SINGAPORE (03/06/2000) - Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) today began shipping its latest Athlon processor, the first Intel Corp. x86-compatible chip to run at a speed of 1GHz, the company announced in a statement.
The first commercially available systems based on the 1GHz AMD Athlon processor are available immediately from Compaq Computer Corp. with its Presario model and Gateway 2000 Inc.'s US$2,999 Select 1000, the companies said.
The AMD Athlon processor is manufactured using AMD's aluminum 0.18-micron process technology, features an advanced microarchitecture optimized for high clock frequency and the industry's first fully pipelined, superscalar floating point unit for x86 platforms, AMD said. The AMD Athlon system bus runs at 200MHz with support for scalable multiprocessing, the company said.
In the statement, AMD chairman and chief executive officer Jerry Sanders described the breaking of the 1GHz speed barrier as a watershed event for the personal computer industry but the company's lead may turn out to be short-lived. Intel is committed to launching a 1GHz microprocessor by the end of June and weekend press reports suggested an even earlier launch.
The 1GHz Athlon will cost $1,299 in 1,000-unit quantities. The 950MHz and 900MHz Athlon chips, also announced today, will cost $999 and $899 in 1,000-unit quantities, AMD said.
AMD is based in Sunnyvale, California, and can be reached at +1-408-732-2400 or on the World Wide Web at http://www.amd.com/.