Weekly CPU & Video Card Price Guide: February 2001 2nd Edition

After over a month of stagnant prices, AMD CPUs have finally begun to show some price changes. In addition, the 1.13GHz Athlon-C (266MHz FSB) has been spotted on the OEM market and is competitively priced at $265. The 1.0GHz Athlon-C, introduced in the last price guide, has also dropped significantly in price, putting it $5 over the 1.1GHz 100MHz FSB Thunderbird. This price premium is well worth the increase in performance of the 266MHz FSB. It should be noted that a motherboard that supports the 266MHz (133MHz DDR) FSB is required to take advantage of Athlon-C processors.

As for the rest of the Thunderbird line of processors, prices have shown a slight downward trend. The 1.0GHz Thunderbird is still an excellent deal at just under $180. The 850MHz part is also a good deal for those looking to build a cost-effective, midrange performance system.

The "classic" Slot-A Athlons continue to increase in price and are becoming difficult to find. The 900MHz Athlon is the best buy in this category as it is still relatively cheap and offers excellent performance. Those looking to upgrade their Slot-A systems may want to buy one of these processors soon as prices will continue to rise as the quantity falls.

AMD's low-cost Duron line of CPUs have shown some decent price reductions this week. The newly announced 850MHz part is now $89, however the 800MHz is a much better deal running for only $68. Those interested in overclocking should look to the Duron 700MHz, which is now 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.