# Pentium III vs AMD-K6/Athlon

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pentium-iii-vs-amd-k6-athlon/4624>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 8, 1999, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pentium-iii-vs-amd-k6-athlon/4624 "1999-11-08T19:03:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Homer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df788c/32.png) [@Homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homer)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 1999, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pentium-iii-vs-amd-k6-athlon/4624/21 "1999-11-10T05:50:00Z")

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Forgot something: When choosing a chipset, think about upgradeability. The PIII uses the same slot as the PII/Celeron. The Athlon uses a different type. So don’t think you can get a Celeron and upgrade to an Athlon next month, unless you plan on a new motherboard, also. The Athlon has 200mhz bus, which is damn quick. Better than the 133 bus of a PIII, which only uses 100 mhz SDRAM anyway, so the 33 bump doesn’t really matter that much. The Athlon uses true 200 mhz memory… so it’s very expensive, but very fast. Also, the Athlon can (but shouldn’t) be overclocked to 1.2 ghz. Yes, that’s GIGAhertz. The top speed of this incarnation PIII is 900mhz (IIRC), but the next gen (due in a few weeks… PIII.5) will go up to 1.3ghz, I believe. ALWAYS cool the FUCK out of your system if you plan on overclocking. Also, if you plan on getting a GeForce 3D card, get an Athlon. It’s the only one that even comes CLOSE to being fast enough to run it respectably. Now, Nerd, I know I’ve probably fucked some of this stuff up, so correct me if I did.

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We are the children of the Eighties. We are not the first “lost generation” nor today’s lost generation; in fact, we think we know just where we stand - or are discovering it as we speak.

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**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 1999, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pentium-iii-vs-amd-k6-athlon/4624/22 "1999-11-10T17:00:00Z")

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Whatever.

So anyone got their fav online sites to buy these chips & the prices?

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**Author:** ![StrTrkr777](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@StrTrkr777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StrTrkr777)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 1999, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pentium-iii-vs-amd-k6-athlon/4624/23 "1999-11-10T17:42:00Z")

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[www.pricewatch.com](http://www.pricewatch.com) does a fairly good job of showing the prices for each different CPU as well as other equipment and they give you links to the vendors’ websites and the manufacturers’ websites.

The best price for the Athlon 700 is $671.  
The best price for the Athlon 600 is $403

The best price for the PIII 600 (133Mhz) is $445.  
Now remember that the Athlon is a 200 Mhz bus speed and the PIII is only 133.

Jeffery

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**Author:** ![TheNerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@TheNerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheNerd)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 1999, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pentium-iii-vs-amd-k6-athlon/4624/24 "1999-11-10T22:41:00Z")

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Actually, Homer, you’re pretty much on target. But I think you’re getting into too much technical detail for the original question.

[pricewatch.com](http://pricewatch.com) is good (and what I usually use)  
[techdeals.net](http://techdeals.net) for bargains  
[killerapp.com](http://killerapp.com)  
[shopper.com](http://shopper.com)

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