By the looks of it Intel seems to give up their MHz-hype once and for all
when they now seem to have given up hope on their 4.0GHz Prescott-processor.
The reasons is simply that Intel has too big problems with manufacturing
cores that can handle 4.0GHz. To be able to reach 4.0GHz is one thing but to
make enough to make it profitable is another.
“Intel could not produce the chip in high enough volumes without
additional engineering resources, which it determined would be better spent on a
new line of chips to be introduced next year, Mulloy said.”
This means that Intel’s 3.8GHz Prescott-processor will be the top
model of the Pentium 4-series (counting in MHz) for the tme being.
When and if Intel steps over the 4.0GHz barrier is uncertain but by the looks of
it it won’t be in the near future.
During the IDF event Intel made it
pretty clear they had other plans for 2005 compared to earlier tactics.
Frequencies are to be put aside for new features and several new cores.
These are the things that Intel wants to focus on, no waste time and money
on moving the frequencies futher upp the line.
But if they are getting
rid of the 4.0GHz Prescott it isn’t just a big failure in a competitive sense
but also a big one in the PR.
Intel has without a doubt reached a croosroad and by the looks of it they
have chosen path, the question is though if they should have made the turn
earlier. Intel needs faster processors to be able to keep up with
AMD’s pace on the desktopmarket and even if Intel would succeed with their
dualcore solutions 2004 will end in dissapopintment for Intel.
Source: Yahoo!
News
According to HardOCP
sources it seems like Intel are planning a new processor series with a new
increased cache size to prolong the lifespan of the P4 Prescott, if this implies
to a higher frequency “Extreme Edition” (3.6-3.8GHz) remains to see.
