AMD Duron 1GHz Review
09/05/00 By: Jack Kolesar
Introduction
It has been just over two months since the introduction of the
Athlon MP. With its arrival, came some new features. This included an improved
Data Prefetch, Increased L1 TLB (Translation Lookaside Buffer), SSE Implementation,
and an on-die thermal diode (though, not supported with current Mom-Board/BIOS
combinations). AMD has taken this new design and used it in its latest 1GHz
Duron release. Though crippled with the smaller L2 cache, the 1GHz Duron is
virtually a "Duron MP". Here is a quick run down of what the new
features offer.
- Data Prefetch - CPU will predict what data it needs from main memory
and stores it in cache
- Increased L1 TLB - Used to translate virtual to physical addresses
to improve clock-cycle efficiency
- SSE - Full set of additional SIMD instructions used in Intel CPU's.
Not SSE2.
- Thermal Diode - Most likely included but needs BIOS support to protect
and monitor CPU core overheat
- For more information on these features check out Anandtech's
very complete Athlon 4 article.
The new Duron may not work on all motherboards because of the new core. A BIOS
update may be needed in order for the CPU to function correctly and to take
advantage of the new features. I used my Abit KT7A-RAID with the latest BIOS
and I did not have any problems. As shown below, H-Oda's WCPUID lists SSE support
in the processor.
Additional notes about the new core is that it is now rectangular
in shape (click image for larger view) and does not contain the additional bridges
of the Athlon MP. The CPU I received from Monarch had the L1 bridges cut. However,
the CPU's that AMDZone and AMDMB received were unlocked with L1 bridges intact.
I spoke to Kyle over at HardOCP who also received a cut Duron. I originally
thought that the bridges were connected but looking VERY closely at them I could
see that they were disconnected. Kyle informed me that they are using a new
tool to cut the bridges, as the cut is much finer. In any case, I penciled them
in and the Duron was unlocked with no problems. If you have problems adjusting
the multiplier on yours, take a closer look. Also, the Morgan does not seem
to have the power saving features of the Athlon 4 design. I expected the CPU
to operate at a lower core voltage but was surprised to see it default to 1.75V.
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