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| Top Stories for November 22, 2000 (details below) | |
| SiliconValley.com | Some Intel Pentium 4 motherboards had incomplete code |
| C/Net | Intel, Broadcom settle trade secret lawsuits |
| The Register Files | |
| The Register | P4: the verdicts : Intel Wants A Recount |
| The Register | Pentium 4: The story so far |
| The Register | We are Borg, er, Rambus |
| The Register | P4: How fast is it? |
| The Register | Pentium 4: Overclocking |
| The Register | P4: How's it different? |
| The Register | Pentium 4 dissected |
| Microprocessor
Headline News Collected By Robert R. Collins |
Week of November 19, 2000 |
Older News |
| November 22, 2000 | ||
Some Intel Pentium 4 motherboards had incomplete codeBy Reuters November 21, 2000 |
Intel Corp. said Tuesday that some motherboards -- the guts of a personal computer -- designed for its new Pentium 4 microprocessor had incomplete code, prompting the No. 1 chipmaker to send software updates to PC makers.
An Intel spokesman said that the incomplete code in what's known as the BIOS -- or basic input output system -- that is stored on a memory chip in the motherboard would have no impact on revenue or earnings. The BIOS is a rudimentary operating system that prompts the PC to ``boot up'' when turned on. |
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Intel, Broadcom settle trade secret lawsuitsBy Ian Fried November 21, 2000 |
Intel and Broadcom on Tuesday said they have settled dueling trade secret lawsuits, although the legal battles between the two chipmakers are not yet over.
The settlement ends a lawsuit Intel filed in March over the hiring of several former workers by Broadcom and also settles a cross-complaint by Broadcom, which had sought to block Intel from shipping some of its latest networking chips. Terms of the agreement were not released. |
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| November 21, 2000 | ||
Pentium 4 fails to outpace Athlon, testers sayBy Michael Kanellos November 20, 2000 |
Intel's initial Pentium 4 chips released Monday don't provide a real performance advantage and are often slower when compared with the fastest Athlon chips from Advanced Micro Devices, benchmark testers and analysts say.
Consequently, the first Pentium 4 chips don't seem to be worth their price right now, they said. Benchmark tests posted by review sites such as Sharky Extreme on Monday indicate that the 1.5-GHz Pentium 4 does outscore the 1.2-GHz Athlon on the "Quake III" game, some video and media editing applications, and relatively theoretical tests on memory bandwidth or scientific calculations. |
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Pentium III Outperforms Pentium 4 In Business AppsBy Mark Hachman November 20, 2000 |
The verdict is in: While Intel Corp.'s latest Pentium 4 offers superior multimedia performance, the Pentium III is still the best chip for business applications.
Analysts and hardware review sites gave their stamp of approval to the chip as a gaming microprocessor. But the 1.0-GHz Pentium III actually outperformed a 1.4-GHz Pentium 4 on common business applications, they found. |
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Intel's future rides with Pentium 4 chipBy Mark LaPedus November 20, 2000 |
When Intel Corp. here today officially unveils its long-awaited Pentium 4 microprocessor line, there will be few, if any, surprises, about the chip in terms of specifications and product pricing.
But Intel--which has revealed most of the details about the Pentium 4 in a systematic, step-by-step approach to the media over the last several months--will have a lot riding on the chip, perhaps even the company's entire future, according to analysts. |
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The Pro's and Con's of the Pentium 4By Linley Gwennap November 20, 2000 |
This video article describes the pros and cons of the Pentium 4 chip.
Linley Gwennap is the principal analyst at The Linley Group, a computer industry consulting firm. |
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Intel Releases AGP 8X Spec For Public CommentBy Mark Hachman November 20, 2000 |
Intel Corp. released a draft version of the next-generation AGP 8X specification, paving the way for future graphics performance.
Although the document is technically complex, the specification boils down to a mere extension of the AGP 4X graphics bus commonly used today. Intel (stock: INTC) has also left open a provision to incorporate a 64-bit version for its Itanium chip and other systems. |
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The Register Files |
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P4: the verdicts
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In that peculiar variant of masochism, known only to CPU manufacturers, Intel has submitted its P4 chip for review to a motley collection of hardware
headcases.
The reviews are already rolling in, and they're proving to be a mixed bag. We'll do a manual recount at the end of the week, and see if the vote's changed. The reviewers' consensus is that raw clock speed is disappointing and that for the time being, the high price outweights the good points. |
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Pentium 4: The story so farBy Andrew Thomas November 19, 2000 |
It's not easy forecasting what Intel's going to do.
Chipzilla's sheep-like bleating of not commenting on unannounced products makes it hard to get any sense out of the corporation when a juicy leak comes our way. Usually we can make a few calls, use our skill and judgement and come up with something pretty close to the truth. |
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We are Borg, er, RambusBy Andrew Thomas November 20, 2000 |
How to win friends and influence people is patently (sic) a book one is unlikely to find on the shelves of Rambus Inc.
Not content with threatening every memory maker on the planet with the wrath of its monstro legal department, the outfit is now warning chipset makers that they're next. Once Rambus has assimilated the last remaining memory makers resisting its campaign to collect royalties on SDRAM and DDR memory, its drones will turn their attention to chipset makers, including occasional best pal Intel. |
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P4: How fast is it?By Andrew Thomas November 19, 2000 |
How long is a piece of string? What everyone wants to know is what kind of speed benefit can be expected from Intel's new
flagchip.
We've had a vanilla P4 system on test for a while now and the answer varies depending on what you want the box to do. If you only run office applications, you don't need to pay the extra for a P4. If you need 3D graphics, then you probably do. |
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Pentium 4: OverclockingBy Andrew Thomas November 19, 2000 |
Intel frowns on overclocking, but has always released engineering sample (ES) chips which are free from muliplier locking, allowing the brave to experiment with trying them at higher than rated speeds.
Our 1.5GHz P4 is an ES part and the BIOS of the Intel Garibaldi mobo allows clock speed to be set at 100MHz increments between 1.2 and 1.8 GHz. Needless to say, we tried it first at 1.8. |
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P4: How's it different?By Andrew Thomas November 19, 2000 |
Please don't try fitting a P4 to your existing mobo. You'll need an entirely new one and for the time being you'll have to make it an Intel Garibaldi D850GB, 'cos it's the only one there is.
And you'll need to upgrade your power supply too. Willamette/P4 needs an ATX 12V supply that has an additional 12 volt supply that plugs into the mobo right next to the CPU socket. The 0.13 micron die shrink of P4 coming later next year will have additional pins on the processor, almost all of them providing extra volts and amps, so this additional header may disappear in the long term. |
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Pentium 4 dissectedBy Andrew Thomas November 19, 2000 |
What do the 42 million transistors on a Pentium 4 actually do?
Willamette, aka Pentium 4 is the first new processor Intel has launched since the Pentium Pro. Sure, there's been Pentium II, Pentium III, Celeron and Xeon, but these all use the P6 microarchitecture introduced with the Ppro. The problem P6 has is that, due to the pipelining it uses, it's subject to an absolute speed limit, which at a 0.18 micron process, equates to around 1.2GHz. Try to run it any faster than that and it just gets hotter rather than doing any more useful work. |
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| November 20, 2000 | ||
Pentium 4 debut causes workstation wrinkleBy Ken Popovich November 16, 2000 |
Intel Corp. hopes to quench consumers' thirst for power with the launch
Monday of the Pentium 4, but it is also counting on attracting
workstation users in what appears to be a marketing turnabout for the
company and some PC makers.
The Pentium 4, to be introduced at 1.4GHz and 1.5GHz clock speeds, features a new architecture designed not only to provide faster frequencies but to boost performance of multimedia encryption, such as that involved in audio and video editing. |
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Pentium 4 impressive but not ready for mainstreamBy Kevin Knox, Gartner Analyst November 17, 2000 |
Unlike Pentium III, which was merely an enhancement of Pentium II, Intel's Pentium 4 chip is a major new design that offers much more than the inclusion of additional instructions. Initially, mainstream users probably will not need the additional power and features of the new chip, but high-end users may want to consider immediate adoption.
In particular, Intel designed the new Pentium 4 architecture, called "NetBurst," to better handle the needs of today's Internet user. Data encryption, video compression and peer-to-peer networking capabilities are greatly improved with Pentium 4. |
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Rambus may drag ramp of Pentium 4By Jerry Ascierto and Paul Kallender November 17, 2000 |
Intel Corp. will officially roll out its Pentium 4 processor on Monday (Nov. 20), promising the device will have the steepest sales ramp of any microprocessor in its history. But at least for its first six months, the chip will be tied solely to the controversial Rambus memory architecture, a fact that several analysts and at least one DRAM maker said looms as a question mark over the lofty ambitions of the world's biggest chip maker.
While Intel and Samsung Semiconductor — the latter claims to be the world's biggest supplier of Rambus parts — remain confident of success, other industry watchers wonder whether Rambus DRAMs will be available in adequate supply and at a reasonable enough cost to support the high-profile launch. Meanwhile, the issue of if and when Intel will permit third parties to support its CPU with chip sets built for alternative SDRAM and double-data-rate (DDR) memories still goes unanswered. |
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Rambus Reveals Plans To Collect Royalties From Chipset MakersBy Steven Fyffe November 17, 2000 |
Chipset makers will be the next ones up against the wall once Rambus Inc. has dispensed with the last remaining memory makers resisting its campaign to collect royalties on SDRAM and double data rate
(DDR) memory chips.
Rambus wants all chipset makers, including Intel Corp., to start paying royalties on any device that interfaces with an SDRAM, DDR or direct Rambus DRAM (RDRAM) chip, a Rambus executive revealed in a candid interview with Electronic News at the Comdex trade show in Las Vegas this week. |
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Intel to delay Almador chip set, sources saidBy Jack Robertson November 17, 2000 |
Intel Corp. has delayed the launch of its next-generation Almador chipset and, instead, will upgrade the 815E to support its upcoming Tualatin 1.3-GHz Pentium III processor, according to industry sources.
Intel felt a Direct Rambus DRAM graphics port on Almador mightnot be ready in time for the Tualatin launch in mid-2001, according to industry observers, including executives at chipset and memory companies and analysts. The Pentium III Tualatin will debut using the 815E and its existing APG4X port. The chip manufacturer will also tweak the 815E by adding the new 1.5-V termination voltage and differential clock features that would have been in Almador, the sources said. |
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Pentium 4 computers arrive MondayBy Michael Kanellos and Joe Wilcox November 17, 2000 |
Computers containing the Pentium 4 will arrive on Monday. Let the kvetching begin.
Nearly all the major PC manufacturers will release the first desktops built around the Pentium 4, a new microprocessor from Intel that will form the bedrock of the company's business for the next few years. But just as important as new PCs is that Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel, along with several review sites, will release performance benchmarks for the chip that should keep analysts and computer enthusiasts busy for weeks. |
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Upstart Transmeta and chip giant Intel duke it outNovember 16, 2000 |
Call it the silicon version of ``David and Goliath'' or ``The Empire Strikes Back.'' Either way, the battle between upstart Transmeta Corp. and chip giant Intel Corp. evokes images of courageous underdog versus powerful, accomplished warrior.
The conflict escalated a notch this week at the Comdex trade show when both companies separately brandished their weapons -- new power-efficient microprocessors chips that both companies are targeting for the notebook market. |
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The Register Files |
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Pentium 4 system prices leaked by FortuneBy Andrew Thomas November 17, 2000 |
Once again, Intel US' monstro PR machine has failed to control those pesky American journos resulting in the awfully-helpful folks at Fortune Magazine breaking Chipzilla's embargo on Pentium 4 system prices so we don't have to wait until first thing Monday morning to tell you about them.
Check out the full info here, but just in case the page has mysteriously disappeared, the salient facts are repeated below. |
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