> It seems like my computer spends as much time in pieces on my dining room table as it does up and running. Currently I've got a Super 7 motherboard on order. I've got a P5-233MMX chip in my computer now, which will hold me for awhile anyway, and with this new motherboard, I'm just a processor and a RAM upgrade away from going all the way to the AMD K6-3 550 (Last I heard, that was going to be top-end for the K6-3).
>

550MHz is the top speed I've heard for the K6-III as well. Not that that means anything; AMD could change their minds and push out a 600MHz version if they want, I guess.

> Of course, this is kind of the last hurrah for the Socket 7 motherboards. Socket 370 is the wave of the future. I'm waiting for Merced still!
>

I read an interesting article a month ago or so, which specilated on the possibility of Intel moving their Pentium III line back from Slot 1 to Socket 370 in the future, following the transition from 512K of in-package L2 cache to 256K of on-die L2 cache. This would make the processors cheaper to produce, and it would be pretty ironic, considering the way everyone bally-hooed Socket 370 as a cheesy, worthless Intel marketing gimmick to restrict the performance of their "Basic PC" processor, the Celeron.

> Also, would you happen to know what the K7 will fit in? I don't think it's going to be a socket 7 chip, but I haven't seen any specs that say what it will fit into.
>

The only thing I've ever heard about this is that AMD has planned so far to introduce the K7 on a platform they're calling "Slot A", which will be physically compatible with Intel's Slot 1, but not electrically compatible. The idea was to reduce costs by allowing motherboard manufacturers to use existing procedures to make the actual processor connector, instead of requiring an entirely new piece.
It'll be interesting, however, what AMD will decide to do in the even that Intel really does move its P-III over to Socket 370 in the future. Presumably, they'll stick with Slot A, since the K7 is supposed to be a high-end processor, with versions that have 2MB, 4MB or 8MB of L2 cache. You just can't fit all that L2 cache onto a processor die, so they'll need a cartridge form to hold it all. Maybe they'll make a socket-based K7 for those versions with small amounts of L2 cache, as well as the planned Slot A for versions with larger amounts of L2 cache. I don't know; this is just getting into rank speculation.

Iss "the rankest speculator around" achar