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Advanced Micro Devices added on to each of its mainstream product lines, and revealed that its own transition to the 0.13-micron “Thoroughbred” Athlon processors would begin later this month.
As reported earlier, AMD was expected to launch the AMD 2100+ version of its Athlon processor, which actually runs at 1.7 GHz. AMD, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., said the new processor would be immediately available from PC OEMs such as Compaq, Fujitsu, and NEC.The chip costs $420 in 1,000-unit lots.
“With these newest additions to the flagship AMD Athlon processor family, AMD continues to reinforce the benefits of competition by providing high-performance, innovative technologies that appeal to customers around the world,” said Ed Ellett, vice president of marketing for AMDs Computation Products Group, in a statement. “Our processors, with their outstanding application performance, reinforce AMDs commitment to providing our customers with the outstanding solutions they need in all market segments, including desktop and notebook PCs, servers and workstations.”
The Thoroughbred processors will also ship later this month, AMD executives disclosed, part of a 0.13-micron transition that is about a year later than Intels own conversion. However, Intel also brought up the 0.13-micron technology on its older Pentium III processors, waiting until late last year to commit its newest Pentium 4 chips to the latest technology.
The new Thoroughbred processors will require approximately 80 sq. millimeters of die space, 38 percent smaller than the current 0.18-micron Athlon XP and about 83 percent smaller than the 0.13-micron Pentium 4, according to AMDs estimates. Assuming a fixed manufacturing cost, smaller chips cost less to manufacture on a per-unit basis, given that more of them can be manufactured on a given wafer.
By the end of 2002, AMD expects that all of the AMD Athlon processor family will be produced on .13 micron technology, the company said. AMD also expects to begin shipping its next-generation processor codenamed “Hammer,” which uses a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) version of the .13 micron technology, at the end of the year.
In the meantime, AMDs offering to the one-and two-way server market is the Athlon XP, which was upgraded to a “2000+” approximate clock speed, although the chip actually runs at 1.67 GHz. In 1,000-unit lots, the new Athlon MP costs $415.
Finally, AMD also added a new processor to the Athlon 4 product line, the “1600+” model, which operates at 1.4 GHz. The chip costs $380 in 1,000-unit lots and will be first available in an undisclosed laptop from Compaq.