I still remember the times when Duron 600 and 650MHz processors managed to reach the edge of heaven at 1000MHz and sometimes even outperform considerably more expensive Intel Pentium III 1.0GHz chips. Nowadays, when overclockers push AMD Athlon XP 1700+ and Intel Pentium 4 2.40C to the very limits, AMD Duron is back, our friends from OverClockers.ru web-site proclaimed!

Our colleagues managed to grab an AMD Duron processor at 1.60GHz and test it both at default speed as well as at 2.30GHz against AMD Athlon XP 1900+ (1.60GHz). Even though not all Duron chips are able to function at 2.30GHz, those, who are able, offer very nice performance level at the price of lower than $50.

With unlocked multiplier the Duron processors made using 0.13 micron technology may become a nice choice for users in budget who even plan some overclocking actions. However, the new Duron chips may be quite fast even without overclocking. Take a look at what the guys from OverClockers.ru managed to achieve with AMD Duron at 2.30GHz using system based on ABIT NF7 (revision 2.0), 512MB of PC3500 memory, ATI RADEON 9700 PRO and Thermaltake Volvcano 7 cooler.

As you see, even AMD Duron 1.60GHz with 128KB of L1 and 64KB of L2 cache is a nice performer. In case you are lucky and will manage to overclock it at 2.30GHz with 400MHz EV-6 bus, it will show you amazing speed. Remember that its price is less than $50!

PS. Remember that not all new Duron CPUs are nice overclockers!