Not So Fast--Chip Speed Isn’t Everything

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. this week introduced its latest computer chips and unveiled a set of brands that it says will help consumers understand how the processors stack up against those of Intel Corp.

Advanced Micro started selling four models of the Athlon XP, previously code-named Palomino and based on a new design. The top processor runs at 1.53 gigahertz.

Intel and Advanced Micro have long touted a chip’s speed as an easy way for consumers and businesses to judge performance and raced to boost their numbers. Advanced Micro became the unlikely winner for most of last year and then found itself lagging when Intel’s Pentium 4 debuted in November.

A new puzzle emerged: Athlon outdoes the faster Pentium 4 in some tests, and Advanced Micro wants to convince people speed isn’t everything.

At 1 GHz, 1 billion electrical pulses move through a chip each second. The more pulses, the faster a chip performs tasks in a computer.

Advanced Micro said it will start a new marketing theme, using model numbers to indicate the speed of the comparable Pentium 4 chip. The company wants to add a new performance standard next year that would calculate the amount of work done in addition to the speed.