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Advanced Micro Devices beats Intel to the punch Monday, launching its 1-GHz Athlon processor. You can buy one of the fast new systems from Compaq and Gateway, and PC World.com's exclusive WorldBench 2000 test results prove the CPU delivers its promised boost.

Intel's fastest Pentium III chip currently runs at 800 MHz, but Intel will probably respond to AMD's salvo with faster chips in days, not weeks, says one industry analyst. Even so, Intel's 800-MHz systems hold up well against AMD's newest CPUs in early benchmark tests. The 1-GHz Athlon Compaq Presario 5900Z scored 154 on the PC WorldBench 2000 benchmark test: It runs about 11 percent faster than another Athlon machine we tested, the Compaq Presario 5900Z-850, which scored 139. Note that the 1-GHz Presario has 256MB of SDRAM memory while the 850-MHz Presario shipped with 128MB of memory. But the extra memory didn't seem to make much difference on PC World's tests.

The 1-GHz CPUs are among the first to be tested with the new PC WorldBench 2000. The test is based, like its predecessor PC WorldBench 98, on real-world applications. But the tests also differ enough that PC WorldBench 2000 scores should not be directly compared with scores achieved with PC WorldBench 98.

Athlon Systems for Sale

The 1-GHz Athlon Presario test machine PC World tested has a 40GB hard drive, 8X CD-Rewritable drive, 10X DVD-ROM drive, network interface card, and a 19-inch monitor; it's priced at $3799. That's not cheap, but if you want or need every bit of speed, or you just want bragging rights, the 1-GHz machine may beckon.

The 850-MHz Athlon Presario has a 40X CD-ROM drive, a 20GB hard drive, and a 19-inch monitor for a more palatable $2564. If you want this Compaq 850-MHz Athlon machine loaded up like the 1-GHz system, it'll cost $3452--about$347 less than the 1-GHz model. That's an attractive choice for people who can live without the 11 percent performance gain of the 1-GHz machine.

Gateway's first 1-GHz Athlon Select 1000 PC scored 157 on PC WorldBench 2000,which is comparable to the Compaq system's 154 score. The Gateway system tested is priced at $3308 and has 128MB of RAM, a 30GB hard drive, 8X/32X DVD-ROM drive, CD-RW drive, a 56-kilobits-per-second modem, and a 19-inch monitor. Gateway's standard-configuration 1-GHz model does not include a CD-RW drive and has less snazzy speakers, which brings the price down to $2999.

The PC WorldBench 2000 score for the 1-GHz Gateway is a 5 percent jump from the 850-MHz Gateway, which scored 150. That system, the Gateway Select 850,comes with 128MB of memory, a 30GB hard drive, a 8X/32X DVD ROM drive, and 56-kbps modem, and 19-inch monitor, for a price tag of $2699.

A not-for-sale 1-GHz reference box that AMD built for PC World's testing earned a 159 PC WorldBench 2000 score. That is about 4 percent faster than the fastest 850-MHz Athlon machine PC World has tested, from CyberMax.