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

This week we see three new high-end processors from AMD. First we have the 1.3GHz Athlon and the 1.33GHz Athlon-C (133MHz DDR FSB). We expect AMD to officially announce these processors at the end of March. At that time the price of those chips should drop significantly.

Next we have the 1.2GHz Athlon-C. Even though this part just started showing up on the OEM market, it is only $12 more than its 200MHz FSB brother. Until the 1.3GHz CPU's are officially announced, we recommend buying the 1.2GHz parts for high-end solutions as they are significantly cheaper. The 1.13GHz Athlon-C has also had a large drop in price this week. It can now be found for $222. It should be noted that a motherboard that supports the 266MHz (133MHz DDR) FSB is required to take advantage of Athlon-C processors.

The rest of the Thunderbird line of processors remained relatively stable this week. The 1.0GHz Thunderbird dropped $11 making it a steal at just under $170. The 850MHz part is also a good deal for those looking to build a cost-effective, midrange performance system.

AMD's "classic" Slot-A Athlons saw a slight downward trend in prices this week. The largest price drop came from the 900MHz chip which can be found for $179. The 900MHz part is still the best buy in this category as it is relatively cheap and offers excellent performance for the current Slot-A motherboard owner. Those looking to upgrade an older Athlon system need only upgrade their motherboard's BIOS is order to support these higher clocked Athlons.

The low-cost Duron line of processors showed some slight price drops this week as well The 850MHz chip can now be found for $78, however the 800MHz part is still a better deal for only $63. Those interested in overclocking should look to the Duron 700MHz, which is a steal at only $46.

If you are looking for a truly cheap Duron system you may have to wait some time as there are currently no low-cost motherboards for these processors. Expect motherboards based on the SiS 730S and KM133 chipsets to be the best solution for cost-effective systems as they include integrated video and sound which can greatly reduce the cost of systems.

Related Reviews

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