AMD Sempron vs Intel Celeron D (page 12: Conclusion)

Conclusion

With the Celeron D, Intel finally provides a good bottom of the line processor. The Celeron was a great sales success thanks to a frequency announced on OEM computers. However, in the same price range (official prices), AMD processors were better.

In practice, the Celeron D 335 2.8 GHz was 25.7% faster than a Celeron 2.8 GHz, a big performance gap for such a small denominational difference. Performances were, however, still inferior to a Pentium 4 2.4C, for example. It will still be interesting to keep an eye on this processor price in the future for a good bargain.

We have mixed feelings regarding the new Sempron AMD line. The Socket A Sempron doesn’t provide better performances than the standard Athlon XP. An Athlon XP 2800+ is more efficient and at times cheaper than the Sempron 2800+. Due to a busy non-official market for the Athlon XP, the prices announced don’t correspond to official AMD prices. Officially the price of an Athlon XP 2800 + is $150 and $109 for a Sempron 2800+.

For the moment the Sempron 3100+, based on the Athlon 64, uses the Socket 754. This is its most attractive characteristic. Performance with games was excellent and close to the Athlon 64 2800+. It was clearly superior to the other Celerons / Semprons and equivalent to an Athlon XP 3200+.

Of course it doesn’t have the AMD 64 ISA instructions, and the only current use is with Linux, the 64 bit Window version. Accompanying software should be released in a couple of months. Possible gains in performance are yet to be known. The Sempron 3100+,however, uses a Socket 754, also compatible with the Athlon 64 3400+.

In conclusion, results are positive for Intel. This is for the best because the previous Celeron results were dismal. We have mixed feelings about the new AMD line. The Sempron Socket A is not better than the Athlon XP, which remains a good processor. Only the 3100+ version based on the Athlon 64 provides good results and sets the stage for a great future for the Sempron Socket 754 and Socket 939.