Barton's Here: Athlon XP 3000+ vs. P4 3.06 GHz

Fab30 Yield (Dresden): Max. 163 Barton CPUs Per Wafer!

Since AMD's production is based exclusively on wafers measuring 200 millimeters in diameter, the total silicon surface is 31,416 mm². If you divide wafer surface by the size of the CPU die, you will get the theoretical yield without geometric waste.

In actual production, 18 percent waste is the average for 200 mm wafers. As you can see in our wafer diagram, we calculated 12.2 percent waste with optimal surface usage with the Barton core. At this level, if the yield rate is 100 percent, the theoretical yield is 273 CPUs.

Experience has shown that a yield rate of almost 60 percent is possible during ongoing production, which translates into a yield of 163 CPUs per wafer. While the exact numbers are a closely guarded secret, our calculations are, most certainly, not far off the mark. They are comparable to industry standards.

Wafer with Barton CPUs: when everything works out right, AMD can produce 163 Barton Athlons from one wafer, according to THG's internal calculations and industry standard data.