Computex: 1.4GHz Athlon, 950MHz Duron

The processor MHz wars continue in conjunction with the Rambus/DDR saga. At Computex today, AMD announced 1.4 GHz Athlon and 950MHz Duron processors, both supporting DDR memory. Keep in mind that these numbers ain't from Tom's labs, but AMD claims that 1.4GHz Athlon-based systems with DDR memory outperform 1.7GHz Intel P4 systems by up to 40 percent on "a variety of benchmarks," and the Durons whoop similarly-equipped Celerons by 30 percent. Compaq is pushing systems right now that have AMD's new processors under the hood and AMD says they'll be available soon from Hewlett-Packard, MicronPC, and NEC-CI. The 1.4 GHz Athlon processor, with a 266MHz FSB or 200MHz FSB, is priced at $253 in 1,000-unit quantities. The 950MHz Duron processor is priced at $122 in 1,000-unit quantities. Get extended Computex show coverage by signing on for Tom's Hard Newsletter here .