AMD claws for top with new chip
Published: 13 Mar 2002 10:16 GMT
AMD is again challenging Intel for the PC processor speed crown with a new chip for desktops.
AMD on Wednesday will unveil its Athlon XP 2100+ processor at the CeBIT trade show in Hannover, Germany. The 1.73GHz chip outperforms Intel's 2.2GHz Pentium 4 on several benchmarks, the company claims, although Intel's chip sports a more impressive clock speed.
Compaq Computer will release PCs with the chip in North America, and Fujitsu-Siemens will put it in it boxes for the European market. Hewlett-Packard expects to adopt the new chip later.
AMD will also release Athlon XP 1600+ for notebooks, and Athlon XP 2000+ for workstations and servers. Compaq plans to use the former in its consumer notebooks.
All of these markets -- desktops, notebooks, workstations and servers -- will be crucial for AMD this year, executives have said.
Sunnyvale, California-based AMD and Intel have battled over desktop performance supremacy since August 1999 when the first Athlon debuted. At various times, each company has been able to declare itself No. 1.
Overall, the top chips of both companies are roughly equal, according to most analysts, and they each offer more computing power than most consumers will likely use. Still, having the best chip is a powerful marketing tool, and among hard-core computer enthusiasts the "AMD or Intel?" debate can run just as hot and furious as the Mac/PC battles.
AMD-based computers also often sell for $100 (£70) less than their Intel counterparts, making them better buys, according to some benchmark testers.
The latest phase in the competition began in October 2000 when AMD launched the Athlon XP, which contained an enhanced processor core and a new name.
Intel then countered in early January with the Northwood version of its Pentium 4, a chip which features a performance-enhancing 512KB Level 2 cache, the largest for a desktop chip to date. Intel's chip was also made on the 130-nanometer manufacturing process, which should allow Intel to increase the clock speed with greater ease.
The fun, of course, won't stop there. The new 2100+, 2000+ and 1600+ chips will be the last AMD manufactures with the older 180-nanometer process. An upcoming Athlon chip called Thoroughbred, based on a 130-nanometer processor core, is expected to have even higher clock speeds. It is due next quarter, slightly later than expected.
When purchased in 1,000-unit quantities, the new 2100+ chip will list for $420, the 2000+ chip will list for $415, and the mobile 1600+ processor will go for $380.
Additionally, AMD cut prices on its Athlon 4 mobile chips. The 1500+ chip was reduced by 52 percent, from $525 to $250. The 1.2GHz saw the largest price cut, 55 percent, from $425 to $190. The 1.1GHz was cut by 40 percent from $290 to $175, while the 1.0GHz fell by 42 percent from $260 to $150.
Price cuts from AMD, though, are sometimes difficult to gauge as the company often gives even larger discounts to its big customers. These additional discounts often end up causing chips to sell at retail for less than the "official" price from AMD.
To find out more about the computers and hardware that these chips are being used in, see ZDNet UK's Hardware News Section.
Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Go to the Chips Central Forum.
Let the Chips Central editor know what you think by email. And sign up for the weekly Chips Central newsletter.
Did you find this article useful?
35 out of 68 people found this useful
- Share this article:
