2800 and Sempron 2800 is that Sempron has twice smaller L2 cache, and therefore lower power consumption, as well as reduced performance because of smaller cache.

Edin: the Sempron 2800+ is an Athlon XP 2400+ on a higher front side bus. An Athlon XP 2600+ would probably be faster.

You'd be best to avoid ECS motherboards