AMD Duron 850: Getting ready for the battle

Last year we were all witness to very intense competition between AMD and Intel.  However, most of this competition occurred on the performance PC and mainstream market segments, leaving the value market to be dominated by Intel. 

We have already explained the reasons behind the Celeron's continued success in spite of the Duron's performance superiority and lower price.  Without a value platform to run on, the Duron was crippled as a value solution in the retail market, paving the way for sustained dominance by Intel's Celeron.

Just recently we have seen the introduction of two chipsets in particular that could help change things for AMD's Duron, the SiS 730S and the VIA KM133.  As we illustrated in our individual reviews of the two, the SiS 730S is actually the faster overall solution in everything but 3D applications/games because of its more mature 2D drivers and core.  And when paired up with either of these solutions, the AMD's Duron is an instant contender for the value PC market. 

As of last week, the Celeron now features a 100MHz FSB, giving it a hefty performance boost over its older predecessors that used a 66MHz FSB.  Last week's release also brought the Celeron up to speed with the Duron, running at 800MHz.  Intel's most recent moves are intended to send a signal to AMD, that they are ready and willing to defend their grasp on the value PC market. 

We are on the brink of another price and clock speed war in the CPU market, this time between Intel's Celeron and AMD's Duron.

In response to Intel's most recent Celeron release, AMD is arming the streets with yet another speed upgrade for the Duron.  Now being released at 850MHz, at a price lower than Intel's Celeron 800 that we reviewed last week, AMD is ready and willing to do what it takes to gain a foothold in the value PC market once again.