A 64-bit Prima Donna: AMD's Athlon 64 3400+

When AMD team-launched the Athlon 64 3200+ and Athlon 64 FX-51 last fall it was with the expectation that the 3200+ version of the processor would be seen as the mainstream, “standard” version, while the FX-51 would be perceived as strictly an ultra-high end gaming or performance solution, needed by only a handful of users. While price structuring has kept this division intact for the most part, a vocal minority of AMD users and industry watchers decried the 3200+ as a “crippled” processor thanks to its lower memory bandwidth and hailed the Athlon 64 FX-51 as the “real” Athlon 64—while simultaneously muttering dark threats about its stratospheric price.