Latest developments at AMD

AMD processors now go all the way up to AMD's XP 3200+, and their dual-processor CPUs go all the way to the Athlon MP 2800+. However, there is some unrest in the IT press about AMD's numbering system. In the earlier days an XP 2000+ did compare with Intel's Pentium 4, 2.0 GHz in performance. With the faster AMD processors the "Intel Equivalency Numbering" is looking unrealistic. The XP 3200+ seems to perform on par with the Intel 3.06 GHz Pentium 4, or below. It does not compare with an Intel Pentium 4 3.2 GHz processor.

Whether it's Intel's faster bus speed or the new technology - hyped under today's new buzz word: "hyperthreading" - the fact is that Intel is moving ahead. Intel's dropping their insistence on the more expensive RD RAM and allowing motherboard manufacturers to build boards that support the Pentium 4 using cheaper DDR SDRAM memory modules has also made Intel the preferred option of most technical/review websites. AMD though does remain the lower cost option, and speed isn't everything.

Of course, the only constant in this business is change. There is the new AMD processor called the Opteron on the horizon. It promises 64 bit processing (as opposed to 32 bit at the moment). While hardware that handled 64 bit applications has been around for a while this is the first time that a platform supports both 32 bit and 64 bit processing and will be targeted at the SOHO market. Most home users won't benefit for a long while as there aren't any 64 bit applications for the domestic/small business market. In due course that will change. And Opteron will be available for purchase. And Intel will be on the verge of announcing another new technology/advantage in the leapfrog game to have the fastest processor