Its official; not that its any surprise; the MHz wars continue....chapter 3:
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Intel to launch fastest Pentium III chip yet
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 19 (Reuters) - Intel Corp. <INTC.O>, the No. 1 computer chip maker, will announce on Monday that it is shipping its fastest Pentium III processors yet, running at clock speeds of 750 and 800 megahertz, and taking the speed crown away from arch-rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. <AMD.N>.
"They want to have the bragging rights to the fastest chip in the new millennium," said Ashok Kumar, an analyst at US Bancorp Piper Jaffray, adding that Intel had been targeting sometime in the first half of next year to ship 800 megahertz Pentium IIIs.
Late last month, AMD of Sunnyvale, Calif. announced a 750 megahertz version of its Athlon processor, taking the speed crown back from Intel. In October, Intel announced a 733 megahertz Pentium III, as part of its new Pentium III family, surpassing AMD's 700 megahertz version of its Athlon family.
Intel's new Pentium III family, which was code-named Coppermine, uses a new manufacturing process called 0.18 micron, which creates finer linewidths between the transistors than the older 0.25 micron process.
About 20 computer makers will announce systems based on the 750 megahertz Pentium III, and only a handful of companies will be launching systems using the 800 megahertz version. The 750 megahertz Pentium III will be priced at $803, and the 800 megahertz will be priced at $851, both in quantities of 1,000.
Both speeds will be available starting on Monday with some limited quantities. The first PC makers to ship the 800 megahertz systems will be companies with the shortest manufacturing lead times, such as direct PC makers Dell Computer Corp. <DELL.O> and Gateway Inc. <GTW.N>
"Availability will increase as we go through Q1," said Michael Sullivan, a spokesman for Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel.
Dell of Round Rock, Texas, said it will be shipping systems with both processors, but it will ship very limited quantities on the 800 megahertz system, Dell's Dimension B Series.
"We are telling people it will arrive within 20 to 30 days, depending on component availability, " said Ted Druart, a spokesman for Dell. "The volume of components to put it together is still somewhat limited."
The Dimension B Series will be targeted to the so-called "power user" and high-end gamers.
20:43 12-17-99
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