Jun. '00 Headlines

Beginning in June 2000, AMD will begin shipping `Celeron-competitive` CPUs based on the Athlon core. This new microprocessor will be released as the `Duron`, which literally means "to last".

AMD has touted that the Duron will have better performance marks over the Intel Celeron-- this is true because the Duron has a more modern architectural design. The Athlon core (which the Duron is based on) utilizes a 200 MHz Front-Side BUS between the chipset and mainboard, and will support the upcoming DDR SDRAM standard. The P6 Celeron only uses a 66 MHz BUS; which creates bottlenecks in both hardware and software aspects. In addition, the Celeron operates on 66 MHz RAM, which in present-day is just ridiculous.

Strangely, the Duron will play catch-up with the Celeron in the L2 cache arena. For 2 years now, the Celeron has utlized a full speed L2 cache. Albeit a piddly 128 KB, it did help the entry-level CPU gain acceptance by the technological world. The Duron will support a full-speed L2 cache, which past Athlons have failed to do. At present time, there are reports that the secondary cache might run at a disgusting 64 KB; let's just hope this is not true. (The Duron does include a large 128 KB L1 on-chip, however, only 64 KB is allotted for data.)

It's easy to understand AMD wanting to implement a "few" good features for a value-conscious product, and at the same time cut corners to create an attractive price tag. If the Duron is released with a 64 KB L2 cache, it will definitely draw product tiers between this very CPU and AMD's `higher-class` Athlon and Thunderbird chips; the big performance gap between the three AMD products can almost guarantee that the Duron will hold a rock-bottom price. Early reports show that Duron pricing will begin between $75 and $180; the high end price tag being reserved for the 700 MHz flagship.

AMD does have a good reputation for stability and reliability in the PC world; the increasing percentage of AMD-based systems truly exhibit this fact. Even with questionable `L2 cache` issue, the Duron will still turn heads in the CPU market. This does seem to be an Achilles' Heel for the new Athlon derivative; but in retrospect, they should easily smoke the current crop of `66 MHz` Celerons.

<<Main Page

Microsoft's Future Hanging in the Rafters [06/00 Top Story]

AMD to Release Duron Processor

MP3 Format on the Rise Despite Music Industry

VMware Gets Dell Funding

CALROG.COM 2000 Headlines.Copyright Info listed here. Thank you for visiting CALROG.COM, where we report the latest technology for the public throughout a monthly schedule.