AMD is set to announce its two newest chips tomorrow (October 1st) but that is not all that will change. The new chips will support a staggering 333MHz frontside bus (FSB) and the launch will coincide with the official announcement of the nForce 2 chipset.
The importance of the holiday season to chip makers is critical, if they are to pull clear of the 2 year recession of the technology market.
Part of the strategy of both large processor manufacturers, Intel and AMD, has been to create a tense competitive environment where speed has become paramount. That way they manage to push new chips which offer miniscule improvements over previous ones. Following that way of thinking AMD are expected to reduce the price of its other chips, making the Athlon XP2600+ an ideal holiday gift for any hardcore PC enthusiast.
The launch of the new chips is bound to re-ignite the benchmarking wars which have been going on for longer than anyone cares to remember and many sites have already begun releasing tests on the new Athlon chips with the nForce 2 chipset.
One problem which AMD must confront is that of distribution since there are complaints that the XP 2400+ and XP 2600+ have not yet reached the European market. If that is true and the problems continue then Europe will not, likely, see the new offerings until 2003.