 |
Mar. 14 - Mar. 21, 2004 |
Fastest Pentium ever... maybe
Intel releases 32-bit desktop processor code-named Prescott follow-up to Northwood
By Alessandro Cancian
Originally Published: 2004-02-15
Ladies and gentlemen, here comes the fastest Pentium ever... maybe. Alas, doubting comes naturally, considering that in recent times several Intel products merely compared favourably with previous models, instead of outclassing them.
First announced about a year ago, and initially expected for the second half of 2003, Intel's new generation of 32-bit desktop processors, code-named Prescott, finally saw the light a few weeks ago.
The four models released clock at 2.8, 3, 3.2, and 3.4 GHz respectively. The chipmaker already initiated distribution of boxed versions of the first three models, while the fastest version will be available on the market sometime in summer.
Even though the new chips are not called Pentium 5, contrary to some expectations, they are more than a simple evolution of the current Pentium 4, code-named Northwood.
Prescott adopts the new 90-nm manufacturing technology, which allowed Intel to increase the number of transistors substantially in comparison with chips, such as the current Pentium 4s, made with the old 130-nm technology.
Intel swears that the new chips are, MHz for MHz, up to 14 percent faster than P4s, but some independent benchmarks report that, for a number of applications, the P4s of today can even outperform their younger colleagues.
It's a well-known fact that Intel lures customers with MHz. As the California-based company explained, the first objective of Prescott is to increase scalability, since at today's clock speeds Northwood seems very close to its limits.
Unlike AMD, whose new Athlon 64s try and maximize the number of instructions carried out per clock cycle, Intel appears to play its cards based on brute force, i.e. the number of megahertz.
The second quarter of 2004 should see the arrival of the mobile version of these chips. The first mobile models of Prescott will clock at 3.06, 3.2, and 3.46 GHz, and will adopt a 533-MHz system bus.
Current P4s will remain on the market; during the presentation of Prescott, Intel also launched two new models, clocked at 3.4 GHz, of P4 and P4 Extreme Edition. The latter, mainly appealing to hardcore gamers and power users, comes with a 2 MB integrated L3 cache.
Page 1/...Page 2
|
| Home / Back to Top |
|
|
 |
|
|
</ td>
