AMD pumps up Athlon speed to 1GHz for Comdex

Chip contender Advanced Micro Devices is now expected to demonstrate a 1GHz Athlon using a .18 micron process technology at next week's Comdex/Fall exhibition in Las Vegas. At the same time, it will announce availability of the 750MHz Athlon, and is likely to show a .18 micron 800MHz part, either on the stand or behind closed doors. It will also introduce an ad campaign in the US this Saturday, focusing on the performance of the Athlon versus the Pentium III. The 750MHz and 800MHz parts show that AMD's roadmap, which it revealed to The Register at Fab 30 in Dresden earlier this year, appears well on track. Sources close to AMD have said that the company is likely to go with a 1GHz processor in January of next year. It already has the 750MHz Athlon in production, according to sources close to AMD, and could start shipping the 800MHz whenever it chooses to. The issues are marchitectural, rather than architectural. In other words, AMD wants to maximise sales of its current processors and not jump the gun, even though it could. The news will be a further blow to Intel, which is still unable to ship a whole clutch of .18 micron Coppermine processors it announced last month, and is still reeling from comparisons between its Pentium III and the Athlon. Intel is also smarting because AMD has managed to undercut its prices. The US nationwide advert AMD will run is targeted at Intel. According to Jill Linstedt, VP of communications: "The message we want to communicate is the AMD Athlon processor is faster than Pentium III at any clockspeed. The AMD Athlon processor is targeted at end users who are looking for superior power and performance, whether running standard productivity software or the latest cutting-edge consumer, business, and scientific applications." ® See also AMD Athlons undercut equivalent Pentium IIIs Intel beset by further Coppermine, chipset delays