AMD is about to debut its Athlon 2000+ chip as a direct competitor to Intel's Pentium 4 2GHz and 2.2GHz processors which will be formally announced today.

The Athlon 2000+ runs at 1.67GHz but AMD is using the '2000+' suffix in an effort to move consumers away from focusing on clock speed and onto overall performance.

Previously its fastest chip, the Athlon XP 1900+ runs at 1.6GHz but has outperformed the 0.18 micron die width 2GHz Pentium 4.

But Intel's new Pentium 4s, to be manufactured at a new 0.13 micron plant, will have smaller and faster transistors and increased secondary cache to make better use of each clock cycle.

AMD claims that its Athlon 2000+ will still be more efficient than even the 2.2GHz Pentium 4. Pricing is also lower with the 2000+ at £234 ($339) versus £388 ($582) for the 2.2GHz Pentium 4.

The Athlon 2000+ is seen as a stopgap in AMD's efforts to prevent Intel pulling away in performance. Its own 0.13 micron chip range is due to come on stream before the end of the quarter.