Athlon64 Architechture
As many of you probably know the Athlon64 is the first 64-bit processor to be released for the general public. This processor will run both 32 and 64 bit applications. As expected, all the features in previous AMD processors are supported including SSE and 3DNow!. The Athlon64 also features SSE2 support, a first for AMD based chips. There is also added support for HyperTransport technology. The Athlon64 also has a new cooling feature called Cool'n'Quiet, which will be explained later in this article.
HyperTransport Technology increases communication speed between components inside the computer and the central processor. This reduces system bottlenecks that can slow down your system by seperating the memory and system bus allowing for faster performance. HyperTransport remains transparent to the operating system, hence not taking away any valuable resources that currently running programs might need.
A single channel 64 bit integrated memory controller is also included in the processor, lowering latency issues in the computer, speeding up transfer between the main memory controller and the processor. Moving the memory controller onto the processor may give the Athlon64 a memory advantage over other processors which do not have their controllers integrated but residing on the northbridge.
So far there are only 3 variations of the Athlon64 processor, a low end 3000+, a mid-range 3200+ and now the 3400+. All of the processors support most of the features, but only on the 3200+ and up models will you find the 1MB of L2 cache. On the 3000+, the L2 cache is reduced by half. This is probably because AMD needs to attract lower end users to their Athlon 64 products.
