AMD Athlon II X2 250 AM3

Yesterday at Computex, AMD took the wraps off of two highly anticipated processors: the Athlon II X2 250 and the Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition. Both are based on AMD's 45nm SOI process with the key difference being the amount of L3 cache. The Phenom II X2 550, codenamed Callisto, gets the full 6 MB cache of the Phenom II family and will serve as AMD's new flagship dual-core processor. The Athlon II X2 250, on the other hand, is based on the new native dual-core Regor die that omits L3 cache completely and targets the mainstream segment. Benchmark Reviews was fortunate to receive samples of both processors. Yesterday we covered the Phenom II X2 550 and today we bring you the Athlon II X2 250 ADX250OGQBOX.

The launch of the Athlon II X2 250 represents not just a new processor, but a completely new AMD brand. Although debuting as an X2 chip, the Athlon II family will soon encompass X3 and X4 processors as well. These chips will not simply be disabled Deneb dies either. They are designed from the ground up without L3 cache to reduce manufacturing costs and offer consumers a less expensive alternative to the cache-laden Phenom II brand. Combined with AMD's 45nm process, these reduced-cache processors will consume considerably less power as well. The Athlon II X2 250 that we're reviewing today, for example, will hit the shelves at 3.0 GHz, 2 MB L2 cache, and a TDP of only 65W.

With a price tag of only $87, the AMD Athlon II X2 250 will be well positioned against Intel's Pentium Dual Core family. As expected, there will also be some internal competition among AMD's other dual core processors. The new Callisto-based Phenom II X2's are the first to come to mind, but the Kuma, Brisbane, and Windsor Athlons will have to make some room as well. Just how much is room is what we hope to find out in this review.

About Advanced Micro Devices, Inc (AMD)

"Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) is an innovative technology company dedicated to collaborating with customers and partners to ignite the next generation of computing and graphics solutions at work, home, and play.

Over the course of AMD's three decades in business, silicon and software have become the steel and plastic of the worldwide digital economy. Technology companies have become global pacesetters, making technical advances at a prodigious rate - always driving the industry to deliver more and more, faster and faster.

However, "technology for technology's sake" is not the way we do business at AMD. Our history is marked by a commitment to innovation that's truly useful for customers - putting the real needs of people ahead of technical one-upmanship. AMD founder Jerry Sanders has always maintained that "customers should come first, at every stage of a company's activities."

We believe our company history bears that out."

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