TechRadar Verdict
AMD gives its budget quad slightly higher clocks. Good for multi-threading, less convincing in games.
Pros
- +
Four cores and high clocks
- +
Very affordable
Cons
- -
Missing cache hurts gaming performance
- -
Limited overclocking headroom
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A quad-core chip on the cheap is a compelling concept. The new 3.1GHz AMD Athlon II X4 645 is certainly a quad-core chip, but is it cheap enough at £95?
For sure, there are more affordable Athlon II X4s on offer. The 2.6GHz 620 model can be had for around £65. Moving up a gear, seriously high performance quad-core processors from both AMD and Intel sell for less than £150.
AMD's new flagship quad, for example, the 3.5GHz Phenom II X4 970 Black Edition is yours for a whisker over £140. Intel's Core i5 760 is similar money.
The challenge for the new Athlon II X4 645, then, is to get close enough to those more upscale chips in terms of performance that the price differential looks like a worthwhile saving and not a false economy. Of course, the 645 also needs to put clean air between itself and cheaper quads, such as the 620.
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Speed (MBps) | Heatsink | 0.5TB | 1TB | 2TB | 4TB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mushkin Delta | 5000 | n | Row 0 - Cell 3 | 114.99 | 229.99 | 539.99 |
| Corsair MP600 Core | 4950 | y | Row 1 - Cell 3 | 124.99 | 239.99 | 680.59 |
| Inland Performance | 5000 | n | Row 2 - Cell 3 | 129.99 | Row 2 - Cell 5 | Row 2 - Cell 6 |
| Inland Performance | 5000 | y | Row 3 - Cell 3 | 129.99 | Row 3 - Cell 5 | Row 3 - Cell 6 |
| Reletech | 5000 | n | Row 4 - Cell 3 | 129.99 | 249.99 | Row 4 - Cell 6 |
| Silicon Power | 5000 | n | Row 5 - Cell 3 | 129.99 | 239.99 | Row 5 - Cell 6 |
| Addlink A92 | 4700 | y | Row 6 - Cell 3 | 139.99 | 267.99 | 539.99 |
| Corsair MP600 | 4950 | y | 89.99 | 139.99 | 279.99 | Row 7 - Cell 6 |
| PNY XLR8 | 5600 | n | 79.99 | 142.99 | 259.85 | 599 |
| Crucial P5 Plus | 6600 | n | 90.09 | 149 | 307 | Row 9 - Cell 6 |
| Mushkin Gamma | 7100 | n | Row 10 - Cell 3 | 149.99 | 319.99 | 799.99 |
| Adata XPG GAMMIX S70 | 7400 | y | Row 11 - Cell 3 | 149.99 | 329.99 | Row 11 - Cell 6 |
| Adata XPG GAMMIX S70 Blade | 7400 | y | Row 12 - Cell 3 | 159.99 | 329.99 | Row 12 - Cell 6 |
| Corsair MP600 Pro | 7000 | y | Row 13 - Cell 3 | 169.99 | 339.99 | 1057.99 |
| Addlink A90 | 5000 | y | Row 14 - Cell 3 | 179.99 | 344.99 | Row 14 - Cell 6 |
| Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus | 7100 | n | 89.99 | 179.99 | 359.99 | 869.99 |
| Samsung 980 Pro | 7000 | n | 109.99 | 184.99 | 357.29 | Row 16 - Cell 6 |
| Teamgroup CARDEA A440 | 7000 | y | Row 17 - Cell 3 | 188.99 | 386.99 | Row 17 - Cell 6 |
| Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus | 7100 | y | Row 18 - Cell 3 | 189.98 | 369.98 | 899.99 |
| Gigabyte Aorus | 7000 | y | Row 19 - Cell 3 | 189.99 | 426.84 | Row 19 - Cell 6 |
| WD WD_Black SN850 | 7000 | n | 99.99 | 189.99 | 354.99 | Row 20 - Cell 6 |
| Corsair MP600 XT | 7100 | y | Row 21 - Cell 3 | 189.99 | 412.77 | 1024.99 |
| Teamgroup CARDEA A440 Pro | 7200 | y | Row 22 - Cell 3 | 189.99 | 369.99 | Row 22 - Cell 6 |
| Addlink A95 | 7300 | y | Row 23 - Cell 3 | 189.99 | 379.99 | 829.99 |
| Seagate Firecuda 530 | 7300 | n | 129.99 | 209.99 | 419.99 | 1175.05 |
| WD WD_Black SN850 | 7000 | y | 159.99 | 210.49 | 534.99 | Row 25 - Cell 6 |
| MSI Spatium M480 | 7000 | n | Row 26 - Cell 3 | 229.99 | Row 26 - Cell 5 | Row 26 - Cell 6 |
| MSI Spatium M480 | 7000 | y | Row 27 - Cell 3 | 239.99 | 439.99 | Row 27 - Cell 6 |
| Samsung 980 Pro | 7000 | y | Row 28 - Cell 3 | 249.99 | 449.99 | Row 28 - Cell 6 |
| Seagate Firecuda 530 | 7300 | y | 149.99 | 259.99 | Row 29 - Cell 5 | Row 29 - Cell 6 |
| PNY XLR8 | 5600 | y | 99.99 | Row 30 - Cell 4 | 279.99 | 639.99 |
| Patriot Viper VP4300 | 7400 | y | Row 31 - Cell 3 | Row 31 - Cell 4 | 414.99 | Row 31 - Cell 6 |
| Kingston | Row 32 - Cell 1 | Row 32 - Cell 2 | Row 32 - Cell 3 | Row 32 - Cell 4 | Row 32 - Cell 5 | Row 32 - Cell 6 |
| Lexar | Row 33 - Cell 1 | Row 33 - Cell 2 | Row 33 - Cell 3 | Row 33 - Cell 4 | Row 33 - Cell 5 | Row 33 - Cell 6 |
| Netac | Row 34 - Cell 1 | Row 34 - Cell 2 | Row 34 - Cell 3 | Row 34 - Cell 4 | Row 34 - Cell 5 | Row 34 - Cell 6 |
| Transcend | Row 35 - Cell 1 | Row 35 - Cell 2 | Row 35 - Cell 3 | Row 35 - Cell 4 | Row 35 - Cell 5 | Row 35 - Cell 6 |
| Adata XPG Atom 50 | Row 36 - Cell 1 | Row 36 - Cell 2 | Row 36 - Cell 3 | Row 36 - Cell 4 | Row 36 - Cell 5 | Row 36 - Cell 6 |
