SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Speeding up its product launch as well as its product, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. here today announced initial shipments of 1-gigahertz Athlon microprocessors. The first commercially available systems based on AMD's 1-GHz Athlon will be available from Compaq Computer Corp. and Gateway Inc.
Both AMD and rival Intel Corp. were expected to make 1-GHz announcements this week, but AMD apparently moved up by a couple of days. The action may have been precipitated by the accidental posting of launch details on AMD's website on Friday, which was reported by several news organizations.
"The commencement of commercial shipments of 1-GHz AMD Athlon processors is awatershed event not only for AMD, but also for the personal computer industry," said W.J. Sanders III, chairman and CEO of AMD.
"Attaining the 1-GHz performance mark has long been a paramount goal for producers of PC processors," he said. "Introduction of a PC processor capable of executing 1 billion clock cycles per second is our industry's equivalent of breaking the sound barrier."
AMD is currently shipping its 1-GHz AMD Athlon processors priced at $1,299 in 1,000-unit quantities. AMD is also announcing the availability of 950-MHz and 900-MHz Athlon processors. The 950-MHz Athlon processor is priced at $999 in 1,000-unit quantities. The 900-MHz Athlon processor is priced at $899 in 1,000-unit quantities.
Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst at Insight 64 in Saratoga, Calif., noted that it was impressive that AMD achieved 1-GHz speed in the Athlon just nine months after launching the product line. "AMD has dramatically quickened the pace of performance improvement and permanently altered the competitive landscape in the microprocessor industry," he said.
