AMD Trumps Intel With 1-Gigahertz Chip

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. has started shipping processors that run at 1 gigahertz, beating rival Intel Corp., the world’s largest chip maker, to the milestone in computing by just days. AMD will announce today that it is selling the Athlon 1-GHz chips. Intel is expected to make a similar announcement Wednesday, analysts said. AMD leaped ahead of Intel last month with the announcement of a 850-MHz processor, and the two had been racing to be first to announce the 1-GHz version. The win is important for Sunnyvale, Calif.-based AMD, which has struggled to hammer out production problems and overcome delays that contributed to losses for seven of the last 10 quarters. For the first time in years, AMD has a product line that rivals Intel in almost every segment, from cheap consumer PCs to expensive corporate machines. That helped AMD boost its forecast for first-quarter results, with sales expected to be close to $1 billion. The 1-GHz chips from both AMD and Intel are expected to cost up to $1,500.