AMD promised 65nm X2's for this month, and they have delivered. While not offering any spectacular core revisions that will see performance boosts, they have given themselves a lot of leverage for faster clock speeds and reduction in power requirements. How much of a benefit are they seeing? From the 4000+ to the 5000+, Techreport has taken an in-depth look at the 65nm X2s, all of which have a 65W TDP. This is a 27% reduction in dissipation from their 90nm counterparts, a significant chunk. Core voltages have been lowered, and pricing remains the same. A 4000+ is coming in at only $169, almost half of what the 3800+ sat at over over a year.
The article goes over power efficiency and overclocking potential for these revised CPUs. The results are pretty much expected. When idling, the 65nm parts are able to boast lower power draws than the Core 2 and comparable older X2s, and perform well under load. Until AMD improves their core, however, they won't be beating Intel in the performance arena. Even when overclocked, the Core 2 is still outpacing the X2 clock for clock. It's a great step, though, and AMD is still full of promises.