Gerald,
Re:"AMD introduce 1GHZ in a few days"
YOU ASKED:AMD moves to 1-GHz on Monday
By Joe Wilcox and Michael Kanellos
Staff Writers, CNET News.com
March 3, 2000, 4:55 p.m. PT
AMD will try to trump Intel by releasing a 1-GHz Athlon processor on Monday, sources said today, although it's a good bet that Intel will try to move up the release of their one-gig chip to the beginning of the week as well.
The two companies are locked in a race to get the first PC processor running at 1-GHz, or "one gig," out the door first. Two weeks ago, chips running at this speed weren't expected until the middle of the year. Intel, however, recently moved up the release of its 1-GHz Pentium III. Intel's release has so far been planned for Wednesday, sources said.
Computers will be announced along with the new chips. Compaq is expected to release an Athlon system while HP and IBM are likely to introduce Pentium III 1-GHz systems. Low-end Athlon systems with monitors are expected to start below $2,500 and comparable Pentium III PCs around $3,000 and above. Higher-end models could approach $4,000, sources said.
Along with its 1-GHz Athlon, AMD will also come out with 900-MHz and 950-MHz Athlon processors, various sources said.
While both companies will announce chips next week, the bigger question will be which company can produce them in volume. Intel has been suffering from shortages of high-end Pentium IIIs since October. While Intel executives and analysts say the situation has improved, consumers and dealers say the fastest Pentium IIIs can still be tough to find. Computer makers have also complained about tight supplies of the fastest processors, especially the 800-MHz chip, Intel's fastest.
AMD has had to endure similar, but less severe, shortages.
"Anyone can make an announcement. The question is who is going to have the first units for sale from a major (computer maker)," said Kevin Krewell, senior analyst with MicroDesign Resources.
Nathan Brookwood, among other analysts, has pointed out that AMD is able to boost the clock speed of Athlon fairly easily. The chip only came out last year, and AMD has yet to take full advantage of all of the potential of the new architecture.
"I think they have the headroom (for 1 GHz)," he said. "That should be well within their capabilities almost at a whim."
By contrast, the fundamental architecture of the Pentium III largely dates back to the Pentium Pro, which came out in the mid-90s. Because it is an older design, Intel has already wrung much of the potential out of the chip. Intel will come out with a new chip, code-named Willamette, toward the middle of the year. Willamette will likely debut at around 1.4-GHz, sources have said, and provide Intel will a new blank slate. However, Willamette will only come out in limited quantities this year. Quote Snapshot
The prices for 1-GHz computers will come at a premium compared to consumer PCs with processors running at lower clock speeds, such as the 733-MHz Coppermine. Because most systems will cost at least 25 percent more than other PCs, many computer makers are planning on lower initial shipping volumes.
PC makers will be largely targeting gamers with these high-end PCs, many of which will come with high-powered 4X AGP graphics cards, 128 MB or more of memory and high-end sound cards. Some manufacturers also will include Rambus memory. |
