Replies to post #65511 on Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD)

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Paul, Re: more datapoints

I found the following reviews online that had Athlon X2 overclocking results.

Athlon X2 4800+ (2.4GHz) @ 1.376V = 2.7GHz
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/athlon64-x2_4.html

Athlon X2 3800+ (2.0GHz) @ 1.36V = 2.4GHz
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/athlon64-x2-3800_12.html

Athlon X2 3800+ (2.0GHz) @ 1.568V = 2.7GHz
http://www.legitreviews.com/article.php?aid=229&pid=5

Athlon X2 4200+ (2.2GHz) @ 1.52V = 2.6GHz
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2452&p=3

It looks like X-bit Labs has gotten +300MHz to +400MHz on their processors at reasonable voltages (just 60-76mV over spec), while Legit Reviews did +700MHz by upping the voltage a sizable 268mV over spec. Anandtech seems to fare in the middle with a solid +400MHz overclock at 252mV over spec.

Here are the existing datapoints:

Athlon X2 4800+ (2.4GHz) @ 1.472V = 2.8GHz
http://amdzone.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&a...

Opteron 265 (1.8GHz) @ 1.408GHz = 2.5GHz
http://www.amdzone.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&a...

So that's +400MHz at 172mV over spec and +700MHz at 108mV over spec. Of course, for the latter, I'm sure the 1.8GHz Opterons are downbinned parts that could have easily sold at 2.0GHz.

Overall, the data seems to suggest the first generation dual core chips have an upper limit around 2.7GHz to 2.8GHz with largely increased voltages, though realistically it's probably around 2.5GHz to 2.6GHz at stock. Therefore, I can see AMD launching 2.6GHz in low volume, but it's really going to have to cherry pick the most premium parts. It will be much more interesting to see what F-step brings.