Introduction

They say time flies when you're having fun, and it must be true because today is the Athlon's third anniversary, and it nearly passed right under our radar. It doesn't seem that long ago when AMD released the Athlon processor and really put their name on the processor map. Subsequently, AMD and Intel traded product releases back and forth, with each looking to outdo the other. Over the past few months though, Intel has been the company consistently pushing the Pentium 4 envelope, while building a very impressive performance lead. AMD still had the value card to play, but just as in the 3D video card arena, being able to lay claim to the fastest hardware carries with it many inherent benefits.

AMD is celebrating the Athlon anniversary in style and has surprised the industry by launching new Athlon XP 2400+ and 2600+ processors. These are some pretty big numbers for AMD to be pushing and the sudden jump to 2400+ and 2600+ model numbers are a very different tactic over previous 2000+, 2100+ and 2200+ incremental releases. This is just the kind of release needed to combat the Intel Pentium 4 steamroller, and may allow AMD to not only hit Intel hard on the value side, but to also give them a run for the performance crown.

If there is any concern with the Athlon XP 2400+ and 2600+ introduction today, it is that mass market availability of the processors won't occur until September, so we're just a bit ahead of the curve. Interested buyers will need to have patience, and understand that we are presenting a CPU that seems to be positioned (quite well we might add) to head off the consistent Pentium 4 releases, and get some much-needed attention going AMD's way. Regardless of the timing, newer, faster Athlon XP models are exactly what the doctor ordered and we're glad to see AMD finally taking the initiative.

The processor we will be reviewing is the Athlon XP 2600+, which is the upcoming flagship of the AMD processor line and the model that will compete head-to-head against the fastest Intel has to offer. This is an extremely important release not only to combat the Intel Pentium 4 incursion, but to instill confidence with the AMD faithful. The Thoroughbred core didn't exactly get off to a rousing start with the Athlon XP 2200+, but AMD has made some very important changes to make sure these new Athlon XP Thoroughbreds can run with the best of them.