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Intel Says Its New Pentium Is Fastest Chip
By: Hiawatha Bray
8/1/00
Source: The Boston Globe
In the ongoing game of one-upsmanship between chip makers Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Corp., Intel has once more hopped
into the lead. The company announced a new Pentium III processor Monday that, at least in theory, is faster than any of rival AMD's Athlon
chips.
The new Pentium III will offer a clock speed of 1.13 gigahertz, about 13 percent higher than the 1 gigahertz speed of the fastest Athlon chip.
Clock speed is just one of many factors that determine the speed of a computer chip. But chip makers believe it's this measurement that
catches the attention of power-hungry customers.
Earlier this year, AMD became the first of the two chip makers to create a 1 gigahertz chip. The achievement
suggested that AMD, long a maker of lower-quality Pentium-compatible chips, had at last achieved
technological parity with Intel, the world's biggest chip maker. But within days, Intel responded with its own 1
gigahertz Pentium III chip, and now the company has moved into the lead once again.
It's a lead that probably won't mean much to the typical user of Windows-based PCs. Most common
software programs won't run any better on the new Intel chip as they would on a slower processor. But Intel
spokesman George Alfs noted that there are always users who need exceptional performance - for example,
people who use computers to edit videos or create complex graphic images, or serious players of the most
advanced computer games.
``It's not for everybody,'' said Alfs, ``but it's for people who really use that kind of performance.''
The new chip will first be made available to PC manufacturers that want to design ultrafast systems for these
serious users. At a time when many complete computer systems cost well under $1,000, the new chip will
sell for $990 in lots of 1,000 chips.
But people looking to upgrade their present Pentium III systems will have to wait awhile. Alfs said it will be
some time before the new chip is available as an aftermarket part at electronics stores.
Meanwhile, AMD is hot on Intel's heels. A company spokeswoman said it will release a
1.1 gigahertz Athlon on Aug. 28, and have a 1.5 gigahertz version on sale early next year.
Regards, Hans |
