AMD Athlon 800 socket: Socket 462

What the Athlon 800 is

The AMD Athlon 800 is an 800 MHz single-core desktop processor from June 2000. It runs one K7 Thunderbird core at 800 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. Power is rated at 45 W in a Socket A ceramic PGA package on a 200 MT/s EV6 bus with an 8x multiplier at 1.75 V.

A clean 8x integer ratio on the 100 MHz clock gives the 800 steady timing, which is why it became a common performance value pick. AMD launched the Socket A 800 on June 5, 2000. The chip supports MMX and Enhanced 3DNow.

Upper entry clocks with a full cache suit Socket A towers with PC133 memory and AGP graphics. The 45 W envelope keeps coolers modest. That is why the 800 shipped in performance home desktops.

Socket and motherboard compatibility

The 800 fits Socket A performance value desktops with Thunderbird support. It needs a 462-pin board with a 200 MT/s bus and a BIOS that lists Athlon 800. The Socket vs chipset: what decides whether a CPU works guide covers pairing rules.

Performance value towers are the natural match. Boards listing Athlon 800 accept the chip with a 45 W cooler.

Memory, PCIe and cooling

Memory is SDRAM through the board chipset, matched to the board sockets. The CPU has no memory controller. Performance boards commonly run PC133 pairs.

A 200 MT/s EV6 bus ties the CPU to the chipset, while AGP and PCI hang off the chipset. No PCIe lanes originate on the die. Cooling uses the Socket 462 lug clip with a 45 W cooler.

Upgrade paths

On the same socket, a move to an Athlon 850 such as AMD Athlon 850 keeps the board for 50 MHz more at 47 W when the support list names it. An Athlon 750 drops 50 MHz at 43 W.

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