Pentium III: more power, no
added cost
BY MIKE LANGBERG
Mercury News Computing Editor
HERE'S the main thing home computer users need to know about
Intel Corp.'s new Pentium III processor: It's better than what came
before and, in effect, it's free.
Personal computers built around Pentium III chips at clock speeds
of 450 and 500 megahertz went on sale Friday. Depending on how
many bells and whistles are added, Pentium III systems running
Windows 98 are selling for about $1,500 to $2,800.
There's general agreement the Pentium III is superior to the preceding Pentium II, although I don't
think it's a big enough step forward to make your current PC suddenly obsolete. But the degree of
superiority doesn't really matter, since Intel isn't making us pay more for the privilege of owning
one.
Let me explain:
Intel (www.intel.com) is providing the 500 MHz Pentium III, now the company's fastest chip for
desktop computers, to PC makers at $696 when purchased in batches of 1,000. The previous
top-of-the line chip, the 450 MHz Pentium II, was introduced six months ago at $669.
Given the modest price difference, today's bleeding-edge 500 MHz Pentium III computers won't
cost significantly more than last summer's bleeding-edge 450 MHz Pentium II systems.
Of course, you can buy a Pentium II 450 now for much less than you could six months ago. But
that's the way the PC business works -- this month's top-of-the-line system is next year's
middle-of-the-road package, and migrates to the bargain bin a year after that.
Indeed, Intel has already laid out a road map for even faster chips. A 550 MHz Pentium III is due
by June, with a 600 MHz processor scheduled for the second half of 1999 and a 1 gigahertz chip
expected in 2000. Mobile versions of the Pentium III for laptop computers, running at 400 and 433
MHz, are due this summer.
This is all business as usual; Intel has been cranking up the top of its chip line by about 100 MHz
every 12 months for several years. Yet Intel, which provides nearly 80 percent of the world's PC
processors, is pouring $300 million into a massive advertising campaign aimed at convincing us the
Pentium III represents a huge breakthrough.
Does the Pentium III merit such hype? No.
Other than faster clock speeds, the Pentium III is almost identical to the Pentium II with one
exception: the addition of 70 new instructions intended to speed up programs that recognize spoken
words, streamline programs using three-dimensional images and smooth audio and video playback.
These new instructions, which have the ungainly name ''Streaming SIMD Extensions,'' are similar to
the MMX package of 57 instructions Intel added to the Pentium line two years ago.
If you aren't running an application using speech recognition, 3-D images or audio-video playback,
a Pentium III at 450 MHz will perform no better than a significantly less expensive Pentium II at
450 MHz. Even 3-D and audio-video applications -- such as games or video clips piped through
the Internet -- will require rewriting to take advantage of the SIMD instructions, something that
won't happen overnight.
The problem is Pentium III's share of the market, which stood at zero until Friday's launch and will
probably remain quite small this year. Anyone creating software or World Wide Web sites will be
reluctant to go through the time and expense of adding features that only work on Pentium III PCs,
given the tiny audience in 1999.
It's been much the same way with MMX. There's plenty of software on the market today that
works slightly better with MMX, but there are almost no applications that require MMX to
operate.
Intel, seeking to jump-start demand, is paying a number of software companies and Web sites to
add Pentium III features and is even launching a Web site next month called Intel WebOutfitters to
point users toward these enhancements.
But, as with MMX in its debut year, I don't expect anything to emerge in 1999 that's compelling
enough to push unprecedented numbers of PC owners into junking their current machines.
I'm basing my conclusion in part on the Pentium III Preview Day, a bash thrown by Intel on Feb.
17 at the San Jose Convention Center. Software companies recruited by Intel set up booths to
show applications enhanced for the Pentium III.
I saw a video-editing program that would create special effects slightly faster with a Pentium III,
although the results wouldn't look any different from a production assembled on an older machine. I
watched a football simulation where the images of beefy lineman had fewer rough edges than on a
Pentium II. And I looked at a home-design program that created a ''walk-through'' of a virtual
kitchen in about half the time as an equivalent Pentium II chip.
All these improvements struck me as worthwhile, but hardly earth-shattering. Please note that I'm
not cynical. Over time, truly cool applications requiring the Pentium III could arrive. But I'm willing
to bet those applications won't arrive any earlier than next year, when we can buy far less expensive
Pentium III systems.
One of the reasons I'm sure Pentium III prices will come down over time is that Intel -- for the first
time -- may have a genuine competitor at the top end of the line.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (www.amd.com) has just unveiled a rival processor called the
K6-III at 400 and 450 MHz that's priced several hundred dollars below the Pentium III.
While AMD claims the 450 MHz K6-III equals or even slightly outperforms the 500 MHz Pentium
III, independent analysts are somewhat more reserved. However, there does seem to be a general
consensus the K6-III line is a worthy competitor that will prevent Intel from jacking up Pentium III
prices.
So what's my bottom line?
If you've got a relatively new PC -- a Pentium-class processor with 16 or 32 megabytes of
random-access memory -- that meets your needs, don't rush out to buy a Pentium III. But if you're
shopping for a new PC anyway, and you're intending to spend more than $1,500, I'd recommend a
Pentium III over a Pentium II. If you need to shave a few hundred dollars off the purchase price,
the K6-III is a reasonable alternative.
A footnote: The Pentium III stirred up considerable controversy a few weeks ago over something
called the Processor Serial Number, or PSN, a unique code burned into each chip. Privacy-rights
advocates see the PSN as a dark conspiracy, while Intel has backpedaled and said all Pentium IIIs
will be shipped with the PSN feature turned off -- requiring the user to decide to make the PSN
available to other computers on a network or through the Internet. I'm not particularly bothered by
the PSN. But if it troubles you, vote with your wallet: Buy a K6-III system if you need a high-end
PC.
Write Mike Langberg at 750 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, Calif. 95190; call (408) 920-5084;
fax (408) 920-5917; or e-mail to mike@langberg.com |
