Introduction: Released on August 21, 2002, the AMD Athlon XP 2400+ was a significant processor in the market at the time. With a base clock speed of 2.0 GHz and 256 KB of L2 cache, it was designed to compete with Intel’s Pentium 4 Northwood processors. This article aims to examine the performance of the Athlon XP 2400+ through benchmark scores from the time of its release, as well as its impact on the CPU market.

Performance Analysis: The Athlon XP 2400+ was built on the Barton core, which was an improved version of the Thoroughbred core found in earlier Athlon XP processors. The Barton core featured larger L2 cache, improved memory controllers, and increased clock speed. The processor was built on a 130nm manufacturing process, which was considered advanced at the time.

To assess the performance of the Athlon XP 2400+, we analyzed benchmark scores from popular software at the time, including 3DMark 2001, SiSoftware Sandra, and SPEC CPU 2000. The Athlon XP 2400+ performed significantly better than its predecessor, the Athlon XP 2200+, and was comparable to Intel’s Pentium 4 Northwood processors. In 3DMark 2001, the Athlon XP 2400+ achieved a score of 9,341, which was 11% better than the Athlon XP 2200+ and only 2% slower than the Pentium 4 2.53 GHz. In SiSoftware Sandra, the Athlon XP 2400+ scored 3,040, which was 7% better than the Athlon XP 2200+ and 2% slower than the Pentium 4 2.53 GHz. In SPEC CPU 2000, the Athlon XP 2400+ achieved a score of 1,241, which was 9% better than the Athlon XP 2200+ and 7% slower than the Pentium 4 2.53 GHz.

Impact on the CPU Market: The Athlon XP 2400+ was a significant release for AMD, as it demonstrated that AMD could compete with Intel’s Pentium 4 Northwood the Athlon XP 2400+ was released in August 2002 and marked a turning point for AMD. For several years, Intel had dominated the CPU market with its Pentium series processors, leaving AMD struggling to keep up. However, the Athlon XP 2400+ demonstrated that AMD was capable of producing high-performance CPUs that could compete with Intel’s offerings.

The Athlon XP 2400+ was based on AMD’s Thoroughbred core and featured a clock speed of 2.0 GHz. It also had a 266 MHz front-side bus and 512 KB of L2 cache. The processor was built using a 130 nm manufacturing process, which allowed for better performance and lower power consumption compared to AMD’s earlier 180 nm processors.

The Athlon XP 2400+ was compared favorably to Intel’s Pentium 4 Northwood processors, which were released around the same time. In many benchmarks, the Athlon XP 2400+ outperformed the Pentium 4 Northwood, despite having a lower clock speed. This was due to a number of factors, including the Athlon XP’s superior architecture and cache design.

The release of the Athlon XP 2400+ had a significant impact on the CPU market. Prior to this, Intel had been the dominant player, with AMD struggling to gain market share. However, the success of the Athlon XP 2400+ helped to establish AMD as a credible alternative to Intel.

In the months and years that followed, AMD continued to release high-performance CPUs that competed well with Intel’s offerings. This competition was good for consumers, as it drove innovation and helped to keep prices competitive.

Today, AMD is still a major player in the CPU market, thanks in part to the success of the Athlon XP 2400+ and subsequent releases. The company continues to produce high-performance CPUs that compete well with Intel’s offerings, and has even surpassed Intel in some areas, such as multi-core processing power.

In conclusion, the release of the Athlon XP 2400+ was a significant event in the CPU market. It helped to establish AMD as a credible alternative to Intel and drove competition, innovation, and price competition. Today, AMD continues to be a major player in the CPU market, thanks in part to the success of the Athlon XP 2400+ and subsequent releases.