In the summer of 2004, AMD announced the availability of its Sempron processor range. Initially positioned as the successor to the successful Duron CPU and direct competitor to Intel’s 90nm-based Celeron D processor, the Sempron range in fact overlaps AMD’s Athlon XP range and signals the rationalisation of both the company’s desktop and mobile CPUs going forward, to either the Sempron or Athlon 64 ranges.
All of the chips initially announced are based on AMD’s 130nm process technology. At the top of the desktop line-up is the 3100+ part. This comes with a Socket 754 interface, prolonging the life of the motherboard socket that’s been replaced by the Athlon 64 in favour of a unified Socket 939 approach. The other parts range from a 2GHz 2800+ chip to a 1.5GHz 2200+, and all come in Socket A form:
| Model Number | Frequency (GHz) | L2 Cache |
|---|---|---|
| 3100+ | 1.8 | 256KB |
| 3000+ | 2.0 | 512KB |
| 2800+ | 2.0 | 256KB |
| 2600+ | 1.833 | 256KB |
| 2500+ | 1.750 | 256KB |
| 2400+ | 1.667 | 256KB |
| 2300+ | 1.583 | 256KB |
| 2200+ | 1.5 | 256KB |
Beyond the range of chips announced in 2004, as well as being available in faster clock speeds, the Sempron is expected to migrate to both the Socket 939 platform and 90nm process technology sometime during 2005.