We managed to get some pretty interesting unofficial information about new entry-level processors from AMD. The company seems to plan the return of AMD Duron-like processors for inexpensive PCs with the special cut-down core named Applebred. The chips will be available soon and will be marketed using real core-clocks, not performance ratings.

Applebred processors will be available for orders next week and the first deliveries are expected to happen towards the end of the month. There will be three models of the CPUs: 1400MHz, 1600MHz and 1800MHz costing $32, $39 and $47 respectively in quantities starting from 1000 units. Sources close to AMD claim that 1.40GHz Applebred processor is faster than Intel Celeron 2.0GHz chip, while the 1.60 and 1.80GHz parts offer speeds higher or comparable to mid-range Celeron CPUs.

Advanced Micro Devices also published the list of recommended mainboards for Applebred CPUs: it contains devices from ASUS, ECS, Gigabyte, Biostar, MSI, FIC and ASRock powered by chipsets from NVIDIA, VIA and SiS and includes rather outdated devices.

Other specifications of the Applebred are to be confirmed, but I would expect it to feature 200-266MHz FSB, 256KB or less L2 cache. The chips are mostly intended for price-conscious markets and could also become a nice upgrade option for Duron-based systems.