Athlon XP 2100+ (AMD Athlon (Slot A))

Member Name: aldohead

Product:	AMD Athlon (Slot A)
Date:	23/04/02 (1127 review reads)
Rating:

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**technical Stuff dude!!!***


Introduction
After for the monumental brawl between the Athlon XP 2000+ and Pentium 4-2.2 GHz processors, which incidentally were released the same day, we have been waiting to see which company would flinch first. Many expected Intel and their high-scaling Pentium 4 to make the first move, potentially tilting the performance results in their favor by jacking the clock speed or FSB quite significantly. The other potential move would have AMD introducing their new 0.13-micron Thoroughbred core at a high clock speed, and basically taking the Pentium 4 to town.
Neither of these events has come to pass, and instead AMD has released the Athlon XP 2100+. This model is a faster Athlon XP processor, using the same Palomino core as its predecessors, and does not include the much-anticipated Thoroughbred core. This is by no means bad news, as the existing Athlon XP is a very fast processor core and increasing its speed to 1.73 GHz for the 2100+ means higher performance for the AMD crowd, along with the promise of lower prices for the rest of the line.

In many ways, this seems like a bridge processor, designed to span the gap between the Palomino and Thoroughbred cores, while still giving Intel fits in terms of competitive performance. AMD understands that Intel can rapidly scale the Pentium 4 architecture; but until the newer AMD core is available, this is a great interim move. The interesting part comes when we see exactly how fast the Athlon XP 2100+ is, and whether AMD can perform a clean sweep of the benchmark testing.

Conclusion
This is basically yet another story of the fast getting faster, with AMD ratcheting up their Athlon XP clock speed and taking back top spot in the desktop performance market. While not an attractive upgrade option for existing Athlon XP owners, those wanting the highest AMD performance will appreciate the option of including the Athlon XP 2100+ in new system buys. This st
ory gets more interesting when you realize that AMD is doing this without the benefit of 0.13-micron technology or an increase in FSB speed, and these results get us even more hyped for the upcoming Athlon Thoroughbred core and the possibility of a 333 MHz bus.

Pros:

Fastest Overall Desktop Processor
Excellent Price-Performance
Great Positioning at the 2100+ Performance Rating
Cons:
Still Waiting for Thoroughbred Core
Pentium 4 Northwood Runs Cooler
A Small 66 MHz Speed Jump

Summary: