Introduction

Love at First Sight

AMD gave a Valentine's Day gift to all the computer enthusiasts out there. According to the press release, AMD wants you to "Fall Deeper in Love with the World's Fastest x86 Processor: the 850MHz AMD Athlon™ Processor." AMD has reclaimed the speed throne with its new 850MHz Athlon processor, but we're not quite sure about the Valentine's Day themed press release. As sexy as it is, the Athlon 850 isn't the most romantic of gifts unless your lady really digs hardware.

"Honey, I love you so much. I got you an Athlon 850!"
"Wait, why are you trying to open up the casing? I didn't get the golden fingers overclocking card."
"Oh, the diamond earrings aren't in there… Uh, I think I left them in the car… I'll be right back."

Well guys, buying the processor for her probably isn't the best way to get you hands on this chip, but who says you can't get a gift? We suggest leaving subtle hints around the house. Perhaps you could print out a couple copies of the press release and leave them around the house (i.e. on her pillow or on the coffee table). Then, when she's in the room, pick one up and read it. After you finish reading, sigh longingly, look up and act surprised when you see her there. (Note, this should also work for Palm V PDAs, digital cameras, and portable MP3 players.)

The Speed Wars

AMD and Intel are two companies that aren't going to be exchanging Valentine's Day gifts this year. With the introduction of the Athlon, AMD started a heated CPU speed race with Intel. Both companies want the "World's Fastest Processor" crown, and we've seen the crown change hands several times in the past few months.

Intel has encountered a few problems with this processor race. In the past, Intel used to wait until there was a sufficient supply of chips in the channel before announcing a new processor, but things changed starting with the P3-733. Desperate to regain the speed title, Intel was willing to announce the P3-733 before the channel was ready. High demand resulted in shortages, but Intel did it again after AMD released the Athlon 750 by announcing the P3-750 and P3-800 with extremely limited supplies. While you can easily find an Athlon 750 these days, the P3-800 is almost non-existent.