Jules and ALL, Article...Pentium's reign cut short...
By Andy Santoni
InfoWorld Electric
Posted at 5:09 PM PT, Feb 6, 1998
IT managers shopping for Pentium-class PCs can take a breather until April 15, when Intel plans to offer new mobile, desktop, and low-cost Pentium II processors that will all but make obsolete the Pentium.
Along with the expected 233-MHz and 266-MHz mobile Pentium II CPUs, Intel will unveil 350-MHz and 400-MHz desktop CPUs and the 266-MHz Covington chip, a low-cost processor that will carry a new and as-yet-undetermined name.
In addition, Intel's aggressive pricing on Pentium II (P6-generation) CPUs will eliminate Pentium (P5-generation) desktops from "approved buy" lists as early as this summer. The Covington chips, for example, will result in systems selling for less than $1,000.
One industry observer believes IT managers should hold off purchasing decisions until they have checked with their suppliers.
"We have a period of disinflation in PCs.[As a result,] I would wait for lower prices," said Christine Traut, a strategist at Andersen Worldwide, in Chicago, and a member of the InfoWorld Corporate Advisory Board.
The 266-MHz Covington, which has no Level 2 cache on board, will debut at a price of $155, sources said. This compares to $268 for today's 233-MHz Pentium II with 512KB of Level 2 cache, which will drop to a price of $198 in April.
In comparison, the 233-MHz Pentium MMX is priced at $193, just $5 less than the coming April price of a comparable-speed Pentium II. Although the Pentium MMX will drop to $134 in April, it will be just $21 less.
Intel is expected to introduce the Pentium II mobile chips at prices near $400 and $600 for the 233-MHz and 266-MHz parts, respectively, compared with about $359 and $466 for comparable-speed Pentium MMX mobile CPUs today.
These steep prices cuts, coming much earlier than expected, stem from Intel's mission to stave off competition from Advanced Micro Devices and National Semiconductor's Cyrix subsidiary, observers noted. These companies have made inroads in the low-cost end of the market, using the Socket 7 technology of the Pentium instead of the Pentium II's Slot 1 interface.
"Intel is getting killed in the Socket 7 market," one system manufacturer said.
Intel has been aggressive during the past year and has developed more efficiencies in the process, said Mike Borg, PC business unit manager at Hewlett-Packard, in Cupertino, Calif. PC prices depend on many factors, but clearly the processor is a main component in the system and lower chip prices lead to lower system prices, he said.
"The point of this product [Covington] is to [make] obsolete the Pentium," said Linley Gwennap, editor in chief of the Microprocessor Report, in Sunnyvale, Calif.
The introductory price of the Covington CPU is a little high for a system priced less than $1,000, Gwennap said, but the lower price that is expected when Intel publishes its next price list in July will bring the chip "right in there."
At that point, "I would consider the Pentium obsolete," Gwennap said.
Intel will be able to cut prices and increase performance at the same time due to its transition to 0.25-micron feature sizes, Gwennap said.
Intel's conversion to smaller geometries appears to be happening more quickly than the company anticipated, Gwennap said.
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Regards, Michael |
