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AMD Ships Mobile K6-III

New chip runs at 380 MHz, has largest combined system cache.

By Christian McIntosh, PCWorld   

AMS Tech is shipping two new notebooks based on the AMD K6-III-P mobile processor: the $1695 Roadster CTA and the $1895 Roadster 15 CXA. Both models run on a 380-MHz chip and a 6.4GB hard drive, 64MB of SDRAM, and a 24X CD-ROM drive.

Compaq will ship a new line of Presario mobile Internet PCs powered by the K6-III-P chip later this quarter. The new AMD-based Compaq systems will be available at the company's "Built For You" retail kiosks as well as on its Web site, according to Alex Gruzen, general manager of Compaq's Consumer Mobile Division.

The K6-III-P processor leverages AMD's TriLevel Cache design, sixth-generation micro-architecture, and a 100-MHz frontside bus. By comparison, Intel's mobile PII Dixon chips feature a 66-MHz frontside bus. AMD's K6-III-P also has double the L1 cache of Intel's fastest mobile Celeron and PII chips.

"With its bigger cache and higher clock speed, the mobile K6-III-P is extending the high performance, sub-$2000 notebook space," says Martin Reynolds, a mobile computing analyst with the market research firm Dataquest.

Existing Design

And the K6-III-P has the same footprint as the company's K6-2 mobile chip. "The mobile AMD K6-III-P is compatible with (our) existing Super7 platform infrastructure," says Martin Booth, product marketing manager for AMD's mobile processing division. Because AMD's new mobile chip is PIN-compatible with existing K6-2 notebooks, vendors won't have to invest in a new design, Booth says.

Introduced earlier this year with the mobile K6-2 chips, AMD's 3DNow technology also figures prominently into the mobile K6-III-P design. 3DNow enhances 3-D graphics, soft DVD playback, and speech recognition.

The mobile K6-III-P operates at a core voltage of 2.2 volts with an extended case temperature rating of 80 degrees Celsius compared to a 1.6 core voltage and 100 degree Celsius case temperature for Intel's latest 366-MHz mobile Celeron. Intel uses Voltage Reduction technology to optimize performance at lower power levels.

"The only downside to AMD's new mobile chips is that the power meter is still a little high," says Reynolds. "They are not suitable for ultrathin and light mininotebooks."

Gaining on Intel

AMD has stepped up its efforts for notebook systems this year. The mobile K6-2 processor shipped in January, followed by faster 350-MHz and 380-MHz models in March.

Mobile K6-2 chips are available in Toshiba Satellite notebooks, Compaq Presario Internet notebooks, Compaq Prosignia Business notebooks, and IBM's Thinkpad iSeries.

So far this year, AMD has recouped a significant share of the U.S. retail portable market. AMD's K6 mobile market share jumped from 27.1 percent in January to 46.9 percent in April, according to the latest PC Data Hardware Report. By comparison, Intel dropped from 70.1 percent to 47 percent during the same four-month period.

But the retail market represents only a slice of the notebook pie. "The notebook retail market is quite specialized," Reynolds notes. "Most notebooks are sold through nonretail channels." AMD is doing well in the retail space relative to Intel because of its price-performance advantages, Reynolds adds.