Labs

AMD's budget Sempron range is also available for the new AM2 socket. Like all Socket AM2 processors it supports DDR2 memory. However, it has only 256KB of level 2 cache.

The 3600+ performed poorly in our tests. Its audio-encoding score of 88 is reasonable, but 95 in our video-encoding test is poor compared to the budget Intel Celeron D 356 and Pentium D 805. An overall score of 106 puts it last but one in the group. The Sempron 3600+ was easy to overclock by 10 per cent, and this improved its overall score to 115, which is on a par with the Celeron D processor.

Socket AM2 processors are aimed at those building new PCs, not upgraders. If you're building a new PC and aren't tied to a particular motherboard, this Socket AM2 processor will hold little appeal. At £71 it's just too expensive. The Celeron D 356 has better single-threaded performance and is £20 cheaper, while the Pentium D 805 has good multithreaded performance for the same price.