Intel today ended the waiting by introducing the 333MHz Pentium II, formerly known by the 'Deschutes' code name. The part is Intel's first PII to be manufactured on its most efficient 0.25-micron process that is also used to make Pentium MMX chips for mobile PCs. Aimed at desktops PCs, workstations and servers, the device is Intel's fastest yet and carries on its tack of pushing processing muscle for graphics-rich and data-intensive applications. It sports a 512Kb L2 cache running at 166.5MHz, half the processor speed, and will cost $722 in the usual 1,000-piece quantities. "The power of Pentium II processor-based systems is driving the adoption of visual computing for both businesses and consumers," said Mike Fisher, VP of Intel's microprocessor products group, in a prepared statement. "As businesses move to new opportunities in electronic commerce, they are looking for the performance engine to drive image and data-rich applications. Consumers will also benefit from the increased processor performance in the home for gaming, educational applications and entertainment." Systems will be available in uniprocessor and dual-CPU configurations, and Intel said a version of the 333MHz PII that supports very large RAM configurations will be available in the next two months. Intel also expects mobile PCs based on the 333MHz PII to appear in the first half of 1998.