The desktop processor battle continues

 

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By Alun Williams

Posted on 23 Aug 2002 at 16:14

In the wake of a new Athlon XP, Intel wades in with a 2.8 GHz Pentium 4 processor.

In terms of architecture, the platform for the Pentium 4 remains the same (a 533 MHz system bus and 850E chipset) as for the previous fastest version, the 2.53 GHz model. The biggest significance of this release, however, is the price.

Whereas the previous 2.53 GHz Pentium was released in May for a price of $637, the new 2.8 GHz is priced at just $508 (figures are based on 1,000 unit quantities). This represents a significant cut in the cost of processing power. Also expect Intel to announce price cuts across its range of processors, to make way for the new arrival.

To complete the picture, there are actually four new chips in the Intel stable. Like the 2.8 GHz, a 2.66 GHz version will have a 533 MHz system bus, but will be priced at $401. The 2.6 and 2.5 GHz models feature a 400 MHz system bus and cost $401 and $243 respectively. Again, prices are based on 1,0000 unit quantities.

System builders - such as Hi-Grade, Mesh and Multivision - will feature the new Intel processors immediately.

AMD announced new 2600+ and 2400+ Athlon XP processors earlier this week. If you were just to look at the frequency of operation as a means of comparison - which AMD would rather you did not - the Athlon XP 2600+ operates at 2.13GHz, which is more than 2 billion clock cycles a second. Pricing for the new Athlon XP 2600+ and 2400+ processors was $297 and $193 respectively.