AMD Athlon 1333 socket: Socket 462

What the Athlon 1333 is

The AMD Athlon 1333 is a 1333 MHz single-core desktop processor from March 2001. It runs one K7 Thunderbird core at 1333 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 70 W in a Socket 462 package with part number A1333AMS3C on a 266 MT/s front side bus with a 10x multiplier.

The 1333 was among the first Thunderbird parts with a 266 MT/s bus, moving from 200 MT/s on slower Thunderbird parts. AMD sold it at 350 dollars. The chip supports MMX and Enhanced 3DNow.

Faster bus with full-speed cache helped DDR boards. The 266 MT/s link feeds the 256 KB L2 faster than 200 MT/s parts, which shows in office tasks. That is why the 1333 suited DDR towers with AGP graphics.

Socket and motherboard compatibility

The Athlon 1333 fits Socket 462 DDR desktops with a 266 MT/s bus and Thunderbird support. It needs 266 MT/s chipset paths. The Socket vs chipset: what decides whether a CPU works guide covers pairing rules.

DDR towers are the natural match. Boards listing Thunderbird 1333 accept the chip with a 70 W cooler.

Memory, PCIe and cooling

Memory is DDR through the board chipset, matched to the 266 MT/s bus. The CPU has no controller.

A 266 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 70 W heatsink.

Upgrade paths

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