AMD Athlon 1300 socket: Socket 462

What the Athlon 1300 is

The AMD Athlon 1300 is a 1300 MHz single-core desktop processor from March 2001. It runs one K7 Thunderbird core at 1300 MHz with no turbo, so 1 core gives 1 thread. Cache is 256 KB of full-speed L2 on a 180 nm process. Power is rated at 68 W in a Socket 462 package with part numbers A1300AMS3B on a 200 MT/s front side bus with a 13x multiplier. The cpu_list March 2001 date matches the table March 21, 2001, and the monthly value is used here.

Thunderbird Model 4 runs cache at full CPU speed, which separates it from early Argon and Pluto parts with half-speed cache. The 1300 sits near the top of the Thunderbird Socket A line before Palomino moved Athlon XP to lower voltage. AMD sold it at 318 dollars in March 2001. The chip supports MMX and Enhanced 3DNow.

Full-speed cache with a slow bus defines the late Thunderbird trade. The 200 MT/s link with 256 KB suits office towers with SDRAM or early DDR boards. That is why the 1300 shipped in mainstream towers with AGP graphics.

Socket and motherboard compatibility

The Athlon 1300 fits Socket 462 desktops with a 200 MT/s bus and Thunderbird support. It needs Model 4 microcode. The Socket vs chipset: what decides whether a CPU works guide covers pairing rules.

Mainstream SDRAM towers are the natural match. Boards listing Thunderbird 1300 accept the chip with a 68 W cooler.

Memory, PCIe and cooling

Memory is SDRAM or DDR through the board chipset, matched to the 200 MT/s bus. The CPU has no controller.

A 200 MT/s 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 lug clip with a 68 W heatsink.

Upgrade paths

On Socket 462 the steps are Thunderbird 1333 and 1400 parts with the same cache. Palomino Athlon XP parts offer lower voltage as successors. Beyond Socket 462 a move to Socket 754 needs a new board. The 1300 lifts with the lever, so swaps need no solder work.