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Technology Stocks : Intel Corporation (INTC) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: dmf who wrote (118377)	11/19/2000 3:02:59 AM
From: Barry Grossman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 186894

investors.com Internet & Technology Monday, November 20, 2000 Fast Pentium 4 Debuts With Internet In Mind By James DeTar Investor's Business Daily Intel Corp. on Monday is set to take the wraps off the long-awaited Pentium 4 processor, its first new microprocessor design since 1995. A bevy of computer makers, including Compaq Computer Corp., Dell Computer Corp., Gateway Inc. and IBM Corp., will be standing at its side. They all plan to come out with PCs built around Intel's new chip. And those new PCs, powered by the new microprocessor, promise better video, audio and 3-D capabilities for fancy new content that's steadily becoming a staple of the Internet. "It's an architecture that lets people follow where the Internet's going," said Louis Burns, vice president of the Intel architecture group. Burns is in charge of design and development of Intel's desktop products, which include Pentium 4. Intel, the world's biggest chipmaker, says the P4 design will be the basis for all its PC processors for the next couple of years. "The Pentium 4 is obviously targeted at multimedia, and it's obviously very fast," said Steve Leibson, analyst with San Jose, Calif.-based Cahners Microdesign Resources. "Users will be able to do things like play DVDs while doing something else, such as looking at e-mail or working with Microsoft Excel or Word." Burns says it would be a mistake, though, to classify P4 as a multimedia processor. "I wouldn't limit it to multimedia," he said. "But it's the beginning of a whole new generation of products. "People will be able to do video at home. You could take a digital video and then edit it, tweak it, add special effects and make it buzz like you're a home movie producer." Still, there are unanswered questions about P4. For one, Intel specified that its new P4 chip will only work with a very fast type of memory chip from Rambus Inc. But Rambus memory generally costs more than other memory chips. The question is, will computer makers balk at having to buy the more expensive Rambus memory chips? Intel's aware of the problem. It plans to offer a chipset in mid-2001 that will work with less expensive, non-Rambus memories, Burns says. Chipsets are groups of chips that work with the main processor, helping transfer data between the main processor and the memory chip. The new chipset will let computer makers come out with more PCs at different prices. In the meantime, Intel's enticing PC makers by offering them rebates. Intel will rebate roughly $70 to PC makers for every device they ship with P4 and Rambus memory. Most initial P4 users likely will be people who want Rambus' lightning speed. "The bottom line: Is Rambus going to be a limiter of P4 sales? No. Will Rambus enable the ultimate highest performance of the product? Absolutely," Burns said. Analyst Leibson agrees that using Rambus probably won't hurt sales, and could help them. "If you're buying a 1.5 gigahertz system, you want the fastest, meanest system you can get hold of," Leibson said. In what some industry observers see as a nod to increased competition from Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Intel is introducing the new chips at prices lower than usual. In the past, it's often brought out new devices at or above $1,000 each. Two Flavors Of Fast Intel is rolling out the Pentium 4 at two speeds, 1.4 gigahertz and 1.5GHz. They're priced at $644 and $819, respectively, in 1,000-unit lots. Both speed grades beat AMD's top of the line 1.2GHz Athlon processor, now the fastest microprocessor. Signifying just how fast chip technology is moving, Intel says it plans to ship a 2GHz version P4 by third-quarter 2001. That's also faster than predicted by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore. His widely quoted Moore's Law says that chip speeds will double roughly every 18 months. Intel estimates the P4 will surpass the Pentium III and become its biggest seller in early 2002. Burns says there's been talk that the P4 would be limited to high-performance PCs. No way, he says. "It's absolutely not some boutique product that plays along at the top end," he said. "It will be driven through the mainstream of the desktop platform.