The Intel juggernaut certainly worked its magic throughout 2003, and the Pentium 4 hits just kept on coming. It seemed that whenever AMD was readying a new Athlon XP release, Intel simply pulled the handle and cranked out a newer, faster Pentium 4 CPU. Intel was also working the platform and features angles as well, and moved to the 800 MHz front-side bus, incorporated HyperThreading through their entire line, and even started the Prescott core hype going.
As the old saying goes, what's past is prologue, and AMD's Hammer-based Athlon 64 intended to change the status quo and make Intel chase them for awhile. Numerous delays caused the release dates to slip, products changed and then changed again, but finally AMD has taken the wraps off their newest and fastest Athlon 64 processors. Today, the Athlon 64 3200+ and ultra high-end Athlon 64 FX-51 processors make their long-awaited appearance, and look to put the boots to Intel's current Pentium 4 line.
The base Athlon 64 is an important product for their overall desktop strategy, but the Athlon 64 FX-51 is definitely the new bad boy on the AMD block. The Athlon 64 FX-51 take the Athlon 64 philosophy and design, then melds it to the performance and features of a high-end Opteron, and creates an interesting hybrid of server and desktop technology. It is also the first CPU to be targeted directly at gamers and enthusiasts, and includes the high-end features and performance to match.
In this review, we will be taking a close look at the Athlon 64 FX-51 processor and seeing how it stacks up again both the Intel and AMD competition. This includes a run-down on the specifications, features and platform, along with our usual wide range of system and game benchmarks. So strap yourself in for this one, it's going to be a high-speed ride.
