Review: AMD's DDR chipset and the new Athlon

New Athlon processors

AMD is launching a few new Athlon processor versions to go with the AMD 760 chipset. However, their innovative character is limited to an increase in the FSB clock from 200 MHz to 266 MHz. The core has not undergone any changes. The processors we are referring to are the Athlon 1000 and the Athlon 1200, which are now offered at a bus clock speed of 266 MHz by AMD. Notwithstanding, their offering continues to include versions with an FSB clocked at 200 MHz. Another new product is the Athlon 1133 with a bus clock of 266 MHz. The Athlon 1100 with an FSB clock of 200 MHz, which has been around for some time, also continues to be included in AMD's product portfolio.

The 266 MHz Athlons will not be assigned an official addition to their designations. Very much like the variants offering an FSB clock of 200 MHz, they continue to be marketed under the Athlon brand. The identification of the individual variants is based on the OPN (Ordering Part Number), which is printed on the processor die (see figure). The Athlon CPUs with 200 MHz FSB are allocated numbers that end on the letter "B", the numbers of the 266-MHz versions end on the letter "C".

According to information provided by AMD, the Athlon processors with an FSB clock speed of 266 MHz FSB are scheduled for volume shipping as of 30 October 2000. The following table provides an overview of all current Athlon processors. The prices relate to shipping volumes of 1,000 units.

AMD's Athlon: models and OEM pricing

MHz

FSB clock (MHz)

Price (US Dollars)

State as of 30 Oct. 2000

1200

266

673

1200

200

612

1133

266

506

1100

200

460

1000

266

385

1000

200

350

950

200

282

900

200

215

850

200

193