AMD Athlon 1GHz, 950MHz, 900MHz

Conclusion

Without resorting to supercooling techniques, rather an increase in the core voltage and a decrease in L2 cache speed, AMD has finally hit the magical 1GHz mark. This can be considered to be a pretty big milestone in x86 history, while Kryotech was actually the first to hit 1GHz with the Athlon, AMD was the first to do it using conventional cooling methods. The users that run the most demanding professional level software including OpenGL applications will definitely appreciate the raw power the 1GHz Athlon and its 900/950MHz siblings bring to the table without having to resort to super cooling methods, but for most users the 1GHz mark doesn't hold much value other than its cool-factor.

It is somewhat unbelievable that you will be able to go online and purchase a 1GHz system by the end of this week, but for us and most AnandTech readers, the big question is when can we see an Athlon with a full speed on-die L2 cache? The answer is just around the corner, as it has been rumored that the Thunderbird will be released within the next 2 - 3 months. But how well will the Thunderbird perform?

What we have just provided you with are benchmarks of AMD's latest 1GHz offering, now according to our sources, simply adding the 256KB of on-die L2 cache to the 0.18-micron Athlon should improve performance by 10 - 20%. If you're interested in speculating how fast a 1GHz Thunderbird would be, try multiplying some of those 1GHz scores by a factor of 1.10, 1.15 or 1.20. Impressive, no?

At 1GHz the Athlon is quite impressive as it is, but it's still not as fast as we'd like it to be. For users other than those in the professional arena where every last bit of performance counts and influences how well you can do your job, most of us can wait until the Thunderbird is released in the next 2 - 3 months and truly redefines performance for the Athlon. Until then, for overclockers especially, it makes the most sense to go out and purchase a lower clocked Athlon at a cheaper price, invest in an overclocking card and try to get as close to 1GHz as possible.

For those that want the hottest Athlon on the block, 1GHz systems will be available shortly with CPUs due out next quarter not to mention the 900/950MHz parts that should be available this month. For the patient or budget restricted, the Thunderbird will be every bit worth the wait if you can manage to control yourself while these three new CPUs go on sale.

As for Intel, AMD just served, the ball is in Intel's court now. Later this week they will respond with a 1GHz announcement of their own without deviating from their current plan to mass produce 1GHz Pentium III's in Q3-2000. Until then, the monitors at AMD are displaying a 'Waiting for reply...'

For more benchmarks on the 1GHz Athlon, read Sharky Extreme's review of the 1GHz Athlon.