AMD power consumption and heat

[BP]

I've finally broken down and decided to replace my old turn of the century 300 Mhz Celeron computer. I can't believe how low prices are. I've decided to try an AMD processor this time and have narrowed it down to the following processors:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4450e Brisbane 2.3GHz Socket AM2 45W Dual-Core Processor Model ADH4450DOBOX

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor Model ADO5000DOBOX

As far as I can tell they are the same chip, one clocked at 2.3 GHz and the other 2.6 GHz. I'm leaning towards the first one because it power consumption is 20 watts less which means less heat and electricity, which are big issues for me. Either chip is way more than I need. I don't think I'll notice the 300 MHz reduction in clock cycles event though that is the total I have now!

My question is if I buy the 2.6 GHz chip and clock it at 2.3, will it draw 45W or 65W? I though I heard a long time ago that the chips in a family are all the same and they just run them at various speed and measure the temp. to decide what speed to rate them at.

The difference in cost is only $1, so I would buy the faster chip if I could run it slower to keep the power consumption down.

Thanks

[Neon]

Note that cpus now throttle down when they are not under full load.

AMD calls this technology "Cool N Quiet". So while the cpu is idle, it will consume far less than the 45W/65W indicated thermal design power. Think of those numbers as approximate maximums for when the cpu is at full load.

Hope that helps.

[gshv]