"Physically and electrically they are the same. It's the same die," said John Crank, senior brand associate with AMD.

The difference between the two processors, Crank said, is that the Athlon XP 3200+ is guaranteed to run with the so-called 400 front side bus, a bus connection that operates at up to a 200-MHz clock frequency and transfers data on rising and falling clock edges, whereas the Athlon XP 3000+ is only guaranteed to run with a 333 front side bus, which transfers data on the rising and falling edges of a clock frequency of up to 167-MHz.

Similarly the Athlon XP 3200+, which was introduced this week (see May 13 story), is guaranteed to operate at up to a 2.2-GHz main clock frequency whereas the Athlon XP 3000+ is only guaranteed to operate at up to a 2.167-MHz main clock frequency.

The die is made by AMD in a 0.13-micron manufacturing process technology.

The number suffix that AMD uses to denote processors is intended to indicate a performance level without being related strictly to clock frequency, a parameter which AMD argued could confuse computer purchasers.

Crank said that since the introduction of Athlon XP processors based on the Barton 32-bit microprocessor core, the die had remained the same for the Athlon XP 2800+, 3000+ and now the 3200+, and that the different processors are sorted into lots by testing on the wafer.

Crank said that Athlon processors capable of being classified as 3200+ devices had possibly existed from the introduction of the 2800+ in February but he said the phased introduction of different validated Athlon XP grades is necessary to fit in with partners' and customers' requirements.

"It's a business decision," Crank said.