Introduction
AMD Duron 900 MHz Processor Review
This content was originally featured on Amdmb.com and has been converted to PC Perspective’s website. Some color changes and flaws may appear.
While most of the readers of this article no doubt know of the Duron’s speed and power when compared against its rival in the budget PC-market, the everyday, retail consumer does not. AMD is trying to bring their low cost processor to the fore front of the retail word by releasing yet another stepping, keeping the Duron a steady distance ahead of Intel’s Celeron. The Duron 900 MHz, which is officially announced today, April 2nd, is another attempt by AMD to do just that.
As I mentioned in my Athlon 1.33 GHz Review, the only place where AMD doesn’t have a good user base is in the retail and mail-order PC world, which makes a large majority of the sales number each quarter. For instance, just tonight I was in a local Best Buy and local Staples store. I saw an overwhelming majority of Intel-based systems. Why? Because the name has stuck into our culture and it is just taking some time for AMD to get on the same household name business.
The numbers don’t lie: every Athlon beats the P3 and every Duron beats the Celeron. If we can see that, why can’t the Dells, Gateways and HPs see it? In addition, the cost of these AMD processors is lower (at least to end consumers) than their Intel counterparts.
Back to the current review, does the latest AMD processor, the Duron 900 MHz, up the ante on Intel as it should? Is it worth your money as a system builder or upgrader? The last Duron we reviewed was the 800 MHz brethren, back in October. I will compare the Duron 800 v the Duron 900 and the Athlon 1.33 v the Duron 900. Not a fair fight, but we will later compare the price / performance of each.
