AMD Rolls Out 850 MHz Athlon

Advanced Micro Devices has unveiled its newest chip, the 850 MHz Athlon, and snatched the lead in the megahertz race from rival Intel. Although Intel is expected to bring out 850 MHz and 866 MHz versions of its Pentium III processor soon enough, AMD will also be the first of the two chip-making giants to switch to copper interconnects in their processors. AMD is expected to make that switch in the second half of this year, while Intel is slated to do so in 2001. Copper interconnects are said to be the next big technology breakthrough to improving processor performance and increasing clock speed.