AMD readies Duron for low-end launch
Apr. 29, 2000 (Electronic Engineering Times - CMP via COMTEX) -- SAN MATEO,
CALIF. - Advanced Micro Devices Inc. is preparing to launch a new microprocessor
aimed at the low-cost desktop market. The Duron chip, previously known by its
code name, Spitfire, features on-die Level 2 cache and will be produced at
0.18-micron line widths, the company said.
Designed specifically to compete against archrival Intel Corp.'s Celeron line,
the Duron family of processors will use a new packaging style the company is
calling Socket A. AMD is moving away from the slot infrastructure demanded by
off-die caches, partly because the smaller, 0.18-micron process allows
integration of L2 cache onto all of its processors.
The company is also working on a new Athlon product code-named Thunderbird,
again featuring on-die cache. Thunderbird will be available in both a Socket A
and a Slot A version, but it will be the company's last slot-based processor
design. Both Duron and Thunderbird are expected to debut in the middle of the
year.
AMD has two more products on its road map for 2000: Mustang, an Athlon processor
with an extra-large L2 cache, and Corvette, a mobile version of the Athlon with
a standard-size cache. SledgeHammer, a 64-bit processor aimed to compete against
Intel's Itanium, is slated to debut next year.
eetimes.com
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