CompTIA A+® Certification All-In-One For Dummies®, 2nd Edition

2.4. Don't Forget Non-Intel Chips

One of Intel's major competitors is Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). AMD has developed a family of processors that compete with Pentium-class processors. In this section, I provide an overview of some of the characteristics of the AMD processors.

2.4.1. K6

The AMD K6 processor was designed to compete with the original Intel Pentium. The K6 has 64K of L1 cache, supports MMX technology, and has built-in branch prediction techniques. This processor has 321 pins, which means that it will fit into a Socket 7–supported motherboard.

2.4.2. K6-2

The K6-2 processor was designed to compete with the Pentium II chip. It has 64K of L1 cache and 256K of L2 cache. The K6-2 also supports dynamic execution, MMX technology, and superscalar design.

The K6-2 has added 3DNow! technology, comprising a number of additional instructions integrated into the chip to improve 3-D graphics applications. The K6-2 chip also uses a 100 MHz motherboard speed, which is a big improvement over the 60/66 MHz motherboard speed that the original Pentiums used.

The K6-2 has 321 pins, which means that it will fit into a Socket 7–supported motherboard.

2.4.3. K6-III

The K6-III processor is designed to compete with the Pentium III chip. This chip shares many of the features of the K6-2, including a 100 MHz system bus. One of its features was the tri-level cache. Not only can it take advantage of an L1 and L2 cache but also an L3 cache that can be included on the motherboard.

2.4.4. Athlon ...