Author: Nigel Woodford

Introduction

Do you remember the whole AMD fad last year? Computer enthusiasts were totally crazy about Athlon Processors and their amazing performance over Intel’s offerings. Well that’s all over folks :) Let’s face it, Intel has taken the lead in processor performance and AMD is falling behind. Many AMD fans have switched over to Intel because AMD is unable to offer a reasonable solution for hardcore users. Although AMD has announced the Athlon XP 2700 and XP 2800 models, we are just now seeing the XP 2400 in stores! By the time the 2700 and 2800 models are readily available, Intel will have already released the Pentium 4 processors running at 3.06 GHz with Hyper-Threading technology.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love AMD, I am just stating the obvious. If AMD wants to stay competitive they really need to get their act together and bring the 2700 and 2800 models to the market ASAP. I do think that AMD made a good move by releasing their new processors based on the thoroughbred “B” core with a 333 MHz bus (166 MHz double data rate). This will help their processors compete but I still feel more must be done and soon. Also keep in mind that Intel has really lowered their prices. You can pick up a 2.4B P4 for around $190 USD. (The Athlon XP 2400 is about the same price.)

Today I’ll be talking about the new upcoming Prescott core from Intel as well some upcoming Intel CPUs. Intel has really come along way since last year. Do you remember the Willamette core? The never really lived up to expectations. With the release of the Northwood core Intel was able to basically unscrew themselves and take back the performance crown. The Northwood core is a dream come true for Overclockers. Being able to take a 1.6A with a stock Heatsink past 2.2 GHz is truly amazing. With the 1.8 GHz Northwood running a 100 MHz bus quad pumped (400 MHz effectively) people were easily able to reset the FSB to 133 (533 MHz bus) and run it like a 2.4B without any problems, and usually only needed to up the core voltage slightly.

It’s going to be very interesting to see how the Prescott performs and Overclocks. The Prescott processors slated to be released in the second quarter of 2003 will debut at a supposed speed of 3.20 GHz. Intel is also expected to launch their new 3.06GHz processor with hyper-threading technology enabled just before Comdex. Please remember that this new 3.06GHz CPU is not based on the Prescott core. It is a Northwood core version with hyper- threading enabled. The Prescott CPU’s will most likely be called Pentium 5s, but there is no official word yet. Intel has already started shipping these new 3.06 GHz CPU’s to OEM manufactures. Hyper-Threading Technology is very bad news for AMD, as it allegedly will boost performance about 25-30 percent when running multithreaded software or when multitasking.

Intel has also recently announced the opening of a high-volume 300mm wafer fab in Rio Rancho NM. The fab is called 11X and is dedicated to producing 13-micron CPUs on the all-new 300mm wafer process. In 2003 the fab will start producing the Prescott CPU’s based on the 90-mn technology. The 11X fab is a very large facility with about 1million square feet of space. Intel plans on having more 300mm fabs to help the production of their processors and other products. Intel has already verified that they have plans for 6 fabs, including the new Rio Rancho NM plant. They claim that the new 300mm process will lower costs of manufacturing and increase production. This is very good news for OEM’s and consumers.

So what is Hyper-threading Technology Anyway?

To have a better understanding of Hyper-Threading we first need to go over “Threads”.