Following the release of the XP2700+ and XP2800+, AMD has already begun briefing its motherboard partners on the speeds and features of its upcoming Barton and Hammer chips.
The reasoning behind these briefings, according to AMD, is that partners need to be prepared for the changes introduced by these chips but the timing of the briefings suggests that they were used as a means to soften the blow caused by the expected delay of the chips.
OEM partners just found out that they will not be receiving clawhammer samples within October, as expected, instead, they will have to wait until the end of January 2003.
The facts the briefings contained about the new cores however, were extremely interesting.
Barton
The Barton will start at 2800+ and will feature a 512K level two cache, expected to produce a performance increase of about 10 percent. The Barton based chips will peak at 3000+.
The last processor to carry a 266MHz front side bus will be the 2600+.
Production of the 1.3GHz Duron will cease at the end of this year, with quantities available expected to last until the first quarter of 2003.
The Hammer core chips will start at a PR of 3400+, leaving a gap between the end of Barton and the beginning of the Hammer range.
AMD also provided its partners with figures about global sales.
North America and Europe both yielded 21 per cent of AMD desktop usage, while in Eastern According to the company then, in North America and Europe AMD has a 24 percent of the market, in Japan it has 31 percent, APAC 17 percent and the rest of the world 34 percent.
Consumers and enthusiasts make up 40 percent of AMD's business, with education being responsible for seven percent and government nine percent of sales.
