ZDNet UK / News and Analysis / Workspace IT / Processors

Pentium 4 chip takes lead in desktop speed

By Michael Kanellos, CNET News, 23 June, 2003 07:37

Daily Newsletters

Sign up to ZDNet UK's daily newsletter.

Topics

Intel, Desktop, Pentium 4, 3.2GHz

NEWS
Intel on Monday will release a Pentium 4 running at 3.2GHz and will separately discuss a new version of its upcoming Madison chip optimized for dual-processor servers and workstations. The 3.2GHz Pentium 4 is likely to be the fastest desktop chip on the market for a few months. The Pentium 4 has already opened a slight gap over the rival Athlon from Advanced Micro Devices, according to benchmark testers, and AMD is not expected to come out with another desktop chip until September when the Athlon64 debuts. PCs containing AMD chips often sell for less than computers running Intel chips of the same speed. The 2GHz PowerPC 970, coming out in new PowerMacs, will probably be close in performance to these chips, said Nathan Brookwood, an analyst at Insight 64, but the 2GHz chip is unlikely to hit store shelves for a while, he added. The new Pentium 4 will also probably be one of the last, if not the last, of the classic Pentium 4s. In the second half of the year, the company plans to unveil the successor to the Pentium 4, code-named Prescott. Prescott is based around the same basic architecture but contains new instructions for multimedia processing, as well as other features. "It's more than likely" to be the last classic Pentium 4, said Brookwood. Brookwood added that Prescott, although different from the current Pentium 4s, may still be sold under the Pentium 4 name. Still, historically, Intel often reaches for the new-name bag whenever instructions or other significant features are added. Like other high-end Intel processors, the new chip features hyper-threading, which allows the processor to do two things at once fairly efficiently, such as run virus scans and compress video. It will also be matched with chipsets with buses running as fast as 800MHz. The new chip will cost $637 (£382) in 1,000 unit quantities. Intel cut prices on its other desktop chips earlier this month. Meanwhile, Tom Gibbs, director of industry marketing at Intel, said the company is coming out with a version of Madison, the upcoming new version of the Itanium 2 chip, specially optimized for dual-processor systems. Although Gibbs declined to provide technical details behind this previously undisclosed version of Madison, or how it will differ from other versions of the chip, he said that the chip would probably end up in servers for high-performance clusters. Clusters, conglomerations of one- and two-processor servers that can take on tasks that just a few years ago had to be handled by supercomputers, are fuelling Intel's growth in the high-performance and scientific computing market. Although still complex, clusters are far easier to build than monolithic supercomputers. Madison, which sources say will come out June 30, is the successor to the current Itanium 2, which was known as McKinley. Madison will run at 1.5GHz and contain between 3MB and 6MB of cache, a comparatively large amount. Overall, it will deliver 50 percent better performance than McKinley, Intel claims. Early benchmarks submitted by Hewlett-Packard show that Madison will rank with the fastest server chips on the market. To date, Itanium sales have been sluggish, but Intel appears to be getting more support from computer manufacturers this time around. Dell Computer, which skipped McKinley, is expected to come out with a Madison server. In March, Intel president Paul Otellini said that there would be around 40 different Itanium computers on the market containing two to four processors and 10 containing more than four in 2003, double the number in 2002. AMD, meanwhile, is expected to announce a version of its Opteron chip for eight processor servers by the end of the quarter, which ends June 30, said sources.
See Chips Central for the latest headlines on processors and semiconductors. Let the Chips Central editor know what you think by email.

Related stories

Intel fixes delayed 3GHz Pentium 4

AMD plans desktop chip launch

Intel boosts Pentium M power

AMD looks to ARM itself for low-power tablets

Apple tops list of semiconductor buyers

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

  • Login

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

JCB33

How dare film makers, artists or anybody that invests in creativity stop us pirating their works for free. I want to be able to walk into my local...

3 hours ago by JCB33 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
Moley

@GrueMaster. I prefer horses for courses rather than one size fits all. I, and I suspect most other computer users, do not really wish to have...

5 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
greycynic

The product that scares me every time I have to use it is the Office 2007 version of Excel. The first bug that I found was applying the median...

5 hours ago by greycynic on Ten flawed products that derail productivity
GrueMaster

Nice review and very informative. One thing I'd like to add (in reply to whs001's 1st question), the main reason to have the same interface from...

6 hours ago by GrueMaster on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Frederick Wrigley

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

7 hours ago by Frederick Wrigley via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
bdantas

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

8 hours ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

8 hours ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

8 hours ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Moley

For Gnome 2 die-hards, it is possible to add icons to the bottom panel (or top top panel, if you prefer) which provide the exact Gnome 2...

9 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
ramwellian

Your comments would seem pretty naive and immature. Your 'solution' appears to be, "gee, let's all just give in to the hackers and give them...

9 hours ago by ramwellian on Cloud computing security: no more oxymoron?
BugStalker

"Interesting thought ... If you installed Win7 as a dual boot on a machine that previously only had Linux, and it wrecked your Linux installation,...

10 hours ago by BugStalker on Windows 7 Declares War on GRUB
whs001

This is an excellent summary of Ubuntu and Mint and the interface differences between them. Most such articles take a very partisan position for...

10 hours ago by whs001 on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Moley

@ewallace. Not so clear. Anyone can obtain the text, for example from here http://www.ustr.gov/webfm_send/2379. I support ACTA so long as it and...

10 hours ago by Moley on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions
45283

I think WinRT is fantastic. I just wish it was an option for people that didn't want to go through Microsoft's App Store with its attendant...

13 hours ago by 45283 on Why Windows 8 needs architectural hygiene for WOA
Burn-IT

Nine people? £30m? Who's back pocket is that lot going in? And IF they say it is for new buildings, what about all the ones the government has...

14 hours ago by Burn-IT on Police set to launch three £30m e-crime hubs
ewallace

Just to be clear, nobody knows what is in the text of ACTA, here is a photograph of the text of ACTA http://twitpic.com/8h9iju as submitted to the...

14 hours ago by ewallace on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions
fgvrg56

Unfortunately main issue is that ASUS is refusing to accept that they make some mistake on this version of asus Transformer prime. 1 - GPS sensor...

16 hours ago by fgvrg56 on Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime Wi-Fi & GPS problems?
Ben Woods

@Marcus A fair question. Just talked with Archos which said it was working on an announcement for next week....

17 hours ago by Ben Woods on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule
Marcus Karlsson

Any update on this, considering the claimed "first week of February"?

18 hours ago by Marcus Karlsson via Facebook on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule
apexwm

Bill Goodrich : Just as al_langevin pointed out, with Windows Server 2008 there is no Services for Macintosh anymore. It's gone, not available....

1 day ago by apexwm on Windows Server 2008 drops the ball for Mac compatibility

Latest in Processors

AMD looks to ARM itself for low-power tablets

Apple tops list of semiconductor buyers

Featured white papers

Tech breakthroughs to watch in 2012

ZDNet UK

Tech breakthroughs to watch in 2012

From invisibility cloaks to virtual atom smashing, from Cern to Nasa, this ZDNet UK guide presents the discoveries to watch in... Read more

10 must-read silicon.com Cheat Sheets

silicon.com

10 must-read silicon.com Cheat Sheets

This exclusive e-book covers 10 of the most important issues facing business and technology professionals today, from cloud computing to... Read more

The virtual presenter's handbook

Citrix Online

The virtual presenter's handbook

Web seminars or webinars can be interactive and engaging, just like having every person in the same room, and this white paper outlines how they can benefit your... Read more

Inside ZDNet UK

A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

2012 Predictions: VCE FastPath, VI SAN Probe & Hadoop

2012 Predictions: VCE FastPath, VI SAN Probe & Hadoop

BlackBerry Bold 9790

BlackBerry Bold 9790

Case study: How cloud enables growth

Case study: How cloud enables growth

Ten factors that make Ubuntu 11.10 a hit

Ten factors that make Ubuntu 11.10 a hit

Toshiba Portégé Z830-10P Review

Toshiba Portégé Z830-10P Review

BT's archive: Pictures from the vault

BT's archive: Pictures from the vault