Weekly CPU & Video Card Price Guide: February 2001 1st Edition

There is still very little change in prices for AMD's lines of processors. The entire Thunderbird series has shown only minor fluctuations in price from two weeks ago. However, just because prices have not changed doesn't mean prices aren't good. The Thunderbird 1.0GHz is still a steal at $183 and the 850MHz part can be found for just over $100. AMD's Athlon-C (266MHz FSB) is finally starting to show up in some online retailers. Those looking to buy one of the new Althlon-C's should note that you must also purchase a motherboard capable of handling the 266MHz FSB like the KT133A. Because this processor is so new, prices for it are quite high. Expect prices to drop as more vendors get their hands on these processors. Also, don't hold your breath waiting for the rumored 1.3GHz Athlons as they will not be coming out anytime soon and will most likely not feature the cooler-running Palomino core.

It looks like the time to find a dirt cheap "classic" Athlon has now passed. This week we see major price increases in the high-end spectrum of the Slot-A processors. The price of the 1.0GHz part now exceeds $300 making it unreasonably expensive for those looking to upgrade their older motherboards. It would be more economical to purchase a new motherboard and Thunderbird processor. However, if a new motherboard is not an option, a simple BIOS upgrade will enable you to use a higher clock speed Slot-A Athlon.

The price of the Duron line of processors, like the rest of AMD's line of chips, has remained relatively unchanged this week. The 850MHz part remains priced much higher than the rest of the Duron line. The rest of the Duron's are still priced very competitively to their Intel Celeron counterparts. For overclockers, the Duron 650 can easily make it up to 850MHz and is a steal for under $50.

However a low-cost processor does not always a mean low-cost system, especially in the Duron's case. With the price of bare-bones video cards and sound cards still much more expensive than their equivalents integrated into motherboards, building a cost-effective Duron system may be difficult. The only motherboards available for the Duron are the same ones available for the Thunderbirds; most of which sell for over $120. There is currently no Intel i810 equivalent for AMD processors, so those looking for a truly low-cost system may have to look elsewhere, as SiS 730S and KM133 boards are not available just yet.

Related Reviews

Make sure you check out our latest Athlon and Duron reviews for more information.