Conclusion
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Well, another two months have passed and now we have a new processor from AMD. While the extra 70 MHz is nice and it definitely is the fastest processor available anywhere, it is nothing revolutionary as far as architecture or technology are concerned. There is a nice 4-5% increase in performance when compared to its predecessor. If you already have an 1800+ or 1900+, I don’t see a reason to upgrade. However, if you are below those levels, perhaps even on the older Thunderbird cores, the Athlon XP 2000+ will look very appealing to you! Speed upgrades are necessary and show the power of the Palomino core — but I think that the time will be coming sooner than some think for the end of the much-anticipated Palomino.The Thoroughbred core is basically the same as the Palomino except it will run on a smaller die. There won’t be many (if any) changes in the instruction set, performance features or anything else. Our original guess at the release of this new core was the middle of 2002, but it would appear AMD has ramped up the development of it in order to sway those who might be tempted by the coming Northwood from Intel.
While a new processor is alwasy exciting to see, there are much more interesting things going on in the world of the AMD-based platforms. Amdmb.com will very soon have more reviews of quite a few more KT266A motherboards, the beginnings of the nForce chipset boards, and don’t forget about the MPX chipset for you low-cost dual-processor fans. There have been a couple slight delays — but they will soon be worked out and the boards will be in your hands. As always, for anything relating to the world of AMD, stay close to Amdmb.com for the latest news and reviews!
Also, be sure to check out the AMD Forums for all the latest discussion and trouble-shooting for AMD-based hardware.