AMD Shares Surge

Shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. climbed more than 11% after the chip maker unveiled a 650-megahertz version of its new Athlon processor. The chip, which has a higher clock speed than the fastest Pentium III from Intel Corp., is not likely to show up in computers until mid-September.

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based AMD had originally planned to offer the chip in speeds of 500, 550 and 600MHz but decided to speed up introduction of a 650MHz version to stay ahead of Intel, which two weeks ago began offering a 600MHz Pentium III.

AMD shares rose $1.88 to close at $19.25 on the New York Stock Exchange. Gary Bixler, product marketing manager for the Athlon, said strong yields from its production line in Austin, Texas, allowed the company to bring the 650MHz chip to market earlier. The chip, formerly known as the K-7, is seen as critical to the survival of AMD, which has suffered steep losses amid price pressure from Intel.