Yeah, the sub-1GHz Athlon and Durons were 1999, so this article is a little late.
Got one in 2001 and I was so proud of my AMD Athlon Thunderbird 1400 that I even accepted that loud noise from the cooler I used.
Although in hindsight, the money I spend for that luxury would have been better invested in other stuff, improving my life a bit more then a loud and noisy airplane turbine.