Differences with AMD 64 Low/standard voltage?

[pave_spectre]

Is there any performance difference between the low voltage versions of AMD64 X2 procs compared with their standard voltage counterparts?

Just looked at purchasing the parts for a new comp and only the low voltage version was available.

Also are there any compatibilty issues for low voltage and motherboards?

AMD doesn't seem entirely informative as the only difference they state is the voltage and power consumption, and I couldn't find anything for or against their similarities/differences.


cheers.

[sassie05]

Lower voltage = Less heat. Just a guess! I guess as long as the CPU uses the voltage efficiently. Doesn't answer your Questions though, sorry.

[pave_spectre]

Not really. AMD gave me the lower voltage and power consumption figures. Haven't been able to find any info on performance though.

EDIT -- Toms Hardware claim there are no performance differences between low and standard voltage counterparts.

[saphalline]

The low-voltage versions are nothing more than a knee-jerk reaction to Intel's marketing focus on TDP ("performance per Watt"). AMD refined a few transistor placements, making so little changes that a new core revision wasn't even required, and they managed to tweak the voltage down a bit. This had the effect of greatly reducing heat dissipation (because of the process size and clock speed combo) and giving them a reason to charge more for a Core 2 Duo counterpart.

Not that the low-voltage versions aren't worth it, but I just find it amusing that AMD is able to make more money off Intel's marketing dollars. :D

[sassie05]

Saphalline,
Thanks for the clarification. Much appreciated.

[pave_spectre]

giving them a reason to charge more for a Core 2 Duo counterpart

Didn't cost me any more that its standard voltage couterpart, otherwise I would have gone with a faster processor that they did have in the standard voltage version.

Aparrently there is also an energy efficient small form factor version which does have lower performance.

[saphalline]

When they were first released, they cost significantly more. But now with their 65nm parts... it's a moot point.