New Pentium 4s to alter competitive map
C|Net | at | by Mike
On Monday, Intel will introduce two new versions of the Pentium 4--code-named Northwood--that will run at 2.2GHz and 2.0GHz. But more important than the speed bump are the design of the chips and the way they are manufactured, which are expected to help the company open a competitive gap between itself and cross-freeway rival Advanced Micro Devices.
PCs featuring the chip, along with a chipset for hooking Intel PCs into fast double data rate memory, will arrive the same day from Gateway, Dell Computer and others, according to sources.
The Northwood Pentium 4s differ from the current versions of the chip in that they are made on the 130-nanometer (0.13-micron) manufacturing process, rather than the 180-nanometer process, as are existing Pentium 4s. The 130-nanometer designation refers to the average size of the features on the chip.