Intel releases upgraded Pentium 4s
New chips are Intel's fastest yet
Intel has upgraded its range of Pentium 4 processors with the release of 1.6Ghz and 1.8Ghz chips. The vendor said it will break the 2Ghz barrier in the autumn.
The new chips are Intel's highest performance processors to date. Louis Burns, vice president of the company's Desktop Platforms Group, said: "These two new speeds enable a broader range of performance and price points for our customers. Vendors are starting to take advantage of the Pentium 4's performance."
Both the 1.6Ghz and 1.8Ghz Pentium 4s are available now, priced at $294 and $562 respectively, in 1000-unit quantities.
The company has also confirmed that it expects to launch a 2Ghz Pentium 4 in the third quarter. This will position the chip with Intel's anticipated release of its Brookdale chipset.
Brookdale will enable Pentium 4 processors to work with both DDR and SDRam memory, currently used by rival AMD. The Pentium 4 has previously been restricted to high cost Rambus (RDRam) modules which has limited take up of the processors.
The simultaneous release of Brookdale and a 2Ghz Pentium 4 could prove to be a major boost for Intel, which has so far seen disappointing sales of its flagship processor. The company has high hopes for the Pentium 4, its first completely new desktop processor design since 1995, when its Pentium Pro was introduced.
In addition, Intel has refreshed its budget range of Celerons. It has released a 900Mhz desktop chip and a mobile 850Mhz chip shipping at prices of $103 and $134 respectively in 1000-unit quantities.
Desktop Celerons are also available at speeds of 850Mhz and 800Mhz, while mobile Celerons also ship at 800Mhz, 750Mhz and 700Mhz. Both lines feature 100Mhz system buses and are currently the highest selling budget processors globally.
However, a study by analyst Merrill Lynch claims that, while Intel has consistently upgraded its processors, rival AMD is enjoying a price and performance edge with its recently released 1.4Ghz Athlon and 950Mhz budget Duron processors.
"Our initial checks suggest that both AMD products are being well received in comparison to the primary competition from Intel's Pentium 4 and Celeron solutions," the report revealed.