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Fast, brawny 1-GHz, or "one-gig," PCs debut today, but all that power comes at a premium: Many of these systems cost as much as--or more than--a good used car.

Some one-gig PCs will cost as much as $4,500, compared to the average $1,200 most consumers pay for slower systems, according to PC makers.

AMD and Intel hadn´t planned to offer 1-GHz processors until summer, but keeping with an aggressive game of one-upmanship, Intel moved up its release plans. AMD countered by announcing 1-GHz Athlon processors today, two days before Intel´s scheduled unveiling of the 1-GHz Pentium III.

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