Affordable processor power (AMD Duron)

Member Name: Timski

Product:	AMD Duron
Date:	20/04/01 (298 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fast & economical

Disadvantages: May require new motherboard

As part of my new home built system, I decided to go for the budget AMD Duron Processor. Just as Intel have the Celeron processor to make up their budget range for the non-power freaks, so AMD have developed a less expensive version of their Athlon chip.

The Blurb...
The Duron is a derivative of the Athlon processor, which is like a "cut-down" version of their flagship chip. It contains 192 Kb of on-die cache and runs at a speed of 200 MHz thanks to it's Front Side Bus architecture. The original 3DNow set has been improved to Enhanced 3DNow technology which gives far superior graphical feats.

Fitting...
I built my new system from the ground up. For users who just want to upgrade, this may cause a few problems. AMD have re-structured their processor formats, having changed them all to Socket A. Therefore, if your motherboard is of a different type, a new board will be required. This is not too much of a problem though as there are some very good ones available at decent prices. I went for the Soltek 75KV which I will go into more in another op.

In Use...
After fitting the chip and a Cooler Master fan, I booted and installed the latest Via Drivers. I was amazed by the speed of this processor that is at a price to suit anyone. Although the difference between my new system and my old one (Pentium II 350 MHz) should have given me extra speed anyway, I couldn't believe that just a 700 MHz chip could do so much and in such a small period of time. This is where the 200 MHz FSB comes into it's own.

The Verdict...
Although the 700 MHz version isn't available any more from usual retail sources, you may be able to get it from auction sites, etc. However, it would be advantagous to go for a slightly faster version anyway. As with all technology, as the latest version of a product comes out, so the previous versions prices come down. We are now well into the 1 GHz + versions of processor power, which l
eaves the 850, 900 Mhz versions at a good price range to cater for users who demand power but can't afford the "top of the range" chips available. The trick is to figure out:
1. just how much power you require for the type of things you do on your computer.
2. what sort of price range you can run to.
3. will you need another motherboard and fan?
4. way up the MHz per £ ratio of different speeds - there isn't a fixed figure.

At the end of the day, this is a powerful processor which gives excellent speed and great performance at a down to earth price. If you are considering an upgrade or even toying with the idea of building your own system, this could well be the ideal processor for you. With prices at Dabs (www.dabs.com) starting at £47 inc VAT, what have you got to loose?

Summary: