1 & 2 . Does size matter? 64kb versus 256kb of cache!
For the first time Duron will be tested against its cousins in what would be probably the fist and only Duron applebred test on the net.
I selected the last model - 1800 MHz - as it represents the best CPU in the whole lineup. It has a "real"1800 MHz frequency, 266 MHz FSB and 64 KB of L2 cache.
Sold as a budget CPU, Duron was the processor of choice in the first 2 pc's I bought as a student with limited budget: 750 and 1300 models were excellent choices in my country back in the early 2000's.

I will install the CPU in the best socket A platform that no Duron owner ever had: Abit AN7 - nforce2 ultra; 2*1gb DDR set at 266MHz with 2-2-2-5 timings and 1T CR; Leadtek geforce 7800gs; WD 150gb raptor.
All system details can be seen in the screenshots below:

The Duron family has a very low TDP by socket A standards with a maximum of 60W for the Morgan 1300 MHz model. The Applebred 1800 has a TDP of 57W which is a blessing. I tested it together with the geforce 7800gs in the Abit AT7-max 1 board which does not have the P4 power connector with a Corsair 650W PSU that has only 24A on the 5V rail and 130W combined wattage on the 3.3&5V rail and the system worked without a crash with that power supply .
So if you have an early socket 462 board without the auxiliary power connector and a modern PSU the Duron is one way to go if you want to build a socket A system.

The processor against which Duron will be tested is the Athlon Thoroughbred B part number AXDA2200DUV3C with a 62.8W TDP seen in the screenshots below. It has the same characteristics: 1800 MHz frequency, 266 MHz FSB, 13.5X multiplier with the one and only difference being the L2 cache: 256kb in this case.
While it is clear that the T-bred with bigger cache is faster we shall see by how much!
Again CPU-Z legacy decided that it is not going to show all info and leave out the command rate among other things!

The old 5.50 version of Everest to the rescue:

1. Without further ado let's go over the results and the first test is, as always, Code creature pro.
For easier viewing I selected the Zune theme for the T-bred and the royal theme for the Duron. T-bred will be first, Duron second in all screenshots
1024*768 default settings

2. Same resolution and settings but with sound this time:

3. We increase the load on the video card by selecting 4X AA to see if there is still a difference between the 2 CPU's:
Please note the big bottleneck that these 2 processors put on the 7800gs; you really need something a lot more powerful to let the card show its true performance!

4. We add sound into the mix:

5. We go up to 1280*1024 without sound the first time:
T-bred 2200 first
Duron 1800 second

6. ... and with sound:

7. We reached the final and most demanding settings:
1600*1200 no sound first

8. ... and with sound:

After Code creature pro tests the difference does not seem so big! For a processor with only 25% of level 2 cache a 9% - the biggest difference - is not huge!
Let's see if more demanding tests reveal a bigger difference or not!

9. Aquamark 3 is next; a DirectX 9 benchmark, far more demanding than Code Creatures!
default settings first - you get a score but we are not interested in it; what we area after is the average FPS:
T-bred first
Duron second

10 . We stay at 1024*768 but with max settings including sound this time around:
T-bred first
Duron second

11. We increase the resolution to 1280*1024 max settings, no sound this time:
T-bred
Duron

12. and with sound at the same max settings:

13. At the highest resolution - 1600*1200 - we get these average FPS:
T-bred first
Duron second

14. At the most demanding settings - 1600*1200 with sound - Athlon XP still maintains a 10 % lead over Duron: