First there was 2600 baud, then there was the 2600 'Club', and now there is the brand-spanking new AMD AthlonXP 2600+ processor running at 2.133GHz! The release of the AthlonXP 2600+ marks two eventful moments for AMD - this is the first Athlon processor they have released which to operates over the 2.0GHz mark, and this on the three year anniversary of the Athlon processor.

Alongside the Thoroughbred-based AthlonXP 2600+ is the AthlonXP 2400+ which runs at exactly 2.0GHz. In OEM quantities the 2600+ is priced at just $297USD, and the 2400+ at just under $200USD. Mainstream retailers are expected to begin offering the new 2GHz plus AMD chips in systems by September, just in time for the back to school buying season.

Both processors operate on the 266 Front Side Bus (FSB) so our hopes of a 333MHz FSB AthlonXP are not going to be realized just quite yet.

The AthlonXP 2600+ is manufactured at AMD's Dresden Germany FAB 30 (which has not been affected by the sever flooding in that area thanks to a lofty placement in the local landscape) on the 0.13micron process and features 128KB of L1, and 256KB of L2 cache. The continued use of the Thoroughbred core means that the new 2.133GHz parts will have die sizes of 84mm squared, a transistor count of 37.6million and an average power output of 62Watts. The stepping of choice at the moment is "AXDA."

The transistor count has increased slightly from the previous AthlonXP 2200 stepping of 37.2 million to 37.6million. The core surface area has also grown to 84mm squared from just 80mm squared before.

	Processor Model	Operating Frequency (GHz)	Nominal Voltage	Typical Thermal Power	Maximum Thermal Power	Typical Current Working State	Max Current Working State	Pricing
	1700+	1.467	1.50V	44.9W	49.4W	29.9A	32.9A	$114
	1800+	1.533		46.3W	51.0W	30.9A	34.0A	$130
	1900+	1.600		47.7W	52.5W	31.8A	35.0A	$139
	2000+	1.667	1.60V	54.7W	60.3W	34.2A	37.7A	$155
	2100+	1.733		56.4W	62.1W	35.2A	38.8A	$174
	2200+	1.800	1.65V	61.7W	67.9W	37.4A	41.2A	$183
*	2400+	2.000	1.65V	62.0W	68.3W	37.6A	41.4A	$193
*	2600+	2.133	1.65V	62.0W	68.3W	37.6A	41.4A	$297

According to AMD some changes to the Thorougbred core were implemented to "add an additional layer of metal o reduce resistance and capacitance." Additionally, decoupling capacitors have been added to reduce electromagnetic interference (EMI). The AthlonXP core is essentially unchanged from an architecture standpoint, and will remain so until the release of Barton which is road mapped for release in this half of 2002.