Is AMD playing a funny numbers game?
AMD’s numbering system for the XP line of processors is a way AMD is able to market their devices to be on par with similar Intel processors but run at a lower clock speed. For example, the AMD Athlon XP 2600+ runs at 2.083 GHz but has the performance on par with an Intel P4 2.6 GHz. While there may be a debate as to whether this is fair or not, benchmark after benchmark proved that the lower clock speed AMD could hold its own against the higher clock speed Intel’s. According to AMD’s website FAQ: … AMD identifies the AMD Athlon XP processor using model numbers, as opposed to megahertz. Model numbers are designed to communicate the relative application performance among the various AMD Athlon XP processors. The numbering system also is a way to discern the different cores that the processor contains. Currently the XP processors that are shipped have one of two different cores: Thoroughbred B and Barton. Processors that are numbered 2200+ and above have the Thoroughbred
