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PC Hardware in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition
book

PC Hardware in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition

by Robert Bruce Thompson, Barbara Fritchman Thompson
July 2003
Beginner to intermediate content levelBeginner to intermediate
874 pages
38h 13m
English
O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Content preview from PC Hardware in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition

AMD Processors

Until late 1999, Intel had the desktop processor market largely to itself. There were competing incompatible systems such as the Apple Mac, based on processors from Motorola, IBM, and others, but those systems sold in relatively small numbers. Some companies, including Cyrix, IDT, Harris, and AMD itself, made Intel-compatible processors, but those were invariably a step behind Intel’s flagship processors. When those companies—which Intel calls “imitators”—were producing enhanced 286s, Intel was already shipping the 386 in volume. When the imitators began producing enhanced 386-compatible processors, Intel had already begun shipping the 486, and so on. Each time Cyrix, AMD, and the others got a step up, Intel would turn around and release its next-generation processor. As a result, these other companies’ processors sold at low prices and were used largely in low-end systems. No one could compete with Intel in its core market.

All of that changed dramatically in late 1999, when AMD began shipping the Athlon processor. The Athlon didn’t just match the best Intel processors. It was faster than the best Intel could produce, and was in many respects a more sophisticated processor. Intel had a fight on its hands, and it does to this day.

If you ever take a moment to appreciate how much processor you can get for so little money nowadays, give thanks to AMD. Without AMD, we’d all still be running sixth-generation Intel processors at 750 MHz or so. An entry-level Intel processor ...

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Publisher Resources

ISBN: 059600513XErrata Page