Reviewers Liked

  • Socket AM2+ design enables upgrade path for Athlon X2 users
  • Inexpensive for a quad-core CPU
  • Independent memory controller simplifies overclocking
  • Low-power-usage motherboard chipset
  • "True" quad-core design handles data efficiently
  • Rich feature set and potentially good tweaking capability

Reviewers Didn't Like

  • Slower performance with comparably priced Intel Core 2 Quad chips
  • SSE4a multimedia instructions incompatible with Intels SSE4 instructions
  • Erratum in first chip models slows operations
  • Next-gen Intel quad core due out soon could further the performance gap