AMD - News Release #9980 gives the official announcement of the eagerly anticipated shipments of their Athlon processor (the CPU formerly known as the K7), calling it the WORLD'S FASTEST x86 MICROPROCESSOR. Thanks Superfly. Additionally, an Athlon Frequently Asked Questions page is online with all the K7 skinny. Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

SUNNYVALE, CA--JUNE 23, 1999--AMD today announced that it has commenced shipments of its new seventh-generation microprocessor, the AMD Athlon™ processor, to computer manufacturers. Formerly code-named the AMD-K7 processor, the AMD Athlon processor is initially available in speed grades of 600, 550, and 500 MHz.

"For the first time in the history of the computer industry, AMD leads the competition in delivering an entirely new generation of processors that offers not just higher clock speeds, but higher performance and processing capabilities clock-for-clock based on a more advanced architectural design," said W.J. Sanders III, chairman and chief executive officer of AMD. "This announcement is truly a watershed for AMD and the entire industry because it heralds new choices based on superior processor technology for system platforms in the enterprise space."

The announcement goes on to describe pricing and availablity:

AMD Athlon™ Processor Pricing and Availability
The 600-MHz AMD Athlon processor is priced at $699, the 550-MHz AMD Athlon is priced at $479, and the 500-MHz AMD Athlon is priced at $324, each in 1,000-unit quantities. End-user systems based on the AMD Athlon processor are planned to be available in Q3.