AMD Athlon II X2 240e Processor

Introduction

Home Theater PCs have been all the rage in recent years.  As people turn more and more to internet-based services like Hulu and NetFlix to get their entertainment, the demand for devices that can handle all that media and stream it to your TV has shot up dramatically.  While many pre-built set-top boxes exist to fill this niche, they often leave much to be desired.  Limited format support, limited storage space, limited choice of media services; too many of these boxes leave you wanting more.  Also, none of these boxes allow for gaming, beyond trivial games like Peggle or Bejeweled.

This is where the DIY home theater PC comes into play.  You choose how it looks, you choose what goes inside, and you set it up to do just what you want, and nothing you don’t.  Building a HTPC on the cheap is fairly simple, but it needs a good CPU to do all the things you want it to do.  Enter AMD’s Athlon II X2 line, a series of cheap, low-power-draw CPUs that are aimed squarely at the budget PC and HTPC market.  Today we’ll be looking at the Athlon II X2 240e, one of AMD’s most economical offerings in the Athlon II line.

Specifications

*Note: configurable for dual 64-bit channels for simultaneous read/writes
The specifications here are mostly what you’d expect, though of particular note is the maximum TDP, or Thermal Dispersion Profile.  This CPU is meant to draw 45 watts at most, which puts it 20 watts below the Core 2 line of processors in power draw.

  Previous Page         1. Intro and Specs2. CPU-Z Info and Overclocking3. A Closer Look and Testing4. SiSoft Sandra and Kribi Bench5. Cinebench R10, WinRAR, and ScienceMark6. PCMark Vantage and 3DMark Vantage7. Crysis Warhead8. Unreal Tournament 39. Team Fortress 210. Conclusion11. View All         Next Page