AMD Athlon 600 socket: Socket 462

What the Athlon 600 is

The AMD Athlon 600 is a 600 MHz single-core desktop processor from June 2000. It runs one K7 Thunderbird core at 600 MHz with no turbo, so 1 core gives 1 thread. Cache is 256 KB of full-speed on-die L2 with 128 KB of L1 on a 180 nm process with 37 million transistors. Power is rated at 38 W in a Socket A ceramic PGA package on a 200 MT/s EV6 bus with a 6x multiplier at 1.75 V.

On-die cache at full CPU speed separates Thunderbird PGA parts from Slot A cartridges with third-speed external cache, which is why the 600 at 600 MHz leads Slot A 600 MHz cartridges in office tasks despite matching clocks. AMD launched Socket A Thunderbird parts on June 5, 2000 from 600 MHz upward. The chip supports MMX and Enhanced 3DNow.

Entry clocks with a full-speed cache suit first Socket A boards with SDRAM and AGP graphics. The 6x ratio is the lowest Thunderbird multiplier. That is why the 600 shipped as the entry Thunderbird in value towers.

Socket and motherboard compatibility

The 600 fits Socket A first-generation desktops with Thunderbird support. It needs a 462-pin board with a 200 MT/s bus and a BIOS that lists Athlon Thunderbird 600. The Socket vs chipset: what decides whether a CPU works guide covers pairing rules.

First SDRAM towers with KT133 paths are the natural match. Boards listing Athlon 600 accept the chip with a 38 W clip cooler. Slot A boards take cartridges only.

Memory, PCIe and cooling

Memory is SDRAM through the board chipset, matched to the board DIMM sockets. The CPU has no memory controller. First KT133 boards commonly run PC100 pairs for 600 MHz parts.

A 200 MT/s EV6 bus ties the CPU to the chipset on a 100 MHz clock, while AGP and PCI hang off the chipset. No PCIe lanes originate on the die. Cooling uses the Socket 462 lug clip with a cooler rated for 38 W.

Upgrade paths

On the same socket, a move to an Athlon 650 keeps the board for 50 MHz more at equal power when the support list names it. A Duron 600 such as AMD Duron 600 halves cache to 64 KB at 27 W for cooler running. A Slot A 600 cartridge is a different package on a different board.

A move to Athlon XP needs 266 MT/s board paths. The Socket 462 page lists the Thunderbird to Barton range for planning.