Near the end of 2006, AMD began releasing new versions of its Athlon 64 X2 processors. These new processor versions were the first AMD desktop chips to be manufactured using a 65 nanometer process. The move to 65nm has allowed AMD to reduce the costs associated with manufacturing its chips. In addition, it has also allowed AMD to produce 65nm Athlon processors which are more power efficient than their 90nm counterparts. AMD, however, has chosen not to release 65nm versions of every one of its processors. Instead, it has only released 65nm Athlon 64 X2 chips up until its Athlon 64 X2 5000+ model. Any model number higher than 5000+ is still constructed using a 90nm process. There are a number of reasons behind this move. For one, it allows AMD to reduce the costs of its already cheaper processors, therefore creating more aggressive pricing. In addition, as 65nm chips consume less power, AMD has been able to reduce the power consumption of these chips to 65 watts.

As we mentioned earlier, any model higher than 5000+ is still being manufactured using a 90nm process. This includes the Athlon 64 6000+ we are reviewing today. AMD will not begin creating 65nm high-end processors until the release of its Athlon 64 X2 dual and quad core chips based on the K10 architecture. The release of K10, however, is not expected to take place until halfway through 2007. This means that AMD's current 90nm Athlon 64 X2 processors will have to counter Intel's Core 2 Duo chips, all of which use a 65nm die, for another six months.

Today AMD releases the Athlon 64 X2 6000+; the last processor of the Athlon 64 X2 series which is based on the well known K8 architecture. As we said in our review of AMD's Quad FX platform, the Athlon 64 X2 series has become AMD's flagship desktop processor line. Keeping this in mind, the Athlon 64 X2 6000+ is AMD's fastest and most powerful K8-based desktop chip yet. The processor is also faster than the Athlon 64 FX62, which up until recently was AMD's high-end desktop processor.

The new CPU comes officially clocked at 3 GHz, making it the fastest processor available for AM2, with 1 MB of L2 cache per core. This is the same speed that AMD's Athlon 64 FX-74 chip, which was introduced last year near the end of November, runs at. The core is the same Windsor core which AMD has already used for a couple of its processors, namely the Athlon 64 X2 and Athlon 64 FX-62 solutions. As we briefly discussed earlier, the Athlon 64 X2 6000+ still uses a 90nm manufacturing process. The official price for a single Athlon 64 X2 6400+ in a quantity of 1,000 is $464. The next AMD part with the most similar amount of features, the FX-74, is available at a price of $1,000. Keep in mind, however, that the FX-74 figure is for two processors since a complete package must be bought. In addition, the FX-74 can only be used with AMD’s Quad FX platform.

AMD declares the maximum thermal power of the Athlon 64 X2 6000+ at 125 W, a figure that is identical to the maximum thermal power of the Athlon 64 FX-62 which also happens to be 200 MHz slower. Nominal voltage is between 1.35V and 1.40V, the same value for other Athlon 64 X2 90nm processors. The integrated memory controller uses a divider set at 8.