Thanks xStainDx for the heads up on Intel plans to turn up the wick on desktop PC performance Monday.
The chipmaker will announce three new Pentium 4 chips for desktop PCs, along with a new version of its 850 chipset. The new chipset offers a faster 533MHz bus and supports a speedier version of Rambus memory, 1066MHz RDRAM, sources said.
Intel"s new flagship Pentium 4 will be a 2.53GHz chip. The other new Pentium 4"s will run at 2.26GHz and 2.4GHz. All work with the faster bus.
The added clock speed, faster bus and new RDRAM could translate into an overall performance boost of roughly 10 percent to 15 percent over current high-end desktop PCs, some sources have said. The bus provides a data pathway between the processor and memory. Maintaining a proper ratio between the bus speed and the clock speed of the processor is an important element for preserving performance as processors get quicker.
Boosting the bus will make room for faster Pentium 4"s. But it also helps Intel up the ante in its desktop performance race with rival Advanced Micro Devices. AMD and Intel have been trading blows on the desktop since the introduction of the Athlon in late 1999. The latest move may give Intel the upper hand for a while.
However, AMD has several tricks up its sleeve, including Thoroughbred, a new processor that will bring higher clock speeds later in the year. In early 2003, PC makers will also begin shipping systems based on ClawHammer, a new chip that AMD says will begin at 2GHz speeds.