Are they the same?

[Capricorn]

Is my Athlon 1.2ghz 266fsb the same as the Athlon 1.2ghz Thunderbird?

[Rocinante]

Yes, the thunderbird was the second generation Athlon, and I believe the classic Athlon only reached 1Ghz. But an easy way to be 100% sure is if the CPU is not in a big black Cartridge, its a thunderbird.

[remerson]

yep, it's a T-bird. everything with a 266 FSB is.

[JWW]

[quote]Originally posted by Rocinante:
<strong>Yes, the thunderbird was the second generation Athlon, and I believe the classic Athlon only reached 1Ghz. But an easy way to be 100% sure is if the CPU is not in a big black Cartridge, its a thunderbird.</strong><hr></blockquote>

No there were some Slot A Thunderbirds produced.

The Thunderbird core is available in both 200Mhz & 266Mhz DDR FSB ratios. So if you order a 1.2Ghz Athlon you could get either a 200Mhz or a 266Mhz CPU, unless you specify which one you want. If you are looking for the new Athlon '4' CPU's then look for a 1.2Ghz Athlon MP.

[Asterchild]

Just to add to JWW's post:
The different versions of the Athlon:
Version 1: The original K7 Slot A Athlon, produced with 0.25 technology.
Version 2: The K75 Slot A version, this used 0.18 technology.
Version 3: The Thunderbird Socket A version, using 0.18 technology.
Version 4: The new Athlon 4 version, using 0.18 technology

The Tbird is available in two flavors:
200MHZ - Labeled with a B
266MHZ - Labeled with a C

Example: This is my chip's stepping:
AMD Athlon
A1200AMS3B <--- The B specifies it as a 200MHZ piece
AXIA0114RPDW
95457441689
W ©1999 AMD

To the best of my knowledge the Athlon 4, while technically the same as of NOW, is different than the Athlon MP. The MP is designed for servers and or workstations. The Athlon 4 will be for home desktops and there will also be a mobile version. As the Athlon 4's come out in strength the difference between the two will grow.

Sources:
<a href="http://www.athlonoc.com/athlon4.php" target="_blank">Different Versions Info</a>

--Aster

[JWW]

Yes the Athlon 4 is primarily designed for Notebooks & other mobile systems, & slightly differs from the MP by not having the enhanced way the cache is utilised on the MP . The Athlon 4 is though still pin compatiable with Socket A & I have seen a few wholesalers offering MP's as Athlon 4's on back order lists.

[Fierce]

I think the classic Athlons (K7 Slot types) only went as high as 950Mhz....so anything that is referred to as "Athlon" and is 1.1Ghz or higher is either the Thunderbird or MP series.

[Rocinante]

Well pointed out JWW