The creme de la creme of Athlon 64 products, the 4000+ is a socket 939 CPU with all the bells and whistles. This bad boy clocks in at 2.4GHz, features a 1MB L2 cache and 2GB HyperTransport memory interconnect to work in conjunction with its on-die memory controller. The on-die memory controller means that the CPU doesn't have to seek out the motherboard's Northbridge chipset to access the memory. Instead, it communicates the memory directly, which speeds up access time.
Features aside, this chip nipped at the heels of the higher specced FX-55, despite clocking in 200MHz slower and $440 less to purchase. In our PCMark04 productivity test, it managed to get within 435 marks of the FX-55. 3DMark01SE testing opened the gap between the two chips, with both the hardware and software transform and lighting results favouring the FX-55's slightly higher clockspeed. The floating point intensive 3DMark03 saw the tables turn again, with the 4000+ beating it to take out second place. Far Cry proved to be little challenge, with the 4000+ ripping through Bunker in 16.51 seconds at an average rate just shy of 108 frames per second -- half a second behind the FX and 30ms in front of Intel's Extreme Edition.
Ultimately, this chip offers a good mix of performance and features at a very competitive price. It's certainly not one for those looking to put together a low cost rig, but if you have the urge, and money is no object, this CPU is one to look at.