AMD Sempron 3300+ scrutinised

FRENCH WEBSITE TT hardware tests the Pentium 840EE and its sibling the Pentium D 840 processor. They start with a wise expression from the car industry. Power sells cars and torque make them move. They go on to show what others have already showed before. The various advantages of the Intel's dual core technology. Can't beat AMD in mono-threaded games but interesting performance in others.

Another French website, PresencePC has also written a paper on the same subject matter. Covering the i955x chipset at the same time, they speak about the paradigm shift that Intel and AMD have triggered. From now on, software manufacturers will have to take into consideration the existence of Dual Core and HT when designing their stuff. A wise advise from them: look at your apps and then buy your CPU.

From pureoverclock comes a SLIed Power Supply, the PC Power & Cooling Turbo Cool 510 SLI. It is one of the rare nVidia SLI approved/ready power supplies. It comes with one 80mm fan but its noise is well above what average human would like to hear humming. 42.5dB. It still managed to impress the reviewer who gave it an almost pure-fect score.

PC Perspective checks the Asus CT-479 Pentium Socket Converter It has already been reviewed elsewhere several times but unfortunately bo one has managed to try testing it on a non-asus motherboard. Ryan has been able to overclock the Pentium M 755 to 2.6Ghz. Quite a feat. But you pay the price. $580 can get you an Athlon 4000+ combo.

Dell might be a favorite when it comes to selling laptops and desktops at dirty cheap prices but it still can't do much when it comes to niche products. The Dell Dimension XPS Generation 4, reviewed at Hexus, will cost you a beefy £1799. Yes you get a X850XT and a P4 560 CPU. But check Mesh Computers to see why Dell still have much to learn from smaller companies.

Hothardware tests the latest AMD Sempron processor, the 3300+. They find out that it is pretty much the best "budget" processor out there under normal conditions. The 3300+ gets compared with a 3100+ and a 2.8Ghz Celeron D335. While the Sempron 3300+ wins hands down many head-to-head comparisons, one should definitely consider alternatives. The cheapest 3300+ costs a handy $140. Add $9 and you get a much more powerful A64 3200+ CPU instead. Convinced?

German website Twinsbite.de reviews the Terratec Aureon 7.1 Universe and HomeArena TXR 884 7.1 sound system combo. The Terratec Brand is known for its professional quality sound products. The card uses the VIA Envy 24HT chipset which gives it some pretty good performance and compatibility.

Another German website does a round up of PCIe Athlon 64 chipsets available on the market, a little bit like TR some days back. All four major actors are in the test as you could have expected it. K-Hardware also tests some motherboards which use these chipsets. µ