Intel to unveil fastest-ever Pentium 4 today
Source: CNN
L33tdawg: Frankly I don't really see the need for 2.2GHz worth of computing power -- especially where home and business users are concerned. I have been using a Pentium III 700E with 384MB for about a year and a half and it's suited me just fine... Then again, I don't play many games, so perhaps that might explain why I don't see the point in forking out the cash for the upgrade.
Today Intel Corp. will unveil its fastest-ever microprocessor, a Pentium 4 chip that not only allows it to maintain its leadership over rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc., but also introduces what analysts said is a critical improvement in Intel's memory chip technology.
The Pentium 4 running at 2.2 gigahertz, or 2.2 billion cycles per second, is the world's fastest in terms of clock speed.
The primary computing engine of personal computers, the new chip is a product of the latest in manufacturing technology to boost performance and cut production costs for the world's largest semiconductor maker.
PC makers, including Dell Computer Corp. and Compaq Computer Corp., will have PCs using the chip available on Monday, Intel executives said on Friday in an advance briefing on the product.
Intel also said its 845 chipset, which connects the microprocessor to the rest of the PC, now supports DDR, or double-data rate, memory. DDR dynamic random-access memory, or DRAM, chips are faster than traditional DRAM chips or synchronous DRAM chips.
