AMD Athlon™ 64 FX-51 Processor
 

One mean sounding box - can't wait till they become available in Australia.

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/...5_9488,00.html
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/..._118_9485_9488^9532,00.html

And an indicative bench test using SETI @ Home ...
http://www.hexus.net/content/reviews...JsX3BhZ2U9Nw==

There's already a thread on the Athlon 64 that is fairly recent. And yes, it is one kick ass processor. :)

-Lasereth

I was really excited about the chip until I read this last night:
http://www.anandtech.com/cpu/showdoc.html?i=1884&p=5

The biggest problem I see is that right now the chips are 940 pin, and the artcile points out they are making them 939 pin next year, which basically means that if you get one now and want to upgrade later on, you're going to have to get a new motherboard too.

Not necessarily. That extra pin might just be something as simple as just providing extra power. Perhaps next years version might not need the extra power. Usually when they eliminate pins, they are compatible with older motherboards. On a side note, upgrading to newer CPU's usually also entails increases in FSB, RAM speed, etc. all of which require a new motherboard anyways.

im waiting till 64 bit apps come out that can utilize the extra processing power. as of right now the only way to get windows to actually recognize it as a 64 bit processor is to get WinXP Pro 64 bit, and even then i dont know of any 64 bit apps. at this point, 64 bit workstation cpu's are all just marketing bs.

Most of the people that are excited about the Athlon 64's care about gaming and media performance, not just Windows browsing. Sure, Windows XP may not utilize the 64-bit processing yet, but it sure as hell doesn't mean the Athlon 64 isn't a powerful chip. It'll be a year or so until its 64-bit aspect is used, but it's still a high-performance chip because of its design.

-Lasereth

I'm definately looking forward to getting one of these. They seem to be selling like hotcakes. Its too bad I'm so short on cash tho. I will probably wait a while and pick one up once they drop under $200.

Still faster than a G5.. :p