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Introduction:
AMD released a full line of new processors on September, 21st 2010 which filled a few spots in AMD’s lineup and offers consumers some additional choices. One of these processors is the Athlon II 450 X3 running at 3.2GHz. The Athlon II 450 has 512MB L2 Cache per core (total of 1.5MB of L2 Cache) to give a bump in speed over previous Athlon II processors. We installed the Athlon II 450 X3 in the same test rig as the Athlon II X2 265 and the Phenom II X2 560 BE in a previous review and ran the same benchmarks for a good comparison. The Athlon II 450 X3 did pretty well in the straight comparisons. When it comes to reviewing processors we just let the benchmarks speak for themselves. This review of the Athlon II X3 450 follows on the heals of two other processor reviews, so are able to use the same test rig as the previous two reviews to give you a common platform for the benchmarks. Also when it comes to over clocking a processor, TechwareLabs has found that the RoG connect utility to be priceless when it comes to recording what we can over clock a processor to and record it in the processes. So lets take a look at what the Athlon II X3 450 is all about and then dive into some benchmarks.
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Processors & Pricing:
- 3.5GHz (3.0GHz base) Phenom II X6 1075T ~$239*
- 3.5GHz Phenom II X4 970 Black Edition ~$179*
- 3.3GHz Phenom II X2 560 Black Edition ~$99*
- 3.1GHz Athlon II X4 645 ~$119*
- 3.2GHz Athlon II X3 450 ~$84*
- 3.3GHz Athlon II X2 265 ~$74*
| AMD Athlon II™ X3 450 Processor: | |
| Model Number & Core Frequency: | X3 450 / 3.2GHz |
| OPN: | ADX450WFK32GM |
| L1 Cache Sizes: | 64K of L1 instruction and 64K of L1 data cache per core (384KB total L1 per processor) |
| L2 Cache Sizes: | 512KB of L2 data cache per core (1.5MB total L2 per processor) |
| Memory Controller Type: | Integrated 128-bit wide memory controller * |
| Memory Controller Speed: | Up to 2.0GHz with Dual Dynamic Power Management |
| Types of Memory Supported: | Unregistered DIMMs up to PC2-8500 (DDR2-1066MHz) -AND- PC3-10600 (DDR3-1333MHz) |
| HyperTransport 3.0 Specification: | One 16-bit/16-bit link @ up to 4.0GHz full duplex (2.0GHz x2) |
| Total Processor-to-System Bandwidth: | Up to 37.3GB/s total bandwidth [Up to 21.3 GB/s memory bandwidth (DDR3-1333) + 16.0GB/s (HT3)]Up to 33.1GB/s total bandwidth [Up to 17.1 GB/s memory bandwidth (DDR2-1066) + 16.0GB/s (HT3)] |
| Packaging: | Socket AM3 938-pin organic micro pin grid array (micro-PGA) |
| Fab location: | GLOBALFOUNDARIES Fab 1 module 1 in Dresden, Germany |
| Process Technology: | 45-nanometer DSL SOI (silicon-on-insulator) technology |
| Approximate Die Size: | 169mm2 |
| Approximate Transistor count: | ~300 million |
| Max TDP: | 95 Watts |
| AMD Codename: | “Rana” |
| *Note: configurable for dual 64-bit channels for simultaneous read/writes | |
I’ve been reading alot of articles on the Athlon II 450 X3 Rana 45nm Technology which I have in my computer. Most of them say you can unlock the 4th core and get advantages of more speed. I am running 8.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 669MHz, with a BIOSTAR Group N68S3+ (CPU 1) motherboard and 256MB GeForce 8400 GS (XFX Pine Group) video card and Creative xfi sound card. Do you think its a good idea to re-set my CPU configeration to “auto” and unlock the forth core?
I would appreciate your advise, I’m leary of others I have read.
There is a lot of talk about this and from what I know, it is not as simple as a BIOS change. In the manufacturing process AMD has disabled a core on the die of the processor itself. There is talk (if you permit the expression of “around the water cooler)” that some people have used a single strand of wire to connect the core or that they used a pencil eraser to enable this physical disconnection. Honestly, until I see this first hand, I won’t believe it till I see it myself. I would chalk this talk of changing a BIOS or using a wire to jumper the core as none sense. The physical disconnect of a single core on the processor die is a fraction of a nanometer. No one with a home soldering kit would not be able to reconnect this disabled core or use a BIOS change to enable it.
Hi,
Your motherboard does not support core unlocking.
This one is cheap and does support core unlocking http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-M5A78L-M-Motherboard-Socket-Unlocker/dp/B004ZOH1I6/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pdT1_S_nC?ie=UTF8&coliid=I7CHDHJ2OAHEA&colid=269MO0OHK392Y
Hi there, my name is Kristeen Depriest and I have to point out that AMD Athlon II X3 450 Reviewed | TechwareLabs is really a remarkable piece of writing.
i unlocked the 4th core and got a windows 7 score of 7.3 from previous 6.9 with 3 cores.