Athlon is the brand name applied to a series of x86-compatible microprocessors designed and manufactured by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). The original Athlon (now called Athlon Classic) was the first seventh-generation x86 processor and, in a first, retained the initial performance lead it had over Intel's competing processors for a significant period of time. The original Athlon also had the distinction of being the first desktop processor to reach speeds of one gigahertz (GHz). AMD has continued using the Athlon name with the Athlon 64, an eighth-generation processor featuring x86-64 (later renamed AMD64) architecture, and the Athlon II.
The Athlon made its debut on June 23, 1999. Athlon comes from the ancient Greek άθλος (athlos) meaning ″very tough task″.
Read more about Athlon: Background, General Architecture, Athlon Competitors, Supercomputers