A Classic Lookback: The AMD K6-2 Processor (Page 1 of 1)
Written by
Steve Lake
Posted on: Mar 16, 2007 at 08:56pm
Section:
Hardware
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The K6-2 was AMD's answer to Intel's Pentium processor. Built to operate on the
Socket 7, and later the Super Socket 7, it not only matched performance with the Pentium
processor, but later versions gave the Pentium 2, the descendent of the Pentium processor,
a very hard run for its money. The K6-2 was also a very good processor for the value
minded. Typically AMD processors, since the introduction of the 486 processor,
outperformed all their rivals, yet cost quite a bit less on average than the competition.
This made them the perfect choice for the budget minded. But over time the
lower cost of the processor, combined with its performance pulled AMD to the forefront of
processors of the time and gave Intel a hard run for its money. While AMD didn't
overtake Intel in total sales until recently, they hurt the chip giant enough to actually
send Intel running in fear for the first time in their existence.
The original K6, a direct competitor to the Pentium processor, was for all intents and
purposes the same, with a few minor differences. The K6-2, the second generation of
the K6 line however was a vast improvement over the original K6 and included AMD's 3d-Now!
technology, an SIMD instruction set that provided enhanced processing for 3d enabled
applications, games and graphics programs. The K6-2 is also most notable in the fact
that AMD beat Intel to the market with a 3d enhancing processor instruction set by nearly
six months. Intel belatedly and sheepishly released their SSE instruction set late
and with equal, or slightly less impressive performance compared to AMD's 3d-Now!
technology.
But this wouldn't be the only punishment that AMD would dish out to Intel during this
time. The K6-2 operated on the updated version of the Socket 7 architecture known as
the Super Socket 7, a technology that was supposedly obsolesced by the introduction of the
Slot 1 architecture by Intel. Even so the K6-2 consistently outperformed the Pentium
2 time after time and even some early versions of the Pentium 3. It was this roaring
success that funded AMD sufficiently enough to enable them to develop the Athlon processor
line, which is so famous today.
The K6-2 also existed during a transition period between SDram and DDR and could
function with either PC66 or PC100 DDR, or standard SDram. It was also most notable
in being the first processor on the Socket 7 architecture to use a 100mhz frontside bus,
and the first processor ever to have a 100mhz frontside bus, beating out the Intel Pentium
2, which originally clocked in at 66mhz, by several months. In fact, AMD's running
revolution of firsts mixed with its budget price put Intel is a tight place. Their
Pentium 2, and later the Pentium 3, processors were too expensive to effectively compete
with AMD's mainline chip, the K6-2, in the budget pc market, a sector that was exploding
much faster than the performace cpu market. So in an effort to invade AMD's
territory, Intel created the Celeron processor, a stripped down version of the Pentium 2,
and later the Pentium 3 and above, and created a chip that, although selling well, has
become the bane of computer users the world over for its grievously lackluster performance
and persistent heat issues.
Overall the K6-2 did exceptionally well in the market and did a lot to put AMD
permanently on the map, eventually leading to a huge chi war with Intel on all levels,
including servers and performance chips, that still rages to this day. While some
might say that the K6-2 was actually a lackluster chip that happened to be in the right
place at the right time in the right price range to take advantage of a few key mistakes
by Intel, I believe differently. I think the K6-2 was the first major victory for
AMD in a long war littered with minor wins here and there. But even so, it's K6-2 is
a chip that's made its mark in history as one of the greatest processors of its time, a
claim that can never be disputed.
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