AMD’s new Sempron 3400+ is an example of mainstream hardware. Endowed with many of the same building blocks that give Athlon 64 and Opteron processors their mojo, Sempron enables somewhat reduced performance at drastically lower prices. The 3400+, for instance, sells for less than $150 in Socket 754 trim. The other models naturally fall in place behind, dipping as low as $74 for a 64-bit Sempron 2600+ designed for the same interface. The 3400+ runs at 2GHz and features a larger 256KB L2 cache, up from 128KB and half the size of many Athlon 64 processors. An integrated 64-bit memory controller supports up to DDR400 modules in single-channel configurations, while the 800MHz HyperTransport bus shuttles up to 3.2GBps of data bi-directionally. Because the 3400+ centers around AMD’s 90nm SOI Palermo core, it incorporates a number of features inherent to the latest Athlon 64 processors. SSE3 instruction support is one, as is an improved memory controller with mismatched DIMM recognition, better memory mapping, and improved load handling. A recent upgrade to 64-bit software support represents one more feature shared between Sempron and pricier AMD chips. Manufacturing advances have shrunk the Sempron die down to 84mm² and reduced heat dissipation to 62W. Although it can’t compete with AMD’s Athlon 64 lineup, Sempron 3400+ offers a reasonable compromise between price and performance. It isn’t for the hardcore gamer or media encoding junkie, but everyday business apps run just fine. While many may question the longevity of Socket 754, think of the Sempron 3400+ as a means to save money here and now.
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