AMD Athlon II X3 455 Processor (ADX455WFGMBOX)
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- 3.3 ghz
- 1.5MB Cache
- AM3
AMD Athlon II X3 455, 95W, 1.5MB Cache, 3300MHz
AMD Processors
AMD Athlon II X3 455 Processor (ADX455WFGMBOX)
List Price: $ 89.95
Price:
First to Review? After All of this Time?,
I bought this processor for a new build consisting of a GIGABYTE GA-970A-UD3 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard, Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler, RR-B10-212P-G1, and Corsair Vengeance Blu 8 GB (2X4 GB) PC3-12800 1600mHz DDR3 240-Pin SDRAM Dual Channel Memory Kit CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B. Of course there’s a case, power supply, all the normal stuff, but I think this is what’s essential for this review…
If you have any experience with computer building, or are simply starting and willing to learn, you should be fine. This isn’t my first build, but it is my first full build in a while. Over the years, I’ve just refurbished older machines and they’ve worked fine for me. However, I finally broke, and put together a relatively new system. I normally try to stay a step behind the industry since I know that Hardware will continually supercede software–hence why I decided on the older (and, in my opinion, proven) Athlon II x 3 455, triple core processor.
I did quite a bit of research before purchasing this processor, since I wanted to ensure its longevity.
(Overclocker/Nerd Minute)
From other people’s experiences, this processor, with the proper cooling (better cooling than simply a Hyper 212+ with one fan) has been noted to get to 3.9+ (not quite 4) GHz across three cores. And yes, as you may know, there is a fourth core that can be unlocked on this processor (although it’s not guaranteed to be stable for any period of time). The max speed I have read about with the fourth core unlocked and stable is 3.7 (not quite 3.8) GHz. Of course you’re going to have to raise voltages and ensure proper temperatures (below 60C, I believe–don’t feel like looking it up again)…
…
I bought and received this from a third party seller in about three to four days (I asked for expedited shipping, since I hadn’t realized that the rest of my items would get here in two-days until after I bought everything else to go with it…trust me, I did so much research that by the time I settled on this processor, I didn’t want to go back through researching again). A big part of my research had to deal with building a modern system (3.0GHz + Proc, 16GB RAM, Modern Video Card) but not spending an exorbitant amount of money. I’m a casual gamer, yes, but the games I play, Civ 5, Sins of a Solar Empire, [soon to be] Battlefield 3 have a ton of calculations, etc…and I wanted to ensure that my computer would be capable today, tomorrow, and for the next few years. For my day to day activities, I really could’ve stuck with my old Gateway with a 2.2GHz AMD 4200+.
Ah, yes, Intel was never in the running. Their processors aren’t fun to me (can’t OC anything in budget) and their prices are not particularly pleasing either. In addition, throughout my tech career, I’ve had more issues with users powered by Intel, than AMD…might just be coincidence…
This brings me back to the price of a potentially quad-core 3.3GHz processor: <$85 (with shipping). Beat it? I don’t quite think so.
The Athlon architecture should be more than enough for most people, and enthusiasts with money will probably not even read this review…thus, I continue…
…
Right now, with the fourth core unlocked, this processor appears as a Phenom II x4 (Propus Core). It’s running at 3.6GHz and staying around 32C (based on Speccy). Thus, I have a quad-core 3.6GHz Phenom II x 4 for <$85.
In contrast, a Phenom II x 4 960 (@ 3.0GHz) is $124 here on Amazon… that’s a forty dollar difference. With full disclosure, you do get an 8MB L3 Cache with the PIIx4 960… so… Is it worth the extra cache (wonderful pun, by the way)? Under high intensity calculation, I’m sure it is… Outside of a benchmark, I’m just not seeing it. This is something else I looked into during my research.
I’m not proposing that my processor with Athlon is comparable to Phenom under any sort of competition…yet I am proposing that the capabilities of the Athlon would be more than comparable under normal usage situations…
I figured since no one else wrote a review, I would…but I don’t see much more I can say. If you’re looking for a performing processor for a tight budget–this is it.
Hopefully, this helps…
Any questions, feel free…
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|Best Value,
This is the best processor for everyday computer use. Only computational extensive spread sheets and computer gaming, or equivalent CPU intensive software would benefit from a more expensive and higher end processor than this one. This processor saves energy over the expensive higher end processors. This processor has a max wattage of 95W while the highest end processors consume 125W or more. AMD is a great company who out innovates its behemoth rival, Intel. However since Intel is a giant compared to AMD, AMD must offer their processors with a greater value for the customer. This means that the customer will get more processing power and less energy usage for the same amount of money spent on an Intel product.
This processor requires an AM3 processor socket on the motherboard. However, if the BIOS on the motherboard support this, and most do, this processor can be placed into an AM2+ socket motherboard. This is because this processor contains circuits to drive both DDR2 and DDR3 memories.
If your motherboard supports core unlocking, it is likely that the fourth core can be unlocked in this processor resulting in a quad-core processor for the price of a three core processor. Many non-OEM motherboards support core unlocking. (These are motherboards that do not come inside fully built computers such as computers bought from Dell.) Here is one example of a motherboard that supports core unlocking. Asus Socket AM3+/ AMD 970/ Quad CrossFireX/ SATA3&USB3.0/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard (M5A97)
When this processor is bought in a retail box, such as this review is attached to, the box contains the processor, a heat-sink and fan. During normal use, this fan is run at a low RPM and is quiet. During normal use this fan is run at a low RPM and is quiet. Only if the CPU is used for a CPU intensive work load, to cool itself, this processor will increase the fan’s RPMs to a point where the fan’s noise is noticeable.
For its processing power, less energy usage, and value, this processor receives 5 stars.
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|X4 on the cheap,
The title says it all:) Just enabled the dormant core in BIOS and voila. However, the temps went up a lot, and the stock cooler is not up to the task – 73C on full load is a bad idea. I have a spare aftermarket cooler somewhere in the closet, so no biggie – will put on this evening and watch the temps. I did not plan to overclock since the machine is going to be used only for internet, movies and some light gaming, but if temps will be OK – why not:) AMD makes some neat stuff for very little money, the reason I’ve stuck with them for many-many years.
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