AMD Athlon XP 2600+ (333MHz) Review November 19, 2002 Brandon Bell

Introduction

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AMD has had no problems announcing new CPUs during the latter half of this year, in the past three months we’ve seen four new releases, the Athlon XP 2400+, 2600+, 2700+ and 2800+. Unfortunately, purchasing these CPUs has been rather difficult, supplies of the Athlon XP 2400+ were dry up until roughly a month ago, while the 2600+ and 2700+ have only become available within the past few weeks.


This has been a little frustrating for consumers in the market for a new CPU, as these chips are no slouches when it comes to performance and are priced to move. Part of the problem originates from AMD’s difficulties with its new 0.13-micron manufacturing process. While AMD practically executed flawlessly at 0.18-micron, they got off to a shaky start at 0.13. The first chip based on the process, the Athlon XP 2200+, hardly scaled beyond its initial clock speed of 1.8GHz. Meanwhile, Intel had no problems cranking up the clock speed of its Pentium 4 processors.

In response, AMD implemented a few changes to its 0.13-micron cores in order to enable higher clock speeds on these processors. An additional metal layer was added to the Thoroughbred core, giving the new chip a total of nine layers. To reduce electromagnetic interference, additional decoupling capacitors were added. Finally, the circuit paths within the processor were optimized. As a result of these changes, the die of the chip is a little bigger and the transistor count increased slightly, so these chips are physically more expensive to produce, but if AMD is able to increase its yields as a result of these changes, the added expense pays for itself.

But that’s not the only thing AMD has done to spice up its Athlon XP line, it has also implemented a 333MHz bus on its Athlon XP 2700+ and 2800+ processors. By moving to a 333MHz bus, bandwidth to the processor increases from 2.1GB/sec to 2.7GB/sec, a 22% increase. This is significant because as clock speeds continue to rise, the processor spends more time idling as it waits to retrieve data from main memory. By increasing the bus speed, the processor is better fed, increasing its efficiency. Another positive is that the processor and memory bus now operate in synch, reducing latency.

So where does a 333MHz Athlon XP 2600+ fit in with all of this? By utilizing a 333MHz bus, AMD can produce a processor that performs similarly to the original 2600+, but at the same time it operates a lower clock speed. Right now demand for the 2600+ exceeds its supply, so by producing a 333MHz 2600+ chip, AMD is able to fill the OEM and retail channels with more processors. During testing we found that the 333MHz Athlon XP 2600+ is also a little faster than its 266MHz predecessor, another bonus!



SIDEBAR: Normally we’d link to the official PR announcing this chip here, but AMD snuck the 333MHz Athlon XP 2600+ under the radar.

More 333MHz details

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Pricing and Availability

Officially AMD is charging the same price for its 266MHz Athlon XPs as it is for the 333MHz chips: $297. Keep in mind this figure represents the bulk price AMD is charging its customers, street prices for the Athlon XP 2600+ are actually a little bit lower than that -- $289 at the time this article was written.

This places it right in line with Intel’s official pricing. In comparison the Pentium 4 2.53GHz officially lists for $243 while the 2.66GHz chip officially sells for $305. Street prices for both chips however, are currently below that of AMD’s Athlon XP 2600+. We have a feeling this will probably change though as 2600+ chips hit the retail channel. Right now there are barely two pages worth of Athlon XP 2600+ CPUs (both 266MHz and 333MHz) so supplies of these chips are still limited. Once more retailers receive their 2600+ chips, price competition will really begin to set in and we’ll see the prices drop rapidly. At least that has been the case with AMD processors historically.


AMD has commenced shipments of both its 266MHz and 333MHz Athlon XP 2600+ CPUs, so availability on these processors will be better than the initial 2600+ launch. We can already find both chips online at Price Watch and with larger online retailers, so if you feel the need to upgrade after reading this article, finding a chip online shouldn’t be too difficult.

Spotting a 333MHz chip

Since they’re both utilizing the same model number, how do you differentiate between a 266MHz 2600+ and a 333MHz variant? One method would be to read the fine print for the clock speed. The 266MHz Athlon XP 2600+ runs at a clock speed of 2.13GHz (16x133) while the 333MHz XP 2600+ operates at 2.083GHz (12.5x166). Hopefully retailers will also clearly state the bus speed of the Athlon XP 2600+ chip you’re purchasing when you buy your processor.

If all else fails, you can physically look at its ordering part number – the label on the bottom of the chip. Specifically, you’ll want to look at the last letter on the first line of the part number. If the final letter is a “D” the chip sits on a 333MHz bus, 266MHz chips are denoted with the letter “C”. So our 266MHz chip reads: “AXDA2600DKV3C” while our 333MHz reads “AXDA2600DKV3D”.

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Test Systems

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System Setup

AMD Athlon XP 2700+
AMD Athlon XP 2600+ (333MHz FSB)
AMD Athlon XP 2600+ (266MHz FSB)

Intel Pentium 4 2.53GHz
Intel Pentium 4 2.8GHz

ASUS A7N8X Deluxe
ASUS P4PE

512MB Corsair XMS3200 DDR333 SDRAM

ATI RADEON 9700 PRO
Driver version 6.13.10.6193

30GB IBM Deskstar DTLA 307030 ATA/100 Hard Drive

Windows XP Professional

DirectX 8.1

Benchmarks

3D Mark 2001 Second Edition Build 330 – 32-bit color
Quake III: Arena version 1.17
Serious Sam: The Second Encounter
Unreal Tournament 2003
Jedi Knight II


SIDEBAR: System manufacturers Falcon NW, Alienware, VoodooPC, ABS, and MicronPC have the exclusive on the Athlon XP 2800+. Retail availability will really open up at the beginning of next year.

3D Mark 2001

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3DMark 2001 - DirectX 8

Analysis

At 800x600x32, the 333MHz Athlon XP 2600+ performs five percent faster than the 266MHz chip, allowing it to outperform the Pentium 4 2.53GHz in this test. In fact, it’s able to close to within 3% of the Athlon XP 2700+ and 2.8GHz Pentium 4.


SIDEBAR: We used the retail ASUS N78X Deluxe for this review, a few online vendors have just begun selling this motherboard.

Serious Sam 2

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Serious Sam 2 - OpenGL

Analysis

We see an even larger gap between the 333MHz Athlon XP 2600+ and the 266MHz variant – six percentage points. Once again the margin between the XP 2600+ (333) and Athlon XP 2700+ is 3%. Considering the money you save, the XP 2600+ turns out to be a pretty good value.



SIDEBAR: AMD has pretty much finished phasing out the Duron, only the 1.2GHz and 1.3GHz models are officially listed on their price list, and they’re both under $50.

Quake III

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Quake III - High Quality

Analysis

The margins largely remain the same in Quake 3 as they were in Serious Sam 2, seeing these numbers we’re sure many of you are probably eyeing a 333MHz Athlon XP 2600+!


SIDEBAR: While the nForce2 chipset supports AGP 8x, the RADEON 9700 PRO was actually running in AGP 2x mode. We had AGP 8x enabled in BIOS, but the ATI drivers reported AGP 2x operation.

Comanche 4

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Comanche 4 demo

Analysis

Comanche 4 is more CPU-limited than the previous tests, as most flight simulators are. We’ve also noticed that Comanche 4 tends to favor the Pentium 4 platform. In any case, the margin between the 333MHz and 266MHz Athlon XP closes to 3% at 800x600, which is also the margin between the XP 2700+ and the XP 2600+ (333MHz).


SIDEBAR: Can you believe that the Athlon XP 2100+ is already priced under $100?

Unreal Tournament 2003

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Unreal Tournament 2003 - flyby

Analysis

Unreal Tournament’s botmatch tests utilize the CPU to handle bot AI, making it a good test of the single-player campaign, but not very indicative of multiplayer. In any case, the Athlon XP chips sweep this test, with the XP 2700+ and both Athlon XP 2600+ finishing in the top three spots (the 333MHz XP 2600+ outperforms the 266MHz variant by 5% at 800x600).

The flyby test also gives the edge to the Athlon XP 2700+, with the 333MHz 2600+ finishing behind by 4%.



SIDEBAR: Back by popular demand, botmatch results!

Jedi Knight II

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Jedi Knight II - OpenGL

SIDEBAR: Our 333MHz Athlon XP 2600+ is a week 40 processor; in comparison our Athlon XP 2700+ was manufactured during the 35th week of this year.

Ballistics Report

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Pros

333MHz bus: While it runs at a lower clock speed (2.083GHz versus 2.13GHz) the 333MHz bus this Athlon XP chip sits on actually allows it to outperform its older sibling. Therefore, if your motherboard is capable of running at 333MHz, we recommend you pick up a 333MHz Athlon XP 2600+ variant rather than a 266MHz chip, even if it costs a little bit more. Plus your processor is in synch with its memory bus.

Performance: While it may not be the fastest processor on the planet, the Athlon XP 2600+ is still quite a performer. And now that it’s got a 333MHz bus it’s even faster. Pair your Athlon XP 2600+ with a motherboard based on the nForce2 chipset and you’ll be in gaming nirvana.

Price: AMD is officially pricing its Athlon XP 2600+ the same regardless of bus speed. So “officially” the 333MHz chip is a free performance upgrade. Interestingly enough, Price Watch actually lists the 333MHz variant $1 cheaper than the 266MHz model (although the clock speed is listed at 2.13GHz so you may want to call and confirm its authenticity).

In any case, AMD is pricing these processors to compete with the nearest Intel equivalent. Historically AMD has more or less tried to undercut the competition by 25%, which doesn’t quite apply here, but the Athlon XP 2600+ is still priced to move.

Cons

Street Price: With so few vendors stocking Athlon XP 2600+ CPUs at this point there really hasn’t been enough time for prices to fall. In the case of the 266MHz Athlon XP 2600+ there’s only one vendor below $290 currently listed on Price Watch (eight for the 333MHz CPU).

Give retailers a few more weeks and you’ll find more chips available at this price point or lower.



SIDEBAR: While the 2800+ is the fastest chip announced for desktops, the Athlon MP line tops out with the 2200+ model.

Final Verdict

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