All: Get ready for Monday! Deschutes makes its debut. 333PII systems from $2000-$2500. Also, don't forget about the SuperBowl commercial-mystery...
"Deschutes" Pentium II to
debut
By Michael Kanellos and Jim Davis
January 23, 1998, 6:30 a.m. PT
Intel (INTC) will debut its second-generation,
"Deschutes" Pentium II on Monday, paving the way
for personal computers that will reach the highest
performance standards yet, at the lowest
price-performance points in PC history, reflecting a
sea change in the industry's pricing structure.
The next Pentium II will cost less than $700 for
large-volume purchasers, a low introductory price
compared to past high-end Intel chips, mirroring
the free-fall in chip and PC prices at other end of
the market spectrum, where sub-$1,000 systems
are becoming increasingly commonplace.
The 333-MHz Pentium II will cost about $722 in
volumes of 1,000, according to Ashok Kumar, an
analyst at Loewenbaum & Company. Computer
vendors, however, will likely only pay $685 to
$655 for the chip because of the larger volumes
they purchase. Until recently, Intel introduced its
fastest processors at prices typically over $1,000.
This, not surprisingly, will engender machines at
historically low prices for this lofty PC segment.
Intel is an investor in CNET: The Computer
Network.
Gateway 2000 will release the GP-6, a
full-featured PC aimed at small business users.
Along with the 333-MHz Pentium II, the system
will feature a 19-inch monitor, a 8.4GB hard disk
drive, 64MB of memory, a CD-ROM drive, and
Windows NT for $2,899. In the past, systems like
this--the cream of the PC crop--have been
introduced at prices exceeding $4,500, and more
often $5,000.
Compaq, meanwhile, is expected to go even lower
than this. The No.1 PC vendor is slated to come
out with a Deskpro business PC with a 333-MHz
Pentium II as well as a Presario home PC using the
new processor. The home model will come with a
DVD drive, 48MB of memory, an 8GB hard drive,
and a 56-kbps modem. It is expected to carry a
suggested retail price of between $2,000 and
$2,500.
During the past year Intel has cut processor prices
fairly steadily. Following the upcoming price cuts,
for instance, the 300-MHz version of the chip will
be selling in volume for $525, less than one-third of
its original cost, while the 266-MHz version will sell
for $375, according to Kumar.
Overall, the downward price slope for Pentium II is
likely to continue in 1998, but Kumar, among
others, believes that the company's margin on
processor cores has so far remained relatively
constant.
The 333-MHz chip is the first of the
second-generation, Deschutes Pentium II
processors from Intel. This generation will be made
under the .25-micron process, which means that
the circuits will be .25 microns thick. This will result
in smaller, faster, and less expensive processors
than those made under the current "fatter"
.35-micron process.
Although the chip has yet to be introduced, sources
have stated that it is in fact already available.
Consumers in Japan have told NEWS.COM that
electronics vendors in Tokyo's Akihabara, an
electronics bazaar packed with electronics dealers,
are currently selling 333-MHz Pentium IIs and
corresponding motherboards.
Other sources have said U.S. retailers have been
quietly advertising and selling Compaq systems as
well. |
