AMD reveals first details about dual-core Athlon 64

Sunnyvale (CA) - Intel will demo a complete lineup of dual-core processors at its developer forum next week. To keep up the pace, AMD today revealed first details of its first desktop dual-core chip, which is expected by mid-year. The company may be second with the introduction of a desktop chip, but there is no doubt AMD will be breathing down Intel's neck with a capable processor.

The announcement offered little details in specs and leaves more room for speculation of the final processor, how it will stack up against the single-core Athlon 64 and Intel's Smithfield dual-core Pentium chip. So far, AMD limits its details to 1024 kByte of L2 cache for each CPU for a total of 2 MByte. The processor, code-named "Toledo", will be built in 90 nm, integrate 205 million transistors as well as a shared Northbridge with single HyperTransport link and Dual-channel 128-bit DDR memory interface.

The announcement put little emphasis on the performance capability of the chip. Instead, AMD stressed a "least disruptive transition" for users and a "cool and quite" operation of the chip. The company mentioned in the past, that the performance could increase within certain applications by 30 to 55 percent compared to a single-core chip. Brown was more conservative saying that Toledo will meet the "user's performance expectations in terms of productivity."

Even if AMD has not released specifications of Toledo so far, it would not be surprising, if AMD's Toledo would be close in performance to Intel's Smithfield. We would expect clock frequencies to come in at a clock frequency about 2.2 GHz and Intel's chip with a least 2.8 GHz. Traditionally, Intel's Pentium architecture needs about 600 to 700 MHz more frequency to match the performance of the Athlon architecture. Industry sources indicate that this condition may continue to exist in the dual-core segment. Analysts such as Roger Kay from IDC believe that the power advantage of Toledo could become a critical element in the performance race with Smithfield: "Intel already has a 20 watt power handicap. This puts pressure on the architecture and performance of the chip."

According to industry sources, Smithfield is rated at a maximum power consumption of 130 watts, compared to 110 watts of Toledo. If AMD is able to scale Toledo beyond 2.4 GHz, Intel could end up in an uncomfortable position, the sources said.

It is still too early to judge which company has the right dual-core strategy. Kay hesitated to praise one or the other firm's approach, but agreed that the success of dual-cores will come with the availability of multi-threaded applications that allow multitasking.

Related stories:
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AMD to keep dual-core processors in current 90nm power envelope
Intel begins dual-core production, announces 945 and 955 chipsets
Intel's dual-core CPUs to set new record high in power consumption

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Wolfgang Gruener
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Wolfgang Gruener is an experienced professional in digital strategy and content, specializing in web strategy, content architecture, user experience, and applying AI in content operations within the insurtech industry. His previous roles include Director, Digital Strategy and Content Experience at American Eagle, Managing Editor at TG Daily, and contributing to publications like Tom's Guide and Tom's Hardware.