Intel launches 3GHz Pentium 4 processor
ITWorld | at | by Mike
Intel Corp. launched its latest desktop processor, the first in its Pentium 4 family to break the 3GHz speed barrier, on Thursday. The new chip, which has a clock speed of 3.06GHz, is also the first Pentium 4 to feature a technology the company calls "hyperthreading." Already built into its Xeon range of server processors, the technology allows multiple software threads to run more efficiently on a single processor.
For users, the technology should translate into a performance benefit of up to 30 percent, according to recent presentations given by Intel executives, but this also depends on whether support for hyperthreading is built into the operating system and software. Some versions of Linux and Microsoft Corp.'s Windows XP feature support, but earlier editions of Windows do not, while application software support is limited.