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1100 MHz 'Athlon Killer' Due From Intel in December

jeffstar writes "According to this article at The Register, Intel has an 1100 MHz 'Athlon Killer' IA32 chip coming out. Yum, that's the kind of sauce I like." Sounds great. If it comes out - and performs - as promised.

306 comments

  1. Re:The Intel Conspiracy Nonsense by Chris+Johnson · · Score: 2

    Nonsense. They are, as every chip manufacturer is, pushing as hard as they possibly can to advance the state of the art. If a G4 stomps all over a PIII in certain applications, it does not mean that Intel has secret PIIIIs or PIIIIIIIs sitting in dark closets waiting to produce, it means that Intel is no longer producing the highest performance chips. What with the Athlon work being done, it is possible that Intel is now the weakest of major chip manufacturers now that Cyrixes and WinChips aren't exactly a factor.
    Not only could they not 'release this processor at any time', they still haven't released it, and there is every reason to believe they will not release it in the manner they suggest either. It will take longer or be slower. They don't have stuff waiting offstage- this is _the_ premier 'paranoid corporation', the last one in the world that would be sitting around going "Ho hum, we got this chip here, seems to go real fast. Maybe we should make some of them and sell them, or gosh, why don't we just ignore the competition and tack it up on the wall for a while instead? It's real purty-like."
    Uh-uh. Sorry. There is no Intel Fairy. That mystical creature seems to be hanging around Motorola, nVidia and AMD these days...

  2. Re:Ask slashdot: Should I wait for theese ? by Graymalkin · · Score: 2

    Do you realize how much 8 megs of SRAM would cost? SRAM is the whole reason that many processors (UltraSPARC, Pentium Pro/Xeon, ect.) cost so much damned money. If AMD had an 8 meg Athlon it would cost more than 2 or 3 Xeons.

    --
    I'm a loner Dottie, a Rebel.
  3. Hey isn't there a Gates' Law? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Every new processor will be reduced to half the speed of a processor of its previous generation by a new release of Windows

  4. FUD Suckers by jafac · · Score: 1

    If you choose to believe Intel - go right ahead. Where's coppermine? Wasn't that supposed to ship Oct 17?

    (disclaimer: "coppermine" in no way refers to copper wiring technology. Intel still uses aluminum. Apparently, they know better than the rest of the chip industry)

    "The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."

    --

    These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
  5. Bullshit....this is just Intel propaganda by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There is no 1100 processor coming out around Christmas. It's just hype spread by Microsoft to keep the stockholders happy.

    1. Re:Bullshit....this is just Intel propaganda by Sehnsucht · · Score: 1

      If you're gonna troll, at least make up your mind on which conspiracy to blame it on! :) Or do you mean its Wintel combined? hehe

    2. Re:Bullshit....this is just Intel propaganda by QuantumIdiot · · Score: 1

      Excellent point - nothing to add...

    3. Re:Bullshit....this is just Intel propaganda by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The DoJ won't do anything to Intel until they have eliminated all sign of their competition. Of course it'll be too late then. Karnak

    4. Re:Bullshit....this is just Intel propaganda by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Players aside, I have to agree, it sounds like a discovery made, not by Intel's engineers, but by Intel's marketing. I figure that this "Athlon Killer" will be delayed a bunch of times until Intel's technology can catch up with their promises, but by then the damage will have been done, and people (the gullible ones anyway) will wait instead of buying Athlons like they might have. I'm still waiting for the DOJ to do to Intel what they've done (will do?) to Microsoft.

  6. Re:Language by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Typical, lets cover up the problem by over medicating our youth. While I like technology, technology uber alle is not the way to go. If we were all conscious of how are actions as individuals affect ourselves and others we would much better off. What is the difference if you tell your kid that it is a sin to kill then you go and say that product A is going to kill product B? A child is not going to understand the difference in meaning. I've aliased kill to 'please-stop'.

  7. Re:PAPER Intro.(Two Points) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Point 1: I work at Intel. If people even messed around circulating something with "Athlon Killer" written on it they would probably be fired if it ever got near a manager. Point 2: Rambus was not Intel technology, it was Rambus technology....

  8. Ask slashdot: Should I wait for theese ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    I was planning to buy a fast Athlon machine (although maybe 550 Mhz because the pricestep between 550 and 600 is a bit annoying). Maybe I should cancel those plans and wait for one of theese chips instead ?

    I mean imagine just 2 months from now you can buy twice the performance for the same amount of money (or less !!!). It usually takes 18 months !

    Advice please ?

    1. Re:Ask slashdot: Should I wait for theese ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

      This is exactly what intel want you to think.

      Microsoft use similar tactics - spread rumours about some wonderful product you're releasing in the near future, that beats your competitor's. Foolish consumers wait for your product, while you slowly let the release date slip, and slip, as all the while your competitor is losing business.

    2. Re:Ask slashdot: Should I wait for theese ? by lunatik17 · · Score: 1

      No, there's a 1 Ghz Athlon coming out in Jan--wait for that! You see, the superiority of the Athlons is not just in the Mhz speed--they actually process more efficiently. And the P3 bus runs at 100Mhz, while the Athlon bus runs at 200Mhz. Not only that, but they also put a lot more cache on them. The Athlon 800 is supposed to have 8 megs of chip-speed cache! I would be willing to bet one of the Athlon 800's would still run faster thasn a P3 1100.

      --

      Here's my DeCSS mirror, where's yours?

    3. Re:Ask slashdot: Should I wait for theese ? by eightball · · Score: 1

      Nope, I don't. I didn't find much info, but I saw that 1mb sram card for a Newton cost $50 in 1995. Not the same thing as what would end up on a CPU. I wouldn't be surprised if as much cost would be incurred putting on the die.

      Also, remember that the processors you mention essentially have no competition. Nobody is producing compatible chips in that processor class. Things will be different when there are two high-end server x86 chips. I'm not saying I would be able to afford them, but I am inclined to believe that the prices will be competitive with current Xeon prices for a higher cache. After all, AMD has no mindshare in the high-end server market and will need to have something to offer them.
      Also, hopefully the increased market in the chips will lead to more development and lower prices. : P

      BTW, how much of a margin do you think those products have?

  9. Well, of course! by Chris+Johnson · · Score: 2

    One fellow ("ntsucks") said, "Either Intel has a stunning ability to improve its engineering process and timelines or they were withholding better chips until we had all purchase their current chip du jour"...
    To which I would have to add, "...or they are talking absolute crap".

    :)

    Come on, people, get real. You're being manipulated. It's crazy to take some company's random promises as accomplished facts. You sure wouldn't do it for Apple, why pretend that Intel has a crystal ball? The intelligence you're insulting is strictly your own, 'cause other people are reading your comments and going "uh-HUH. Riiiiight. Aren't people credulous? Damn."
    Seriously. Take a few deep breaths.

  10. Re:2.4 GHz by Graymalkin · · Score: 2

    While that may be it's on-chip frequency that isn't always its emission frequency. If it were it's emission frequency there would be no way in hell the FCC would let it be sold in the US.

    --
    I'm a loner Dottie, a Rebel.
  11. Re:A reliable source told me: by god_of_the_machine · · Score: 1

    The Register didn't have any sources. True... but the Register has been right on a lot of things in the past. It's like Matt Drudge: take it with a grain of salt, but it is quite likely correct. --- "Progress is the God of the Machine"

    --

    -rt-
    ** Evil Canadians are taking over the world. Learn about the conspiracy
  12. Re:The Intel Conspiracy by Bad+Mojo · · Score: 1

    Essentially, every time Intel starts with a new chip, they back their production off to the largest die size they can fit and start making chips slower than the end result will be. Then the release the chips in increasing speed. They never introduce a new chip and make it in many speeds, as that would not make them as much money. I stopped bying the in between chips. I wait till the next iteration comes out, then I buy the fastest of the older chip. I won't be bullied by some corporation! I will not be briefed, filed, stamped, indexed! ;)


    Bad Mojo

    --
    Bad Mojo
    "If you can't win by reason, go for volume." -- Calvin
  13. aka "Lame Unit In I.T." :) by Chris+Johnson · · Score: 1

    The anagrams never lie! I particularly like that one :)

  14. Athlon Rev. 2.... by SyscoKid · · Score: 1

    From what I understand - Rev 2 will be copper, .18, support smp, 1 ghz and will have added to the chip - so it would be like a K7-2 =). So if they are compairing to the Rev 1, then this might be correct, but if they are going up against Rev 2 - then this is most likely FUD.

    --

    -Ellis of Geeknews.com

    1. Re:Athlon Rev. 2.... by skullY · · Score: 1

      No, the CPU actually has to support it along with the chipset.. You can't make a dual K6-3 system, becuase the CPU doesn't support SMP.

      Sure you can. You just can't find any boards that will do MP for the K6. In actuality, AMD's chips have supported MP since the original K6, albeit not using Intel's SMP specs since Intel wouldn't release their specs. AMD just developed their own MP spec.

      --
      When I was able to do my own spam-armoring, you got a chance to email me. Now you can only hope I see your reply.
    2. Re:Athlon Rev. 2.... by SyscoKid · · Score: 1

      There there would be a way to do a dual 333 amd system, eh?

      --

      -Ellis of Geeknews.com

    3. Re:Athlon Rev. 2.... by Sehnsucht · · Score: 1

      Athlon always supported SMP, so to speak. But the chipset has to - as the CPU has nothing to do with it. Each CPU has its own bus..

    4. Re:Athlon Rev. 2.... by SyscoKid · · Score: 1

      No, the CPU actually has to support it along with the chipset.. You can't make a dual K6-3 system, becuase the CPU doesn't support SMP.

      --

      -Ellis of Geeknews.com

  15. It'll need a KryoTech by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Given Inhell's track record of producing extremely hot-running chips, I wouldn't be surprised if this fabled chip requires a Kryo to keep from overheating.

    I'll tell you one thing. I'm getting damned sick of this MHz game. I don't want a new CPU that runs at a higher clock. I want a CPU that's faster (or even the same speed), cooler, less power-hungry, and cheaper than the current chips.

    An example of this would be the Sun Ultra 60's we have at my school. They run at 350MHz, but are every bit as fast as my Celery 400 (faster for some stuff). That's the way to do it. Of course, the problem w/ a Sun is cost...

  16. I'll tell you why... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Because there are companies out there that like to push processor speeds to the limit. No I'm not talking about memory/speed hogs like Windows. I'm mean playing quake3 at 1600x800, with all graphic options as high as you can make them go, at 100 fps. That is why I'd buy an 1100 Mhz processor.

  17. Re:PAPER Intro. by duckbill · · Score: 1

    It could/would be a big issue for the DOJ for two reasons.
    First, their is a big difference in a market leader making a statement and a market underdog making a statement. For Sherman antitrust violation: a company must be a monopoly and engage in anti-competitive behavior. Adobe does not have a monopoly in the relevant market, but Intel likely does. While their is no bright line distinction, companies have been found to be a monopoly with 60% market share. Calling the chip an "Athlon Killer" may not be per se anticompetitive; however, it would make convincing evidence that Intel's intent was to ddestroy competition. Amercican Aluminunen was found to violate Sherman anti-trust law merely for increasing their production facilities.
    Also, if Intel is under a specific consent decree to not use such language, violation of that decree could have legal reprecussions. The Register refers to an agreement that Intel has with the DOJ; however, I do not know the specifics.

  18. Intel Processor Speed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just a little bit of info... Intel already demonstrated a 1 GHz processor earlier this year. They have the ability but until Athlon had no reason to produce a chip so fast. Processors are getting so fast that they are making every other part of the system a bottle neck. So it isn't if they can do it, it is more of when they feel like producing the chips. It is all business. You need a market to sell chips, and if you introduce them too quickly, you'll drive down the prices of processors that you were marketing just fine. get it? :)

  19. Re:Big mz AMD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Don't forget that the Athlon uses the clock cycles differently than Intel does. That 100Mhz bus is a 200Mhz system bus. The 133Mhz is a 266Mhz, etc...

  20. Not bloody likely by Upsilon · · Score: 1

    This is simply absurd. A lot of people don't realize it, but even once a processor design is finished it doesn't mean it will be in full production. The shortest time there has ever been between a processor tapping out and going into production is 11 months. It normally takes longer than that. The Willamette has not tapped out yet. The probability of it being out this year at all, let alone at 1100 mhz, is simply 0.

    --
    I am not an idiot. Please use my name to email me.

    "That's right, I'm quoting myself."

    -Upsilon

  21. Re:PAPER Intro. by duckbill · · Score: 1

    There is nothing wrong with competing by producing a better product. It is against the law AND contrary to a free market to establish a monopoly and engage in anti-competitive conduct. If Intel's goal is to drive AMD out of business, it is both a civil and criminal violation of the law.

  22. Re:I find the rated speed a bit odd... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I strongly suspect that they just rounded it off a bit, probably 8x 133MHz. Hey, that would make it a 1066MHz---if so, I'll bet yout that Intel's internal name for it is the Halley. Or the Hastings. Or the most-remembered-year-in-European History.

  23. Re:MIPS and FLOPS by Tekhir · · Score: 1

    If you read a print ad you'll see those benchmarks where done using twice as much cache that was also running faster which does increase the benchmark numbers. If Motorola used these in production, it would be great, but they're have enough troubles getting above 500 Mhz.

  24. Re:What's the point... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Have you ever been viewing a slideshow of pr0n and tried to load a particularly large image in the middle of the show? That extra load time can throw off your whole rhythm!

    Ewwww, I don't wanna know! Actually, just get one of them electric artificial-poontang thingies; that'll keep your rhythm for you. I love 'em!

  25. Intel and Copper Note by Tekhir · · Score: 1

    The last I heard Intel doesn't plan copper until they switch to a .13 micron process.

    If you extend the int and fpu scores on an Athlon to 1100 Mhz it will actually be faster than this Athlon killer. Besides Willamette was suppose to come out at the end of 1998, they're way behind.

  26. It was actually about frying a dog's brain by snarkey · · Score: 1

    Am I the only one who's having flashbacks to that anti-drug commercial from the 80s?

    Just for the record, it wasn't an anti-drug ad. It was an anti-leaving-your-dog-in-the-car ad. The ad went:

    Announcer: "Hot enough to fry an egg?"
    (view of egg frying on a car hood)
    Announcer: "Hot enough to fry a dog's brain..."
    (view of sad-faced dog with tongue hanging out)
    Announcer: "[stern admonition about leaving the dog in the car]"

    Pretty disturbing, really. Poor little dog.

  27. Pundificaton by Soong · · Score: 4

    1. Megahertz is a dead end

    Allready processors are too fast for the rest of the system. This has been alleviated for the last decade by an increasingly complicated system of caches and chipsets. At worst you'll go throgh 3 levels of processor cache, main memory, disk cache and finally disk, for a total of 6 levels of memory. This could go on indefinately but will have decreasing returns, unless the architecture of the computer can catch up to be generally faster. SGI/Cray has done this well.

    2. Megahertz == Marketing

    Ever since the P2, it's been terribly obvious that Intel just develops to satisfy what the majority clueless consumer wants- a higher megahertz number. The P2 made it blatant by being inferior to the older P's when run at equal megahertz. The only benefit was that it would run at higher megahertz.

    Efficiency

    No x86 has been really efficent- in many ways. More gates, more watts, more space, more heat. The unfortunate predominance of x86 is leading to space robots being designed with pentiums because Intel can push through to get the chips certified. When multiprocessing becomes a necessity as clock speeds dead end, who will be able to afford the power and large case for cooling that 8-64 P[3-5]'s will need? It's absurd.

    --
    Start Running Better Polls
  28. Re:What's the point... by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 1

    Here are some of the things I'd do with a 1100MHz CPU:

    SETI@Home
    calculating digits of PI
    searching for Mersenne primes
    ...any of a number of other neat distributed computing projects.

    But most of all, can you imagine how fast a version of POV-Ray (http://www.povray.org) optimized for this chip would run?

    It's a dream come true for us glass sphere and checkerboard folks!

    Rick







    --
    You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
  29. Sounds more like a Merced killer... by BonzoDog · · Score: 1

    or is that Itanium?

    1. Re:Sounds more like a Merced killer... by ipsharck · · Score: 1

      actually amd are working on a 64 bit x86 processor
      i think i saw it on there web page but im not sure where is saw it :))

      --
      Those People Who Are Crazy Enough To Think That They Can Change The World Probable Can
    2. Re:Sounds more like a Merced killer... by David+Greene · · Score: 1
      I actually asked someone from Intel about this and what they were doing about it.

      The view from this (non-official) person was that AMD is going to be too late. No company will want to produce multiple versions of its 64-bit code (operating system or otherwise).

      He's got a point. Just look at Windows and how the various ports have started to disappear. Yes, of course Linux, *BSD and others may be ported. We'll have to see what the fallout will be.

      --

      --

    3. Re:Sounds more like a Merced killer... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The view from this (non-official) person was that AMD is going to be too late.

      Perhaps. But then, that's what Intel thought about the K7, and now they're over a year behind AMD in x86 tech.

      For a good example of the accuracy of Intel's predictions so far, see:

      http://www.theregister.co.uk/990415-000025.html

    4. Re:Sounds more like a Merced killer... by greywahya · · Score: 1

      Anyone taking bets on if it accually comes out by 2001,,iam in

    5. Re:Sounds more like a Merced killer... by David+Greene · · Score: 1
      It's not a Merced killer as it's still a 32-bit machine.

      When you see Intel put out a 64-bit x86, then you'll know IA64 is dead.

      --

      --

  30. JC's page... by Keeper · · Score: 2

    JC (at http://www.jc-news.com/pc/) made a good point on his page the other day about this, I'll quote it here...

    "Register put up a very interesting bit here. It's about a surprise Willamette introduction in February of 2000 ("paper launch" in December, chip actually appearing two months later, according to the article). I passed this by despite the fact that a good ten percent (slight exaggeration, but you get the idea) of y'all emailed the URL to me. It just doesn't seem likely, considering the design, to our collective knowledge, hasn't taped out (and if it did, it was likely recently). Takes about a year from tapeout to production. You do the math. However, as I said, I wasn't going to put up a link to it, but I just realized something (thanks to Jocelyn Fournier, I think, for nudging me in this direction). The specint95 score of the P7-1100 shown at that register article is utter crap. If it is really the case that it is that slow, then Willamette will be pretty pathetic for servers, especially if you consider the 1MB on-die L2. The quoted score is 43 at 1100MHz. By my guesstimations (with the help of idiot from Ace's), an Athlon at 1100MHz would score between 50 and 55 (perhaps subtract a point or two for dropoff from linearity), depending on whether or not you optimize for prefetching. This means that Athlon pastes these alleged Willamette scores in specint. Actually, from the look of it, given Intel's Coppermine presentation at PF, it seems that Coppermine is also faster than Willamette in specint. I didn't check at all with the Winstone score, but as you can see, if Register's data is true, then it isn't really great news for Intel. I don't know about you, but I'll prefer to believe the more reasonable assumption that Willamette will come out in 2000 Q4 (or 2001 Q1) but will be totally rippin' in performance."

  31. Re:One word: emulation by JackVance · · Score: 1

    And you still only get 40fps in MK (with sound)

    --
    ~ I haven't lost my mind. It's backed up on tape somewhere.
  32. Outstanding News! by Jimhotep · · Score: 1

    I may get an Athlon sooner!

    Let the price wars heat up!

    Don't you just love compition!

    1. Re:Outstanding News! by Sehnsucht · · Score: 1

      That's not a bug, it's a feature. :)

    2. Re:Outstanding News! by PigleT · · Score: 1

      Anyone know if it'll still have the Unique ID bug in it?

      For some strange reason, I refuse to buy Intel at the moment...

      --
      ~Tim
      --
      .|` Clouds cross the black moonlight,
      Rushing on down to the circle of the turn
    3. Re:Outstanding News! by arivanov · · Score: 1
      Trailing? This is a highly questionable statement. It has been trailing in ads and M$ style kick the baby marketing strategy, but hardly in CPU's. Let us see (sorry for the ugly format but Taco is censoring table tags):

      Note that these are Top of the Line CPUs, not what was available at the same time. The idea is where does AMD get when it wants to develop a concept, not where it stands at the moment.

      • 286 ranking: Harris - 25MHz with additional prefetch and optimized core; AMD - 20MHz with additional prefetch and optimized core; Intel with 16 MHz barely...
      • 287 ranking: ITT - 20 Mhz matrix instructions, three register sets, etc; AMD - 20 Mhz optimized core, Intel - 12 Mhz, pathetic
      • 386(SX and DX) ranking 40 Mhz AMD with optimized mul, Intel trailing at 33 Mhz with a worse core. Cyrix was mostly doing coprocessors at the time and there was basically no match there.
      • 486 clones 166 Mhz AMD with X5 - 64 (128) instructions prefetch, write-back L1 cache, etc. Trailed far by Intel with 100 Mhz DX4 which even did not have a proper write back cache. That was the peak point with UMC, Cyrix, ITT, TI wrestling for the branch.
      • Pentium and clonesAMD K5 166Mhz, followed by Intel P5 133, Followed by Cyrix.
      • Pentium MMX and clonesAgain K6 266 Mhz trailed by Pentium MMX and mobile pentium.
      • Optimized P6 like coresAgain K6-3 450 Mhz trailed by PIII.
      • Athlon - Here intel does not have an answer yet.

      A note - so far Intel has used better marketing and came out with products before AMD. So the fact, that AMD blew it out of the water in every CPU category sooner or later was never taken into account. Now AMD came out with Athlon before Intel. The game started to be interesting...

      Adn an additional last comment. Intel can raize their frequency to terahertz if they want but with their current bus it will be still slower then an Athlon...

      --
      Baker's Law: Misery no longer loves company. Nowadays it insists on it
      http://www.sigsegv.cx/
    4. Re:Outstanding News! by delmoi · · Score: 1

      well, the pentium classic made it all the way up to 200mhz, I think.

      The thing is, AMD always comes out with one system about a year before intel reaches the same version number. the k5 beat the 468, but it pailed against the pentium. The k6 beat the shit out of a pentium, but pailed in most cases against a p6 core. This k7 looks to kick a p6's ass, but I'd be willing to bet that the next get p7's will probably beat it...
      "Subtle mind control? Why do all these HTML buttons say 'Submit' ?"

      --

      ReadThe ReflectionEngine, a cyberpunk style n
    5. Re:Outstanding News! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      im so sick of hearing about monopolys, jeezus i mean dont believe EVERYTHING you read...hehe

    6. Re:Outstanding News! by arcade · · Score: 1

      Let the price wars heat up! Don't you just love compition!

      I really didn't like this news.

      If intel releases an athlon killer so soon, and it really KILLS athlon, well - then AMD is going to have extreme economical troubles (don't they already?).

      The problem - put simple - is that it'll just make intel a monopoly. And it'll stay that way. That is NOT good news.


      --

      --
      "Rune Kristian Viken" - http://www.nwo.no - arca
    7. Re:Outstanding News! by Jimhotep · · Score: 2

      AMD has been trailing Intel since the 286. Intel
      has had plenty of time to destory AMD.

      Thanks to AMD and others, Intel is not a monopoly.
      And, you can buy lots of nice machines for what
      a fully loaded TRS-80 cost in 1978.

  33. Re:Big mz AMD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Do you know why there are AMD mobo problems? Intel. Intel is strongarming the manufacturers and making them want to keep their relationship with Intel. This was they can keep the PII/PIII market and can still get chipsets. This is where the DOJ should be investigating, assuming Microsoft does not, through paying the people in D.C to pressure Congresspeople, manage to cut the DOJ antimonopoly investigations budget. http://news.cnet.com/news/0 -1003-200-854054.html?tag=st

  34. Re:The GHz barrier by skullY · · Score: 1

    Wrong again! HE said 640K! hehehe :)

    *Sigh* Not only is satire gone, but a search party was sent out and found only its distant cousins, ignorance and misconception.

    --
    When I was able to do my own spam-armoring, you got a chance to email me. Now you can only hope I see your reply.
  35. competition rules by JEDi_ERiAN · · Score: 1

    it's about time there's some real competition in the CPU market. AMD is really forcing Intel to get newer chips out much faster.

    --

    -
    This Post has been brought to you by the letter "E".
    1. Re:competition rules by Eugene · · Score: 1

      Well, this is the first time Intel is playing catch up. but I really doubt that Intel will want or has the ability to push out the new chip though. plus I don't trust Register that much. sometimes their rumor is right on, but more times it's just vapor.

  36. Re:Memory latency by Hasdi+Hashim · · Score: 2

    0.18 micron does not refer to the wafer size. It is related to transistor size. The smaller the circuitry, the faster it can go for less power. If you want to bump up the speed, you have to raise the voltage, which allows you to go for high clocks and mo heat dissipation. I think the equation is somewhere is Hennesy and Patterson's book.

    Hasdi

  37. 1100?? by T4b · · Score: 1

    And to think I just got my 450..
    Do ye it'll be better than the dual overclocked celerons running at the same speed?

    --

    ------
    poing!
    1. Re:1100?? by darkmagus · · Score: 1

      Why not just go for dual 1100's?

      *grin*

      --
      darkmagus
    2. Re:1100?? by Cramer · · Score: 1

      Personally, I think it's just marketing FUD.

      There are _existing_ (albeit prototypes) 1GHz Alpha CPUs that don't melt lead. My 400MHz EV56 Alpha runs cool enough to hold in my hand despite the elaborate bolt-laged heat sink, and fan channeling (it's a server designed for an equipment farm so it certainly can run perfectly in a 100dF room.)

      The Intel PII-333 was a marvel at the time. Even with the fans disconnected, they run cooler than the chipset and RAM :-)

    3. Re:1100?? by Alpha42 · · Score: 1

      Why not just go for dual 1100's?

      Am I the only one who's having flashbacks to that anti-drug commercial from the 80s? "Hot enough to fry an egg??" (Mental image of a dual 1100 motherboard with a frying pan cooking away ontop the heatsinks)...
      :)

  38. a Merced killer, not IA64 killer by BonzoDog · · Score: 1

    This processor, if it actually existed, would be much faster than Merced (if it actually existed), Intel's first cut of IA64. Or did you think because Merced was 64-bit it would be faster than any 32-bit processor?

    1. Re:a Merced killer, not IA64 killer by David+Greene · · Score: 1
      Address space. Address space.

      The death of so many architectures...

      --

      --

    2. Re:a Merced killer, not IA64 killer by wass · · Score: 1
      It depends what applications you're doing. If you are doing 64 bit multiplies and divides, for instance, the 64 bit CPU will blow the pants off the 32 bit CPU (clock speeds within a factor of 2 or so). This is because the 32-bit CPU must spend many more clock cycles than the 64 bit CPU on high math operations. For instance, a 64-bit multiply is processed as successive 32-bit multiplies, shifts, and adds, amounting to many more cycles than the 64-bit CPU must undergo.

      Of course, not many people are doing 64-bit math on their computers, but from a research environment this matters alot.

      --

      make world, not war

  39. RDRAM = Rambus DRAM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

    This kind of RAM uses a narrower connection to the memory controller (typically 16bit) than tradionnal SDRAM (typically 64bit), but transmits data at a higher frequency (350MHz here), on both edges of the clock (hence PC700).

    Though you get higher memory bandwidth (1.4GB/s here, versus 0.8GB/s for PC100 SDRAM) you must be aware that the memory latency is worse.

    See Rambus, Inc's web site

  40. I find the rated speed a bit odd... by sconeu · · Score: 1

    1100 MHz? That's either 100MHz FSB at 11x multiplier, or some really strange FSB speed. You can't get to 1100MHz with 133MHz FSB (it's an 8.25x multiplier). I think someone at the Register is just having fun...

    --
    General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
  41. *if* it comes out by rde · · Score: 2

    I've seen a fair few comments about the Register being biases against Intel and MS, but I've got to say that as far as I'm concerned their coverage of future chips and stuff is pretty accurate. If they say it's doubtful, I'd tend to believe them.

    1. Re:*if* it comes out by joe52 · · Score: 2

      It would seem like a possible marketing move by Intel. *Maybe* they'll be able to pull this off, but afaik they haven't announced anything official. It would seem that by leaking rumors that they will be shipping these chips by Q1 2000 they might be able to hold onto some customers who might otherwise consider putting Athlons in their systems (OEMs) or buying Athlon-based systems (both corpotate buyers and individuals).

      joe

    2. Re:*if* it comes out by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Ummm...we're testing this one right now. All of the chips I've seen (1100 and up) are stamped Intel Confidential but do have an S rev part number. We've had them on bench for a couple of days. They're fast. Seems to be stable, and run about as hot as a Coppermine 700.....which is pretty damn hot.

  42. Re:Replacement for Central Heating? by Sehnsucht · · Score: 1

    But can intel pull that off? Their 600's are really OC'd 550's, running 0.05 (or is it 0.5?) V higher than normal :) and unstable as Taiwan from what I've heard :)

  43. Next generation computer games are the point by kill-1 · · Score: 1

    Needless to say more

  44. Re:What's the point... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    www.ibrator.com

  45. Re:clock speed vs parallel design by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you want to compare the performance of the different members of the family on plain old IA32 code, MMX and KNI/SSE don't make a difference. The main difference is then the L2 cache.

    But, from the instruction-set point of view, you're right. PII is a cheaper P6 with MMX. PIII is a PII with SSE.

  46. Re:Speaking of heating up.... by goldmeer · · Score: 1
    Will these fast CPUs run where ambient air temp is 100F (37C)? Why is the min/max ambient operating temp never specified anywhere on CPUs?

    This is because you can put the same processor into a well designed system, that provides adequate airflow that keeps a processor well within operating specifications. NOTE: These are typically not created with "off the shelf" parts. They consist of design work by a (or more likely a team of) thermal design engineer(s).

    OR

    You can install that same processor into a off the shelf case that provides piss-poor airflow, not because the case has no ventalation, but because the moron that put the motherboard (I still call them planarboards when I think to myself) in the case routed his ribbon cables whever they lie. The person that uses this system will experience heat related problems. And being equally unqualified to diagnose the problem, blames the chip! "Dammit! This chip is a space heater!" "No, the runs fine, the system was designed by a moron that thinks that the ability to use a screwdriver makes him a design engineer!"

    (sorry for the rant)

    If you purcahse a commercial name brand system, they will tell you the maximum ambient room temperature that they warrant the system to operate in.

  47. And Coppermine was due out in q4-97 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not that they called it that then... Ditto for Merced, whoops, Merced was due out in q1-98 (at the latest). Intel has almost as much vapor as MS... Hey, look at the pattern... Both companies announce new products (Merced/NT5) both products are buggy and delayed... and delayed again and again... And then, whoops, another delay! Then they rename the product and say it will be out in six months. Look ma, no delays on the merced, I mean Itanium, or whatever it'll be called when, years from now, we actually see a "review" of it in ZD. Becuase you know FiringSquad, etc aren't going to get one, not a production one anyway, for at least a year.

  48. Re:clock speed vs parallel design by Salamander · · Score: 2

    As happens way too often, /. managed to lose my first response to this, while giving every appearance of having accepted it. *sigh*

    >What you describe is essentially the initial MIPS project started by Hennessy at Stanford.

    I'm glad someone noticed. ;-) Basically I haven't seen much in subsequent processor designs to counter the excellent arguments H&P put forth in their book regarding How It Should Be Done.

    >Most delay slots are never filled

    Obviously, this can vary a lot, but according to the studies I've seen a single delay slot can be filled with something besides a NOP >80% of the time for most kinds of code. The important thing is that a NOP is no worse than a stall, except that the stall usually has a lot more wasted circuitry associated with it.

    Yes, dynamic scheduling can do "better" than static, but at what cost? Does the improvement make up for the additional complexity and limitation of clock rate? More importantly, are there other things that can be done with that real estate which provide even better bang for the buck?

    --
    Slashdot - News for Herds. Stuff that Splatters.
  49. Re:But if they release this... by jafac · · Score: 1

    Dream on. NT will someday be 64 bit like Win95 is 32 bit.

    "The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."

    --

    These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
  50. Re:Next version of windows will be in VB6 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Moderated funny? How about stupid, tired, lame, old, anti MS FUD?

    You will in all likelyhood need it to run KDE2.0 though if the difference between 1.0 and 1.1 is any indication.

  51. Re:HEAT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The only time I had a problem with heat was when I had a dual 300, 2 scsi drives and a buttload of expansion cards in one of those mid tower cases. With practically no ventilation in an un-airconditioned facility(my house)...that was hot. Usually a hot cpu is result of crappy airflow in the case (example above) and not drawing the hot air away from the cpu.

  52. Re:Chill out by goldmeer · · Score: 1
    (Case in point, I've got PII-266's systems I'd love to plop 333's into, but they don't make those anymore and the current production chips are multiplier locked.)

    No problem. a 333-MHz P2 chip runs on a 66-MHz bus with a multiplier of 5X. The 500-MHz P3 runs at a 100-MHz bus with a multiplier of 5X. If you place the 500-MHz chip into your LX (please don't be a FX) chipset board, it will run at 66-MHz, with a multiplier of 5X giving you... 333-MHz!!! (Of course, you need to make sure that your BIOS can handle the new chip. If the BIOS don't know how to load all the latest BIOS level workarounds for the chip, you are looking at serious instability)

    Now, you will be paying the 500-MHz price for a 333-MHz performance, but you DO get your wish.

    -- I could use some karma, please moderate me up 8-)

  53. Re:Speaking of heating up.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    i bet cyrix could do it.

  54. Re:clock speed vs parallel design by Salamander · · Score: 3
    The basic formula for CPU performance, from Hennessy and Patterson, is:
    • WPI * IPC * CPS
    • WPI = Work Per Instruction

      IPC = Instructions Per Cycle

      CPS = Cycles Per Second

    Classical CISC architectures tried to maximize WPI, and this limited the other two factors. RISC was mostly intended to maximize CPS, intentionally sacrificing WPI to do so. Pipelining, superscalarity, and branch prediction are all targeted toward increasing IPC in different ways. VLIW and EPIC improve either WPI or ICP depending on how you look at it.

    All of these approaches to improving performance tend to have characteristic challenges associated with them. In the current case, you have to deal with the fact that massively superscalar architectures require an instruction stream that keeps all the functional units fed. That means that compilers have to try to resolve data dependencies and competition for functional units, either of which would cause a stall, and also deal with branches which cause bubbles in almost any architecture. It's a very tough problem, which is why chip designers turn to second-order tricks such as speculative/predicated execution and VLIW/EPIC.

    Personally, I think that's all a trap because it causes chip complexity to skyrocket and undermines the very idea of RISC. If I were designing a chip, my goal would be to crank the frequency sky-high and make the compiler (or a translating front-end processor such as Transmeta is rumored to be working on) do most of the worrying about how instructions get scheduled. In particular, I'd go for:

    • A moderate number of moderately pipelined functional units, with fully exposed pipelines including whatever delay slots are necessary.
    • Instructions that specify the functional unit, without on-chip dependency checking and such. If the compiler screws up and issues an instruction before its operands are ready, tough for them.
    • Very limited branch hinting. No branch prediction, no speculative execution.
    • Lots of on-chip cache, because there's no way memory will keep up. If the tag-check logic can't be made fast enough, maybe an explicit stack or scratchpad on-chip.
    --
    Slashdot - News for Herds. Stuff that Splatters.
  55. Re:What's the point... by joshamania · · Score: 1

    Don't forget that it's much easier to test your home built nuclear weapons on a fast computer than doing underground detonations in your basement.

  56. Re:What's the point... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

    I don't think you need a 1GHz chip for word
    processing. I do think you need it to solve
    large eigenvalue problems and run atmospheric
    model simulations. A PC/Linux combo is an
    excellent alternative to expensive workstations in
    scientific research. It's ironic that these
    super-fast chips are really overkill for 99.9%
    of the population, but for the 0.1% of us who do
    serious number crunching it's a great deal! :)

  57. Re:Very suspicious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3

    The Register article you link to is very significant, but perhaps not in the way you intended. On 15/04/99 the Register reported the following:

    Intel is twisting the knife by showing OEMs performance predictions stretching out until late 2000 featuring a Willamette IA32 processor rated at 1100MHz competing with an AMD K7 at a paltry 666MHz.

    No specific figures are quoted, but graphs pitting the rival chips against each other show the Willamette 1110MHz scoring around the 50 mark in Winstone98 against the K7 666MHz at 35. On SpecInt95, Willamette reaches 43 against the AMD part's 20.

    The same graph shows a 666MHz Coppermine appearing in late 1999, a clear 12 months before AMD is expected to reach the magical figure.

    And perhaps more worryingly for AMD, a Coppermine-based Celeron appears in early 2000 (probably at 500MHz and 100MHz FSB with Streaming SIMD) which is predicted to perform almost on a par with the K7 666 reckoned to be due 6-9 months later.


    Rather than demonstrating inaccurate reporting by the Register, this report simply presents Intel's OWN predictions.

    It appears from this that Intel was expecting AMD to be unable to supply 666 MHz Athlons until Q4/2000! As you can see, Intel's current production is right on target, but their predictions for AMD were way off!. AMD is over a YEAR ahead of *Intel's* schedule. There's no way for them to adjust for this misprediction quickly, so expect Intel to lose a *lot* of market share to AMD over the next year.

  58. Re: And if it was written with Sun Java by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    how about in QBASIC?

  59. Re:Speaking of heating up.... by ipsharck · · Score: 1

    "If the heat sink fails" i always thought that heatsinks operated on prity basic laws of physics
    so i dont see how they can fail :P

    --
    Those People Who Are Crazy Enough To Think That They Can Change The World Probable Can
  60. Re:But if they release this... by goldmeer · · Score: 1
    I think that Intel is reaching the upper limit in terms of how powerful they can push the whole x86 thing.

    This has been said now for at least 5 years.

    As of yet, none of the soothsayers that said this, have been correct. Who knows, maybe you are the first!

    No, this does not qualify you to claim "first post" if you are right! 8-)

  61. Speaking of heating up.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I've always had bad luck with cutting edge CPUs. They always run too hot. Designers are releasing these chips too early, IMO. Any CPU that requires such an enormous cooling aparatus (multiple fans, a half pound of aluminum, etc.) is to me, an indication of a design flaw. If the heat sink fails, your CPU fries itself. And despite CPU advances, fan technology has stagnated. These little fans die constantly. Look at the lowly 450MHz chips to be had for $60 now... they run cooler and require less cooling hardware than the first 200MHz CPUs; i.e., the design was finally done right. Some of us have to swelter a little in the summer where A/C is still considered a luxury and can't afford to run it 24/7. Will these fast CPUs run where ambient air temp is 100F (37C)? Why is the min/max ambient operating temp never specified anywhere on CPUs? "Fan and heat sink required" is all it ever says. I KNOW from experience that this may not be enough, but I cannot KNOW this in advance of buying the CPU because the makers won't tell me. Now I can accept that I may not be able to run the latest chip in my environment, but knowing what i CAN run is, for reasons unknown to me, always a guessing game. I want to see specs of a chip's safe operating temp for continuous use, and a graph for the heatsink showing CPU temp vs. ambient air temp and how much it cools the CPU for each point on the graph. Am I being too demanding here or do the chip makers just assume that every runs their computer at (the chemists definition of) RTC.

    1. Re:Speaking of heating up.... by wass · · Score: 1

      haha, good point. However, if it REALLY fails, it may melt, and then reform as a globular mass, thus drastically reducing the surface area, and ultimately failing as a heat sink. However, if you're in danger of melting a heat sink, you've got some serious design issues to consider ;-)

      --

      make world, not war

    2. Re:Speaking of heating up.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      i agree somewhat but its common sense that you shouldnt be running sensitive electronics in 100+ F anyways without expecting some kind of heat dissapation probs...a/c is absolutly used anywhere they are serious about having their machines run properly...

  62. Re:No... by delmoi · · Score: 1

    Well, that probably depends, I really liked having my p75 run run at 1.5 bus speed (on an 83mhz bus :), but Athlons have much more parralelism, and multiple exicution paths, etc. I'd be willing to be they would be more efficent.
    "Subtle mind control? Why do all these HTML buttons say 'Submit' ?"

    --

    ReadThe ReflectionEngine, a cyberpunk style n
  63. We could have had Merced last year... by semis · · Score: 1

    ... but Intel would not let HP release it until it had ia32 reverse compatibility. So now we have to wait an extra two years!!

    Why? You can't just recompile closed source. More reason for OSS I say. This is a very good example of the Wintel monopoly holding back technology progress.

    Also, had intel not designed the x86 architecture in 3 months (normally takes over a year.. but they had to get it out quick) it might not be taking so long for Merced to appear.

    sigh.

  64. Re:Believe it when I see it. by Sehnsucht · · Score: 1

    Hey! I was running a 4x86/133 AMD system, and overclocked it to 160 fine!!! (Gotta love motherboards with 40MHz as an option)

    If I ever get a peltier I might try for 200 (50MHz)... It would boot but lock up pretty fast, too much heat (had to crank the voltage a bit more) :)

  65. Re:Outstanding. by Sehnsucht · · Score: 1

    If only the MoBo wasn't $200.. doh!

  66. Re:What's the point... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Video? DVD? Video Compression.... I think not, I have a nice old P-Pro 200 with a good decoder card doing all the video stuff I need it to..

  67. Re:PAPER Intro.(Two Points) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1
    Point 2: Rambus was not Intel technology, it was Rambus technology....

    The technology that ends up in your PC, that is Direct Rambus, was in part developped by Intel.

    Two quotes from the Rambus web site :

    Developed in conjunction with Intel Corporation, Direct Rambus technology has the performance/cost ratio demanded by the high clock-rate microprocessors used in mainstream PCs starting to ship in 1999.

    December 1996: Rambus and Intel disclose agreement to evolve Rambus DRAMs to meet requirements of PC main memory

  68. Re:clock speed vs parallel design by David+Greene · · Score: 1
    Some work has been done with this. A threaded architecture might be useful here.

    Predication works on a similar assumption. When hard-to-predict branches are predicated, the hardware wastes some time executing useless instructions, but avoids the mispredict overhead of refetch and/or reexecution of everything after the branch.

    --

    --

  69. Yet ANOTHER Socket design?? by GreyFauk · · Score: 1

    Is anyone else getting tired of non-compatible cpu sockets? Ok.. so I can see AMD using the slot A tech to utilize the alpha tech.... I can see Intel's switch to the slot 1 (because they hold the patent) But how many different freakin sockets does Intel have to bring out? Please... this is getting ridiculous. Socket 7 was great.. (had some drawbacks.. yes) Socket 370 or whatever that non-slot celeron is Slot 1 Slot 2 and now a NEW socket design from Intel? Gah!

    --
    Friends don't let friends buy Compaq's. (Dell/Gateway... same same) You want a good computer? Build it yourself.
  70. Athalon intel beater by Bleedomatic · · Score: 1

    man i got the rare chance at where i work to show off an amd k7 for a tech expo and i am telling you the thing was fast but whats up with the dawm thing i thought it was suppose to be stable man if it was then i hope amd gets this new chip right because other wise i am sticking with my reliable p3 500 at least i don't need to restart it every 15 minutes when it playing unreal (about every hour) i have to agree when it's not over heating its a very fast chip.

  71. Re:As much as I like Athlon.. by skullY · · Score: 1

    ..it is nowhere near the Pentium III "killer" on the server, until they realease that damn MP motherboards.

    I was at the Palo Alto Fry's the other day and they had dual Athlon MB's in stock for something around $400. Would that I had ~$600 to upgrade my system (And add the second processor later).

    --
    When I was able to do my own spam-armoring, you got a chance to email me. Now you can only hope I see your reply.
  72. Re:But if they release this... by IntlHarvester · · Score: 1

    We'll see. My theory is that it will ship all 64-bit, but it will be about as popular on NT-on-Alpha.

    --
    Business. Numbers. Money. People. Computer World.
  73. Re:ADMIT IT!!! THIS IS ALL ABOUT DICK SIZE!!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Indeed! And my wang is bigger than all wangs that oppose me! Step aside for the geek with the largest processor!

  74. Re:No... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So, when you're slower it's not a valid comparison, but when you're just 2mhz faster it's all the importance in the world? What gives?

  75. Re:PAPER Intro. by fwad · · Score: 1

    But intel aren't being anti-competitive and they don't have the same size monopoly as they used to to.

    To be anti-competitive would be to reduce the price to below that of the Athlon and run at a loss and just hope that AMD goes bust first.

    Of course intel want people to buy it's own chip and not AMD's. Of course intel want to drive AMD out of this particular area in chip making - that's what's called competing.

    Nowaday, "the better product" is not just the best tech, but the best tech, price, sales, marketing etc.
    --

    --
    -- Kernel Panic: Error reading /dev/caffeine
  76. AMD 1gig + chips by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I take it you guys havent heard...
    AMD has already started copper athlons
    1gig+
    400mhz system bus
    Caches in flavors of 1,2,4,8 meg
    Improved 3DNow

  77. 666MHz by Pyrrus · · Score: 1
    Intel is evil, I knew it. And we all know about the sum of the ASCII value of "Bill Gates 3" "WINDOWS95" and "MS-DOS 6.22" (I may not have the caps right on some of these and haven't checked them) The Wintel is the tool of satan! Get the Holy Linux!

    Did you mean 'hacker' or 'cracker'?
    Do you know the diffrence? I don't think you do.

  78. Re:clock speed vs parallel design by Sehnsucht · · Score: 1

    Actually, the PII/Celeron are more like P6 MMX, and the PIII is P6 MMX/KNI :)

  79. Re:clock speed vs parallel design by David+Greene · · Score: 2
    What you describe is essentially the initial MIPS project started by Hennessy at Stanford. MIPS is an acronym for "Microprocessor without Interlock(ed) Pipe Stages."

    The problem is, it's very tough for the compiler to do a good job scheduling statically. Most delay slots are never filled. Much more information is available at run-time (in a limited window for the hardware), so it can make some better decisions than a static compiler can.

    However, the compiler can look much further ahead than the processor, so it seems that some sort of hybrid solution is called for. Whether that involves profiling and feedback optimization a la FX!32 and others, new ISA or something else is still an open question, I think. IA64 has made steps in this direction.

    --

    --

  80. internet connection. by Error27 · · Score: 1

    Right on! Your connection to the internet is what matters now.

    I am connected by an ethernet to my university which has T3 lines to the University of Minnesota.

    An IP that stays the same lets me setup apache from my dorm room. I can download MP3's 5 times faster than I play them. I've got ICQ. I can play Quake 3 without lag. The only time I _have_ to cuss at my connection these days is when the server on the otherside is slow.

    Just a lot of motivation to stay in school really.
    error27

  81. Re:Language by Sehnsucht · · Score: 1

    Maybe he meant like "why'd the chicken cross the road?" :)

  82. Re:No... by delmoi · · Score: 1

    Also, our "450 MHz" is shipping. Barely, I know. But it's sure not just numbers on paper.

    Yeh, us "PCweenies" are stuck at a lameass 700mhz (800 for supercooled units). Do you really thing a PPC is twice as efficent as comparable pentium?
    "Subtle mind control? Why do all these HTML buttons say 'Submit' ?"

    --

    ReadThe ReflectionEngine, a cyberpunk style n
  83. Re:MIPS and FLOPS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    >For example, the G4 may well execute more >instructions per second than a P3 (boosting >it's MIPS figure), but if it takes 4 instructions >to do the same job as 1 P3 instruction it >obviously isn't performing as well. AltiVec may >be an incredibly fast processor extension, but >how many Purely from a design point og view the G4 is a beauty. Except for the 32bits integer unit, everything else is 64 or 128 bits (128 bits vector procesor and 128 bits path to its backside cache. It has 128 bits capabilities from processors to the rest of the computer but use 64 bits for now). The chip runs very cool, so it will be easy to put in a portable computer, copper interconnect (and soon silicon-on-insulator: 30% more power at same Mhz). The G4 is performing more operations per clock cycle than a P3, that's way Apple as to normalize the results when comparing. So Mhz for Mhz the G4 is way way faster. In terms of SPECint95 and fp95 a 400 Mhz G4 is better in fp than a 600Mhz PII and just sligthly slower in int (not counting the AltiVec unit here). >applications directly use and benefit from it >_right now_? this is the interesting part, compilation to use the vector unit is relatively easy. For all that counts, scientific processing, 3D, crypto, photoshop IT IS ALREADY THERE!!!!!! By the way photoshop is really at leat 2 time faster in a G4 (that's average results from photoshop full sets of bechmark using the vector units). Linux on a G4 ;-))

  84. Re:PAPER Intro.(Two Points) by jafac · · Score: 1

    yeah, but the decision to adopt Rambus was an intel SCREW UP, and one driven by greed and a desire to force other players out of the motherboard market.

    I hope intel does release an 1100 MHz chip, and I hope they sell a billion of them, and I hope they're forced to recall them due to severe bugs, and not performing as advertised.

    Will the world THEN learn not to listen to Intel's flatulent vapor? I doubt it.

    "The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."

    --

    These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
  85. The Register is not exactly reliable. by Wakko+Warner · · Score: 2
    Every once in a while, they'll run an actual truthful news story, but they seem to do the bulk of their reporting sheerly off of rumors and conjecture. 99% of the stuff they print turns out not to be true. Why do people still use them as a "news source"?

    - A.P.
    --


    "One World, one Web, one Program" - Microsoft promotional ad

    --
    "Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
  86. Re:My how the tables have turned... by jafac · · Score: 1

    Ah, the only Pentium Killer I know about is Windows NT. . . It sure killed MY pentium.

    "The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."

    --

    These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
  87. Re:The GHz barrier by Sehnsucht · · Score: 1

    Wrong again! HE said 640K! hehehe :)

  88. Re:Kryotech Dual 1Ghz Athlon by Sehnsucht · · Score: 1

    *splooge*

  89. Athlon Killer by locutus2k · · Score: 1

    AMD has done a superb job, slaying the Intel dragon. Overcoming intel in thetech market is at very least a major acomplishmen. I recently had the opppritunity to play with a K7-500. Even in comparison with the PIII-600, the Athlon has outperformed it. AMD will undoubtily continue topping the PIII. The idea of something that is even faster coming from the depths of intel, when it was also reported by "reliable sources" that Intel had nothing even close, leaves me to wonder if they are getting close or not. I'll believe it when I see it.

  90. Re:clock speed vs parallel design by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    >The encouraging this is, if we can get around >branch problems (and that's a huge if)

    No pun intended, right?

  91. Re:Believe it when I see it. by delmoi · · Score: 1

    Peltier's are like $50, wouldn't it be cheaper to just get a new CPU? (somthing like $55 for 300-400mhz)
    "Subtle mind control? Why do all these HTML buttons say 'Submit' ?"

    --

    ReadThe ReflectionEngine, a cyberpunk style n
  92. Re:The Intel Conspiracy by jafac · · Score: 1

    um. been saying that for 10 years. . .

    Moore's law; It's not a keen observation of microprocessor technology, it's a business plan.

    "The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."

    --

    These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
  93. Re:The GHz barrier by hal9k · · Score: 1

    Didn't he say we wouldnt need more than 640K of RAM?

    - hal9k

  94. Re:That speed necessary? by jafac · · Score: 1

    naw. I'm just hoping that when the 1100MHz comes out, the 500MHz will drop enough in price that my cheap-ass boss will buy me one. I'm SO tired of waiting for MS Word to open a document on my old 250.

    "The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."

    --

    These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
  95. Deja vu by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think they're doing the same thing did microsoft to citrix. bullshit !

  96. Re:Outstanding. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Got my Compaq 5900Z- 600 MHz Athlon for over a week now! Ordered direct to Compaq. It's a fast computer! Sooooo... if you want one you can get one. No vaporware here.

  97. Re:But if they release this... by jafac · · Score: 1

    ". . . should have no problem running an emulated environment for x86 programs"

    The way I understand it, Intel is going to scale their lineup of CPU's, the high-end (very costly, only for businesses with $2burn) ones will do the x86 emulation in hardware, the low-end IA-64 chips will do the x86 emulation differently, with slower software-based emulation. So anybody caught running Windows NT on an IA-64 CPU better pay for the high-end CPU or it's going to run more slowly than the high-end IA-32. Especially since Microsoft has no *realistic* plans for porting NT to 64 bit anytime soon. (oh, they DO have plans, they're about as realistic as Intel getting an 1100MHz chip to market in two months).

    This is why every Unix vendor this side of the pecos has jumped on porting their OS to IA-64. They don't want to be in the same sinking boat MS is in right now. There will be HUGE performance advantages for native IA-64 OSes. I'm actually a bit piqued about how Linux-friendly Intel has been lately. If this is done right, MS will look pretty bad in about two years, while they're still busily cranking out service packs to get 32-bit W2K running properly. Will they port to 64-bit? Yes, a little at a time, and I'm sure that they'll write like a 64-bit Notepad, and run it on 32-bit NT, and slap a big "optimized for Itanium" sticker on the box.

    "The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."

    --

    These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
  98. advantages by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Additional processing power is not simply an invitation to excess mess. There are still some things we can't do with existing power. I myself am looking forward to the day when processing power and memory hits are sufficiently fast to allow scripted languages (like Perl, VB) to supplant compiled languages. Interpreted languages are superior in a number of ways from the standpoint of the programmer. They are simpler to modify and read, and typically easier to debug. Regrettably these advantages are offset by their relative sluggishness. But when we get processors adequately fast, the speed difference of "e" between Perl and C will be irrelevant to a human observer in all but the most computationally intensive situations. Similarly, I was working with my girlfriend yesterday on an image using Microsoft's PhotoDraw product. Now, yes, this may be Microsoft and ergo their code must be sloppy (right? uh, right?) but when you're dragging a picture of the Taj Mahal across a "corrugated" surface with a "watercolors" style and wrapping it around a torus, you are always going to hit the CPU pretty hard. We had to wait for the refreshes. There are still some pretty cool art applications for processors that we haven't yet supplied with consumer hardware. Then there's 3d desktops, VR, all the cool things we dream of having someday. Those aren't going to happen merely by unwrapping a few loops in assembly. Hardware at some point becomes a must.

    1. Re:advantages by Guy+Harris · · Score: 2
      Interpreted languages are superior in a number of ways from the standpoint of the programmer. They are simpler to modify and read,

      "Simpler to modify and read" in what sense? If you mean it's easier to read programs written in those languages, and to modify an existing program written in those languages, how much of that is due to the language and how much of it is due to its implementation being interpretive?

      (Is "interpreted" a property of a language or an implementation? I think the first LISP implementations were interpreted, but LISP compilers exist; most C implementations are compiled, but I think C interpreters exist. I could imagine Perl or VB implementations that generate compiled code - I have the impression that VB code can be compiled into machine code - and if you were to translate one of this sort of language into, say, Java byte codes, and to run them in an environment with a JIT compiler, is it interpreted or compiled?)

      Some of the benefits may be due to the implementation being interpretive, e.g. an interpreter might be able to do a better job of telling you where something blew up (although symbolic debuggers can, at least sometimes, do a decent job of that, at least if the code is unoptimized), but I'm curious whether a sufficiently clever non-interpretive environment could do as good a job.

      I.e., speeding up "higher-level" languages might be doable by means other than throwing faster processors at them; one can debate whether they're better doable by those means, but that's a separate question.

      But, yes, it's not ipso facto the case that faster processors server only to encourage sloppy code; some might debate whether software and what it can do has progressed in any truly useful fashion since the days of the Manchester Mark 1, but....

  99. As much as I like Athlon.. by Axe · · Score: 1

    ...it is nowhere near the Pentium III "killer" on the server, until they realease that damn MP motherboards.

    Our morons still insist on byuing quad Xeons for funny prices....

    --
    <^>_<(ô ô)>_<^>
  100. Re:The GHz barrier by FigWig · · Score: 1

    Obviously he meant the 1 Mother Board limit. We need more mother boards god damn it!!!!

    --
    Scuttlemonkey is a troll
  101. Re:Chill out by Cramer · · Score: 1

    I think Intel should stop this stupidness. What if I want to under-clock my CPU?

    (Case in point, I've got PII-266's systems I'd love to plop 333's into, but they don't make those anymore and the current production chips are multiplier locked.)

  102. yeh, but you guys are the ones who screwed up... by delmoi · · Score: 1

    Nintendo didn't have any trouble implementing 500mhz rambus memory in the n64 in 1996...
    "Subtle mind control? Why do all these HTML buttons say 'Submit' ?"

    --

    ReadThe ReflectionEngine, a cyberpunk style n
  103. Re:No... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    No, Mac evangelists are smart enough to know that processor clocks speeds are not a valid comparison among system architectures.

    Also, our "450 MHz" is shipping. Barely, I know. But it's sure not just numbers on paper.

  104. Re:clock speed vs parallel design by Cramer · · Score: 1

    Yeap, so much for "Plain Old Text", eh?

    Use "&gt;" or "&lt;" (WARNING: "Preview" will translate them into the literal chars.)

  105. Is this really what we want? by Yeshua · · Score: 2

    Yes, stupid question I know, ofcourse we want it, but what I mean is should we be so eagerly anticipating something that will simply have more resources to be eaten up by sloppy code? (Let's face it, M$ still hold the biggest share in OS, despite best efforts) Shouldn't we be also pushing for tighter and better coding, which would fix probably half the resource problems we have now?

    1. Re:Is this really what we want? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good brave thinking. But how would you put pressure on MS to write better code. I am sure intel is happy to see MS writing resource-consuming code because they have a reason to sell their faster CPUs. It's a bad-bad-world we live in.
      CYa, Mario
      http://delysid.org and http://piss.at

  106. hot chip by plaiddragon · · Score: 2

    nice speed, but do i have to install it in my freezer.

    --
    * * * --they cant all be your best, that would be confusing
  107. Re:What's the point... by Buaku · · Score: 1
    Actually, a faster chip is never overkill for people who play games on the computer. Better graphics, more complex engines, etc all become possible with more CPU power, RAM, bus speeds and so forth.

    Support for games, not scientific calculations, is one of the primary forces pushing companies to make more powerful CPU's. I guarantee you that gamers are much more than 0.1% of the marketshare.

  108. Re:What's the point... by jbf · · Score: 1

    Maybe I'm not in the majority, but there are people who use CPUs for more than compiling kernels (not that I'm flaming people who compile kernels, as I do so myself quite frequently)

    Ever run a batch job that runs for 30-40 hours, and have to run 5 more after that's finished? Ever wish you could have realtime effects on multiple channels, downmix and realtime mp3 encode the result at multiple bitrates while streaming an uncompressed version to disk? Sure would save a lot of time in music production. Ever have to wait for photoshop to run a filter?

    Sure, CPUs today are probably 90%+ idle, but we can afford to overprovision because human time is so expensive. I wonder what effect CPU speed has on TCO and total marginal benefit of ownership...

  109. Believe it when I see it. by moonboy · · Score: 1

    Especially with the Register reporting this taking into account their history of "creating" news. Although, it wouldn't be a bit surprising with all of the overclocking of Intel chips as it is. We all know that the cores of Intel chips can perform admirably well above there "advertised" clock speed. They probably have had 1100 MGHz capable cores sitting in the vault for sometime now.

    ----------------

    "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein

    --

    Co-founder and designer at Music Nearby: http://musicnearby.com
    1. Re:Believe it when I see it. by Craig+Maloney · · Score: 2

      Actually, the alien overlords have allowed Intel to bring forth this new chip for the good of mankind. However, you might want to wear tin-foil and collanders on your head, lest the RF emmissions from this Gigahertz+ chip turn you into a mindless overclocking zombie (An unfortunate side effect discovered when the celerons were first overclocked.)

    2. Re:Believe it when I see it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1
      There's a difference between overclocking to 1100 and actually producing a core that works reliably at 1100MHz. I'm sure many of you know that Intel doesn't have a different production line for faster chips.

      All of chips that you buy came out of the same production line, except that they didn't all come out the same. Uncontrollable differences in the production process make some chips "more perfect" than others. The "most perfect" chips tend to run faster than the others.

      In the intrest of selling chips instead of stockpiling them, they sometimes stamp their fastest chips at a lower clock speed (ie PIII 600 when its capable of running at 800MHz). Naturally, once they refine their production process to the point where they are getting enough faster chips, its in their intrest to mark them faster as to make more money off of them.

      Intel in this regard has a slightly better track record over AMD in my experience. AMD has a tendency to produce some chips that barely hold their clock and as they heat up, they can't hold the stamped clock speed. At least that was the case with their 486's and Pentium Class processors. Since those times I've stayed away from AMD. Not to project that assumption over to the Athlons. :^)

    3. Re:Believe it when I see it. by moonboy · · Score: 0

      Ha. Funny. You even got moderated higher than me on that one. :-( Poor, poor me.

      ----------------

      "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein

      --

      Co-founder and designer at Music Nearby: http://musicnearby.com
  110. Re:clock speed vs parallel design by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not so long ago (well, it was nearly a year, sue me!) I picked up a AMD running at 400 mhtz or so. Biggest problem I had was multitasking. I couldn't keep AOL (not my choice... still living with parents and they get AOL free *&^@#$*^&%$%^&) and Netscape open without lagging. Later I did some playing around with the architecture (added another processor) and now I can get Netscape, AOL, and my favorite MP3s running and only lagging when I try to open some other huge program. Chip architecture is the way to go! Wonder if Transmeta is playing around with this... nearly impossible to get running but it is great if you do!

  111. PAPER Intro. by paitre · · Score: 1

    The article stated that it'd be a PAPER intro as early as this December. Not Silicon, Paper. Silicon won't hit the OEMs for another two months, which means systems on shelves in March/April.
    Frankly, I can't see it. Intel has been botching a LOT of technology up lately (Rambus....), and by speeding up their releases, their marketoids could be setting Intel up for a VERY hard fall...QA anyone?
    Also, if Intel HAS been using "Athlon Killer" in internal documentation wrt Willamette, that's bad news...DoJ anyone?
    Heh.
    I'm not slamming Intel, i think it'd be a cool thing if they pull this off, but I don't know if they can. We'll see in 6 weeks :)

    1. Re:PAPER Intro. by MaxVlast · · Score: 1

      Bah, I don't think there would be any DOJ issue with a code name like 'Athlon Killer.'

      Inted and the DOJ are in close nowadays. And the fact that Adobe's new page layout program (InDesign) was called 'Quark Killer' not-so-secretly for a very long time seems to set a precedent. Many people consider Adobe to be the MS of the imaging world.

      But I'll keep on using my K6 and my copy of Quark XPress.


      --
      Max V.

      --
      There should be a moratorium on the use of the apostrophe.
      Max V.
      NeXTMail/MIME Mail welcome
    2. Re:PAPER Intro. by fwad · · Score: 1

      Oh for god sake - of course intel want to create a chip that will mean that people buy it rather than anything anybody else has to offer. Currently the target chip to beat is athlon.

      This has nothing to do with the DoJ - this is what a free market is all about.

      People is slashdot are far to good about crying foul when there is nothing wrong happening!
      --

      --
      -- Kernel Panic: Error reading /dev/caffeine
  112. Re:clock speed vs parallel design by delmoi · · Score: 1

    No, you're not, but the guys behind IA64 are. and they did just that :)
    "Subtle mind control? Why do all these HTML buttons say 'Submit' ?"

    --

    ReadThe ReflectionEngine, a cyberpunk style n
  113. My how the tables have turned... by Special+J · · Score: 3

    It wasn't even six months ago that people talked about AMD's "Pentium Killer". Now its the other way around. Changes fast doesn't it? Used to be everyone after Intel was trying to make the Pentium Killer. This is the first time I recall in x86 land that Intel is the one making the "Killer".

    Perhaps this a true sign that AMD is a legitimate competitor to Intel; not just in the low-end but the high end too. If you didn't think that already.

    --
    VENI! VIDI! VICI!
    1. Re:My how the tables have turned... by Black+Parrot · · Score: 2

      > Now its the other way around.

      That's exactly what you are supposed to conclude. But it isn't "now", it's several months from now. Maybe.

      So long as the chips aren't shipping, it's vapourware.

      Or perhaps paperware, in this case.

      --
      It's October 6th. Where's W2K? Over the horizon again, eh?

      --
      Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  114. Re:Outstanding. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I've had an Althon for about a month. I bought it from atacom.com but I paid out the nose for it... I bought them when they were $275 for the CPU and $200 for the board :(

  115. Re:clock speed vs parallel design by delmoi · · Score: 1

    i don't know if x86 supports branch hints...

    It does
    "Subtle mind control? Why do all these HTML buttons say 'Submit' ?"

    --

    ReadThe ReflectionEngine, a cyberpunk style n
  116. No... by Skyshadow · · Score: 2
    No, we should be using our superior OS to make them all look bad on the same hardware. I know that's what we've all been doing now, but I suspect the faster the clock the more noticible the differences will become again.

    ----

    --
    Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
    1. Re:No... by IntlHarvester · · Score: 1


      And is a 700 Mhz Pentium twice as efficent as a 350 Mhz Pentium?

      (I don't know, but I kind-of-doubt-it.)

      --
      Business. Numbers. Money. People. Computer World.
    2. Re:No... by alhaz · · Score: 1

      But at least the mac evangelists are eating a heaping portion of humble pie over not being able to get anything over 450Mhz.

      --
      This is just like television, only you can see much further.
  117. Re:What's the point... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In the genomics field we're so far away from the speed we need it's damn frustrating. Small alignments can take days, trying to assemble a whole chromosomes worth of dna fragments is pretty much unthinkable, well ok not unthinkable but would take tons of cpu cycles. For the home user it's obvious that cpu speed will keep increasing until real time video editing is here, and probably until realistic real time 3d rendering is here. After that maybe it'll get harder to find uses.

  118. wait... by delmoi · · Score: 1

    I may have misunderstood you...

    anyway, p6 branch perdiction is somthing like 95% correct
    "Subtle mind control? Why do all these HTML buttons say 'Submit' ?"

    --

    ReadThe ReflectionEngine, a cyberpunk style n
  119. What's the point... by .pentai. · · Score: 3

    Seriously curious...what would be the point of this for the majority of us? I'm running a single celeron 400 (soon to be dual) and it does everything I want, without problems. Kernel compilations are in the low single digits, I can play any games full speed, why does the average person here need something this fast? We don't, other than possibly being able to say "haw, my computer is faster than yours."

    Just some thoughts...though I wouldn't complain getting one of these things for my birthday or anything :P


    1. Re:What's the point... by blitzcat · · Score: 1

      It's so we can surf the internet faster!

      Boy does that statement have some holes in it! But you can bet you system that every tv ad you hear from gateway, compaq, etc. with an intel chip will try to convince consumers that the statement is true. Intel subsidizes computer makers advertizing budgets, but requires statement similar to that.

      I think the hardware vendors are selling their souls pushing stuff that way. At least make up legitimate reasons consumers need high levels of performance. Its no better than selling insurance, magazines, etc. to lonely old people through telemarketing... prey on the weak and ignorant.

      Since I'm not a gamer, i'll keep plugging along on my P100 dual for another few years ...

    2. Re:What's the point... by Crag · · Score: 1

      To echo someone elses's point, a 100Mhz Pentium w/ 16M ram and a 1G hard drive was plenty of machine 4 years ago. Now it's a boat anchor.

      Also, faster computers lower the cost of slower computers. A 1Ghz computer is probably faster than a dual 500Mhz machine, or if not, it's certainly cheaper per amount of work done.

      But more importantly, don't forget that a lot of comprimises have been and continute to be made in software because hardware can't keep up.

      In the 60's that meant no graphics.
      In the 70's that meant no solid 3d graphics.
      In the 80's that meant no real-time 3d graphics.
      In the 90's that meant no dynamic real-time 3d graphics (lighting and visibility information is precalculated).

      Perhaps Quake 4 or Trinity or whatever won't need to have pre-compiled maps. Perhaps they will be downloaded as the player approaches the part of the map they don't have. That would rock.

      Perhaps in 2010 we'll all have 256 node beawulf clusters with each node running and 10Ghz, and scenes will be photo-realistic in games. Perhaps these machines will cost $1000 and the machine will be smaller than our coffee cup.

      Innevitably, when they come up with a way to break the 10Ghz barrier, someone will ask, "What's the point?"

    3. Re:What's the point... by IntlHarvester · · Score: 1

      I wonder what effect CPU speed has on TCO and total marginal benefit of ownership...

      For most PC users - very little, I would imagine. PC's have had enough juice to run office-type applications for years. (I remember how painful spell checking was on my Mac SE, and now it's real time.) To some extent, CPU can help allievate bandwidth problems for applications like video conferencing and whatever Intel has on their Pentium III website, but those are pretty marginal benefits.

      On the other hand, CPU power has allowed corporations to deploy server applications which query and search massive amounts of data. Definate benefit there, but that CPU is hardly needed on the client side.

      --
      Business. Numbers. Money. People. Computer World.
    4. Re:What's the point... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


      Do those come in USB yet? - I've got an iMac.

    5. Re:What's the point... by nfgaida · · Score: 2

      Two words: Power Trip!

      I just get this "MUUUAHAHAHA" feeling when i think of a 1Ghz power machine.

      --
      *elevator music plays*
    6. Re:What's the point... by arcade · · Score: 1

      Seriously curious...what would be the point of this for the majority of us? I'm running a single celeron 400 (soon to be dual) and it does everything I want, without problems. Kernel compilations are in the low single digits, I can play any games full speed, why does the average person here need something this fast? We don't, other than possibly being able to say "haw, my computer is faster than yours."

      "640K ought to be enough for anyone"

      Not to forget that I remember saying something similiar to you when I bought my trusty old 486SX 20Mhz some 9 years ago.


      --

      --
      "Rune Kristian Viken" - http://www.nwo.no - arca
    7. Re:What's the point... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Have you ever been viewing a slideshow of pr0n and tried to load a particularly large image in the middle of the show? That extra load time can throw off your whole rhythm! Faster CPUs man we can open those large images in the same amount of time as the small, low quality images that are so common. Really, those high-quality images are the jewels in any collection! Man, some people are just so stupid.

    8. Re:What's the point... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I'm running a single celeron 400 (soon to be dual) and it does everything I want, without problems. Kernel compilations are in the low single digits, I can play any games full speed, why does the average person here need something this fast?

      There are some reasons. Very simple but good one. Video. DVD. Video compression. Video capture+compression.

    9. Re:What's the point... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Think digital video, compression, sophisticated encryption. There's plenty of fodder to throw at speedy processors even beyond next year's Winblows 2xxx release. Cheers, MO

  120. Marketing by AlphaBrav · · Score: 1

    That seems to be what this may amount to. AMD has released a superrior chip, so Intel doesn't want people to buy that - average-Joe might realize Intel does not make the almighty best chip for your PC. It could be the old angle of "Don't by that Athlon! It'll just be obsolete when our new monster chip comes out. And it will come out real soon. Really." I can see some marketing team corner the engineering team... "What the absolute theoretical maximum MHz we can get..." "What's the absolute earliest we can get these chips out." "Give us new cool buzz words..."

  121. Re:Very suspicious by Plato90s · · Score: 1

    I think Intel gave themselves a lot of time in their original timeline to develop Willliamette. Given the trouble Intel is having with Merced/Itanium, that is probably a good idea.

    But AMD's unexpected strong release of the Athlon means Intel can't be complacent any more. Most reviewing sites agree that the PIII-600 was rushed into production as a defensive measure. The fact that AMD promptly added Athlon-650 and -700 neatly demolished that Intel move to claim at least parity.

    Let's look at some of Intel's moves lately...

    Introducing the 820 chipset in order to sell MBs[diversify]
    Dramatic price cuts in PIII and Celeron[price war] which cuts into Intel's profits
    Premature release of PIII-600 which resulted in some errata
    Hyping up future products like Williamette


    Six months has brought Intel and AMD into a whole different situation. Early this year, Intel was also on the defensive as AMD chips flooded the low end market, even making in-roads to Gateway. In response, Intel cut their margins to the bone and flooded the market with cheap Celerons and PIIIs. But now Intel faces a situation that money alone won't solve.

    Besides enjoying the fruits of competition, I'd be interested to see whether AMD can finally reach profitability and parity with Intel.

  122. Outstanding. by Hermetic · · Score: 2

    This sounds a lot like more vaporware.
    Sure, it'll come out eventually.
    "Released on paper sometime in January" with the chips actually available sometime around two months after that. Now doesn't that strike you as equivalent to "The check is in the mail?"
    I want one. We all want one. But announceing plans to release something drastically cooler than everything else on the market should require a definitive time frame, especially when using that many "killer" buzzwords.

    Athlon killer? Who even has one yet? Where do I get a mother board for an Athlon?
    I can't believe this was anything but the PR departments intentional release of memos to get noticed and to try to take sales from AMD.

    --
    Computers can only simulate determinism. ~Hermetic.
    1. Re:Outstanding. by Shaken · · Score: 1

      Agreed, It does sound like a bunch of hype from Intel to get people thinking -"Hmmm, Intel is bringing out an 1100 megahertz chip soon, I think I'll hold off to buy it instead of this Athlon..."

      They promised the paper release in December? Ok, maybe. I'd like to see the papers on this chip, specifically how hot it runs. They promise the silicon release two months after? Hmmm, doubtful. *Maybe* two months after they're supposed to hit the streets...

      It does sound as if Intel is trying to get people to wait for their new chip by promising it so soon.

      And when did the P III 400Mhz chip make it's OEM debut? March 1, 1999? Can't watch to see the "DEC-Athalon" chip from AMD "Our chip can do 10 things at once!!"

      Shaken

    2. Re:Outstanding. by tzanger · · Score: 1

      I don't buy it... two months to go from paper to silicon? Christ, it takes longer to get the masks made up!

      So they are going from a simulated, theoretically tested device to silicon layout to first runs to stress analysis and an iteration of releases to fix niggly bugs and things to final masks to final first runs to final product in two months. Bullshit.

      This isn't a 1000-transistor chip here, people... It's a multi-million transistor very complex integrated circuit with all kinds of timing and layout issues. This is pure vapourware.

    3. Re:Outstanding. by minkyboodle · · Score: 1

      there are three computer stores where i live that carry em, there not that hard to find

      --
      The angle of the Dangle is equaly proportional to the heat of the beat. ---Beavis
    4. Re:Outstanding. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Athlon killer? Who even has one yet? Where do I get a mother board for an Athlon?
      I can't believe this was anything but the PR departments intentional release of memos to get noticed and to try to take sales from AMD.
      ========
      for the DITY (Do IT Yourself) geeks, Fry's Electronics sells 2 different Athlon Motherboards, as well as the CPUs...

      Stop expecting Computer City, CompUSA, Best Buy, etc., to come through for you.

    5. Re:Outstanding. by DLG · · Score: 1

      Athlon killer? Who even has one yet? Where do I get a mother board for an Athlon? I know this isn't the point of the thread but the fact is that I have had an Athlon 500mhz for 2 weeks now. It runs great, and was no problem finding. I believe IBM has an K7 based Aptiva on the consumer market as well. (I picked up mine at 5oclock.com, and put it together myself so I wouldn't have to wait for 2 weeks for someone to do what I can do in 2 hours. Just remember to buy a CPU fan) ------- I do not trust announcement of chips. The basic fact is that a chip being produced doesn't have anything to do with a chip being available. There were Alpha's being demonstrated at a gigahertz last year. Intel showed 700mhz stuff this year. I see no product. Apple just got into trouble because they tried to sell G4 500's without auppliers. I have to say that Athlon is a great chip because it is a real chip. I was glad the company that was selling me a K6-3 screwed up my order so bad I had to cancel it. It forced me to wait the 3 weeks it took to get the K7 into the marketplace. The best thing is that my mobo is rated to the 700 (which costs 3 times as much as the 500)... When the 700 drops to 200 bucks or so I can bring my box up to 700mhz without any major effort. Meanwhile I have a pretty good development machine (not to mention the game performance. Hell Windows actually feels responsive at this speed.) Anyhow, if you want an Athlon they are out there. I may be the first person I know who has one, but unless I am mistaken, I won't be the last. D

  123. A reliable source told me: by Dast · · Score: 2

    The Register didn't have any sources. Sorry, but if you haven't read the article, do so.

    "We know, from a highly reliable source..."

    "It's also worth referring back to this piece, which also came from a highly reliable source..."

    "Another reliable source tells The Register..."

    "One US source says..."

    Hehehe. Boy I get a lot of laughs out of this kind of journalism.

    But seriously, it seems to me that at this kind of speed (if it were to be true), the processor isn't going to be the bottleneck (but that will vary depending on what you are doing, of course). The slow point for most of the things I do, is, believe it or not, my internet connection. (And I'm over cable modem.) Give me a low end pentium class machine and a blazing link, and I'll be a happy man.

    However, that is all just my opinion...but I got it from a reliable source. ;)


    --

    This sig is false.

    1. Re:A reliable source told me: by Wiseleo · · Score: 1

      P133/Creative 2x decoder/Panasonic DVD-Rom/16mb ram/500mb HDD - works great for DVD playback.
      --
      Leonid S. Knyshov
      Network Administrator

      --
      Leonid S. Knyshov
      Find me on Quora :)
    2. Re:A reliable source told me: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The PC Bus speed is an huge factor when you figure that the CPU will be going 9-33 times faster than any memory/PCI-bus can interface with it.

    3. Re:A reliable source told me: by QuMa · · Score: 1

      The register is just pretty protective of their sources (Who blames em, that's why they get the news ahead of others on a lot of subjects). If you look into the archives, You'll find that most of their anonymous sources are in fact correct.

      m-x doctor

    4. Re:A reliable source told me: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Give me a low end pentium class machine and a blazing link, and I'll be a happy man.

      But then your mp3 files will be sometimes interrupted (when you do compilation), quake 3 won't be very pretty, and playback of DVDs will be a disaster.

    5. Re:A reliable source told me: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3

      Hi, Mike Magee from The Register here (mike.magee@theregister.co.uk) When we use the phrase source, reliable or highly reliable it's because we need to protect the identity of people. How soon, for example, would someone be fired if we published their names and email addresses? We call this protecting our sources. Don't think we make this stuff up -- we don't... Plus, our view is that applying the "sacred principle" of journalism to the IT business is counterproductive. If we had to put every single one of our sources "on the record", they'd say -- err, I signed an NDA... Mike

  124. Re: And if it was written with Sun Java by TummyX · · Score: 1

    It would require 10X that :P

  125. Yah... right. by Silver+Paladin · · Score: 1

    Just for a second, let's put aside the fact that the Register is a worthless rag that's wrong more than they're right and look at the rest of the story. They're talking about a launch on paper in December, with the chips not being available until a couple of months after that. Not only that, but

    We now think the 800MHz rev will be the first, while Intel may be able to ramp that up by June.

    So there will be no 1100 MHz part in December (and probably not one in June, either) - there MIGHT be an 800 MHz part. Roblimo would have realized this, had he bothered to read past the headline.

    What do we have? The Register (an unreliable source) is telling us that Willamette will launch in december (6-9 months earlier than the rest of the world expects) with a non-existent chipset, and that it will reach a clock speed (1100 Mhz) that is unrealistic to expect from a 0.18 micron core.

    As I started out - Yah... right.

  126. Re:One word: emulation by TummyX · · Score: 1

    Arcade machine emulator for X.

  127. Not an issue for me.... by Steve+B · · Score: 1

    ...unless the Big Brother Inside serial number from the PIII is gone, outta here, staked through the heart.
    /.

    --
    /. If the government wants us to respect the law, it should set a better example.
  128. Big Deal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Okay, so Intel will be introducing an 1100 MHz chip which _should_ reach stores somewhere around Q2 or Q3 2000... AMD seems to be ready to release 1000 MHz chips in January, and given that they'll be using .18 M technology and _Copper_ connects it should be alot easier for them to ramp up their clocks to beyond 1100 MHz by the time intel's chips appear.

  129. Re:2.4 GHz by Ricardo+Casals · · Score: 1

    Yes, but, this digital camera also operates at exactly 2.4GHz ... hmm ... can i fry eggs on that camera? would it cook my hands when i hold it? can you say "sue!"?

    --
    yeah ... i'm going to have to go ahead and not put a .sig here, alright?
  130. Chill out by Mindwarp · · Score: 1

    Let's get this bad boy into a KryoTech setup and see what it can REALLY do. Oh no, I forgot. It's a new Intel chip and will therefore not allow itself to be over-clocked.

    Silly me.

    --
    The gift of death metal does not smile on the good looking.
    1. Re:Chill out by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Not exactly true. Celerons are easy to over-clock... Mostly due to Intel stamping a lower number on them so they can move. Plus, this way they avoid trouble from the DOJ when their volume soars. :^)

      Plus, how much heat do you REALLY expect to suck away from the core by making contact with the plastic of the chip's packaging?

    2. Re:Chill out by Mindwarp · · Score: 1

      Yes, Celerons are easy to overclock. However, later model PII's and PIII's are impossible to overclock without modification as Intel locked their clock speeds. I should imagine that the next generations of Intel chips will be exactly the same.

      How much heat can you seriously expect to suck away from the processor core? Well, as an example Kryotech manage to suck away enough heat to allow them to run a regular Athlon processor at 900MHz.

      --
      The gift of death metal does not smile on the good looking.
    3. Re:Chill out by Laner · · Score: 2

      Funny - my Celeron 366 is currently running at 550, and my P3/450 is running at 600...

    4. Re:Chill out by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > later model PII's and PIII's are impossible to
      > overclock without modification as Intel locked
      > their clock speeds.

      and?

      buy better chip and chassis fans and run at a 112MHz FSB. it works fine. alot of PIII-450's floating around now have cores originally intended for 600's.

    5. Re:Chill out by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      multiplier locked, yes. but there is no cost-efficient way to control what speed you choose to run your fsb at. my home machine is a celeron supposedly meant to run at 66x5.5 but actually running stably at 100x5.5.

  131. VAPOR by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Can't everyone see that this is the famous Microsoft Vaporware scaming all over again? A competitor comes in with a really good product, and MS (or in this case Intel) just has to anouce that they have the something better comming in just a few months (Implied task: don't buy thiers, wait for ours) I'm sure a steady stream of delys will keep pushing the product back "Just one more month." They hope buyers will keep money in thier pocket holding out for the Bigger Better Deal (which is a prevelent mindset among hardware addicts). Please note: Rambus and Camino was not pushed forward by 1 year, and look where that is. I'll belive this when I see it (6 months after I see it, so they can find the bugs left in like the PPro).

    1. Re:VAPOR by Salamander · · Score: 1

      Moderating the previous post down as "Flamebait" is one of the worst abuses of moderation I've seen lately. I might accept "Redundant" since many others have also commented on the "preemptive vapor" aspect of Intel's announcement, though I think this post does a better job than most of explaining how the trick actually works.

      The fact is that only a fool or a lunatic or someone paid by Intel could fail to see that the announcement has nothing to do with delivering a better product to consumers. The goal here is purely to squash AMD, and if AMD filed for bankruptcy tomorrow we would almost certainly never see the promised Intel chip. The amazing thing is that Intel, already under scrutiny from the FTC, would dare do anything so blatantly anti-competitive.

      --
      Slashdot - News for Herds. Stuff that Splatters.
  132. ADMIT IT!!! THIS IS ALL ABOUT DICK SIZE!!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    I can just hear the words flying around on #w4e3z now... "I've got an Athlon 1.1GHz [*] so obviously, my testicles are larger than yours"

    Note that the true bragger would never say 1100MHz when he can use that GHz suffix (without a leading 0. of course)

  133. I think this is FUD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think this is FUD from the Intel marketing department. But if it's not, I can have a 600 MHz Athlon in December ;-)

  134. Re:We want better technology not faster chips by Guy+Harris · · Score: 2
    the 386 was revolutionary, the pentium as well,

    "Revolutionary" in what sense?

    The 386 was the first 32-bit x86 processor, and the first one with support for demand paging - it had a new instruction-set architecture. Not particularly revolutionary in general, but revolutionary for x86.

    The Pentium implemented the same instruction set architecture (with some minor additions); it was primarily revolutionary in its implementation, in that it was the first superscalar x86 chip to ship (again, not particularly revolutionary in general, but revolutionary for x86).

    The latter means that, with Pentium, they pretty much, well, "went for the speed race".

    Intel should be coming up with new technology

    ...or getting it from HP. (I have the impression a lot, perhaps most, of the ideas in IA-64 came from HP.)

    The Lame Unit In I.T. does have a new instruction set, because it'll be the first IA-64 implementation; is that the kind of "better technology" you're looking for?

  135. Other factors... by delmoi · · Score: 1

    actualy, a K6 would be better then a comparable pII/pIII for things like this. Where the pX's beat the k6's is in 3d games. I've only got a p200, and it does multiple things just fine
    "Subtle mind control? Why do all these HTML buttons say 'Submit' ?"

    --

    ReadThe ReflectionEngine, a cyberpunk style n
  136. Price! by freakho · · Score: 3

    It won't be an "Athlon Killer" unless it is competatively priced. Assuming this report is reliable, Intel takes it from paper to silicon, and a lot of other stuff, it still won't appeal to te typical computer buyer (which ain't us anymore) unless there's not too huge a price gap. Which would mean Intel selling under cost yet again, and how long can they keep that up? Fiscally, a long time, admittedly, but I'm talking logically.

    fh

  137. Re:HEAT by delmoi · · Score: 1

    Nah I'll wait for a 500 MHz G4 instead ...

    you keep waiting. while we enjoy our 700mhz athlons. A little heat is a resonable price to pay (IMO). plus the PIII's arn't that hot (athlons are though, arn't they)?
    "Subtle mind control? Why do all these HTML buttons say 'Submit' ?"

    --

    ReadThe ReflectionEngine, a cyberpunk style n
  138. What About The CPU cooler? by Harmagedon · · Score: 1

    Well, i will try an 700MHz computer very soon,
    and the CPU cooler is so god dam big, it coolz down the CPU to - degrees

    Well, if they are going to reach 1100MHz, what are they going to do about the CPU cooler?
    do i need an extra chassi where i have my CPU and my gigantic CPU cooling system?

    For the moment i think that some day CPU power should reach its end.
    : )

    1. Re:What About The CPU cooler? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ever seen the cooling unit on some of the high-end PA/RISC systems? The airscoop attached to the CPU in a C200 looks like a hubcap, and the fan looks like it might power a model airplane. I'm surpriesd I don't have to fill it up with diesel and pull start the thing.

  139. Not to sound doubtful.... by mosch · · Score: 3

    But I'm doubtful. Intel doesn't have a particularly stunning record with delivering chips early and I'd rather not buy one of their step 0 chips anyway.

    Let's see, AMD gets market share and major recognition with a quality product, and now suddenly Intel is claiming that it can suddenly make much faster chips RSN. Whatever.

    I'm personally sick of talks of vaporware. I love new technology and reading about the future, but I don't buy my computers based on speculation from unnamed sources regarding the possible date that a chip will get put to paper. It's utterly irrelevant.

    Call me when it's in silicon.

  140. clock speed vs parallel design by heh2k · · Score: 2

    it seems to me, that adding pipelines (moderate space cost) and execution units (higher space cost) would be bring more performance than higher clock rates. that is, if the same effort to increase clock speed was put into superscalar expansion, the pay off would be greater, provided there's enough space.

    also, it seems to me, multiple short pipelines would yield higher preformance than fewer high clocked, deeper pipelines.

    i believe the reason intel goes the faster deeper route (compared to slower, wider) simply cuz:

    1) it's cheaper to deepen pipelines and it isn't too hard to get a good enough signal to noise ratio for higher clock speeds (is that even an issue?)

    2) marketing. this is the obvious one. they can say "our chips are fast! more MHz than our competitors" and the general public doesn't know any better.

    ps, please correct me on anything, i'm just guessing at some of this stuff

    1. Re:clock speed vs parallel design by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Regarding #1, it has been shown that past a certain point, extending the pipeline length doesn't make sense because it just wastes time. I believe it was 10 or 11 instructions deep. Or am i remembering my Computer Architecture course wrong again?

    2. Re:clock speed vs parallel design by tesla · · Score: 1

      The whole PPC vs. Intel debate has forced Motorola to increase it's mhz, rather than work on other (maybe more important) factors, to keep up the competition.

      --
      --mere mortal--
    3. Re:clock speed vs parallel design by Plato90s · · Score: 1

      In terms of computational power, I agree that a better architecture counts for more than sheer Mhz ratings. That is where Athlon is beating Pentium-III, after all. At the same clock rating, the Athlon is a handy winner by 10%-30%.

      At the same time, speed ratings sell. Motorola recently revised their PPC roadmap to include G4-II. The new development line is meant to push the existing G4 architecture to higher speeds by lengthening the pipeline. In short, trading away architectural advantages to increase the Mhz ratings. The triumph of image over substance.

    4. Re:clock speed vs parallel design by David+Greene · · Score: 4
      While marketing probably plays a (small) part, probably more importantly, the parallelism just isn't there. At least not to any degree that the hardware can see it.

      Branch prediction is the major problem. Sure, predicting one branch may work 90% of the time, but when you start talking about wide machines, all of a sudden you're predicting 2, 3 or 4+ branches at once. Your prediction rate goes way down. Fast.

      A student here did a study that showed >50% of the processor cycles were spent recovering from branches. And I don't think the study was on a particularly aggressive machine (though I can check that).

      The encouraging this is, if we can get around branch problems (and that's a huge if), the parallelism is there. But not where the machine can see it. There was a study exploring the limits of ILP in Spec95 (yes, not realistic benchmarks, but it's what was available). If you assume perfect prediction (yes, completely unrealistic, but this was a limit study) and remove the stack pointer (which is often on the critical path of instruction dependencies), you can get parallelism in the hundreds (for integer programs) or thousands (for floating point stuff) of instructions.

      But there's catch. If your instruction window is 10k instructions wide or less (a completely unrealistic size, by the way), the parallelism drops by an order of magnitude or more. The hardware doesn't have enough context to see it. But the compiler does. Think about forking threads on function calls when you can and you'll see where I'm going.

      Some kind of model like Simultaneous MultiThreading may be needed in the future. Compaq is working hard on this for the Alpha.

      What's important to remember is that we've received the biggest speed boosts from the process guys. Cranking the clock and packing in gates (i.e. cache) does much more than adding another pipeline. Remember Moore's Law.

      --

      --

    5. Re:clock speed vs parallel design by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, the old Pentium Pro did have archetectural advantages over the original Pentium, such as branch prediction--by loading the next few possible branches ahead of time in the internal cache--quad pipelines, rather than dual pipelines in the Pentium, and some other goodies such as that. However, it sucked running 16bit code. Therefore, DOS based, Win3.1 and even some early Win95 and NT 3.5 stuff ran slower than a pentium. Therefore nobody wanted the PPro. So they replaced it with the PII, which was technically inferior to the PPro. (I think the Xeon is as good as the PPro, but I haven't found out for sure) So, they have tried it before, but were shot down.

    6. Re:clock speed vs parallel design by Parity · · Score: 1

      If you're going to go massively parallel, why branch predict at all? Admittedly I'm software, but I vaguely recall from my computer architecture class that the idea, at least, of calculating -both- branches (or all n^2 branches for deeper pipelines) was at least an idea, if not implemented widely yet. I suppose, though, that 'wasteful' archictectures like that won't be explored until we start to hit physics-induced limits on silicon, and people need -some- way to improve performance without increasing actual speed.

      --
      --Parity
      'Card carrying' member of the EFF.
    7. Re:clock speed vs parallel design by Panaflex · · Score: 1

      If designers were really smart, they'd design chips to follow multiple branches ahead. When the correct branch was chosen the others would clear and load new branches.

      Ahh, but I ain't a chip designer, am I?

      Pan

      --
      I said no... but I missed and it came out yes.
    8. Re:clock speed vs parallel design by heh2k · · Score: 1

      one of the nice things about PPCs, is the hint bit on branch instructions. it allows you to optimize for the common case. eg, a while(i 255) loop, the common case is i = 255. i don't know if x86 supports branch hints, but i suspect other RISC chips such as sparc, mips, or alpha do.

    9. Re:clock speed vs parallel design by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      >So they replaced it with the PII, which was technically inferior to the PPro. (I think the Xeon is as good as the PPro, but I haven't found out for sure)

      The PPro, PII, PIII, Celeron and Xeon all use the P6 core. The main differences are in the L2 cache.

      The PPro had either 256KB, 512KB or 1MB cache at core frequency, off-chip but included in the expensive CPU package. (This was expensive.)

      The PII and PIII have 512KB cache at half the core frequency, off-chip, located in a cartridge. (Cheaper...)

      The first Celeron had no L2 cache. (Much cheaper!)

      The later Celeron has 128KB cache on-chip, at core frequency.

      The Coppermine PIII has 256 cache on-chip, at core frequency.

      The PII/PIII Xeon has either 512KB, 1MB or 2MB cache at core frequency, off-chip, located in the cartridge.

      Another difference is that you could do 4-way SMP with the PPro, and only 2-way with the PII. It uses the same GTL+ bus, but the electrical load of the "Slot 1" prevents it. The Xeon has an improved bus, and allows 4-way SMP.

    10. Re:clock speed vs parallel design by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      damn, killed all my less than symbols

  141. HEAT by casanova · · Score: 1

    Wonder how much heat it will generate since PIII are hot enough to heat up a flat at the moment what is that thing going to take to keep cool ? It's own freeezer ?

    Nah I'll wait for a 500 MHz G4 instead ...

    1. Re:HEAT by Gorth · · Score: 1

      you keep waiting. while we enjoy our 700mhz athlons.

      Or 500's because they're 1/4th price of the 700's :)

      A little heat is a resonable price to pay (IMO). plus the PIII's arn't that hot (athlons are though, arn't they)?

      Athlon's? Hot? I heard those rumors... mine is about at room temperature after a hard workout of some massive compiling and compressing/decompressing. My PII-300 ran hotter.

    2. Re:HEAT by Laner · · Score: 1

      Gotta love the unsubstantiated anti-Intel propaganda... my P3/450 (running at 600mhz) is cool as a cucumber, without any additional cooling.

  142. Isn't this what IBM used to do? by PianoMan8 · · Score: 1

    Isn't this the oldest trick in the computer (any) industry? when a competitor has a new/better product, start say that you have a "better" product just "right around the corner".. Seems to me IBM used to do this back in the 50's/60's to keep people from buying CDC machines... I remember seeing some sort of refecernce to this chip in one of the AnandTech/Aces/one of them when they were taling about a plant visit. again, we onl heard about this AFTER the athlon came out and put Intel to shame. Sorry, my next machine's either an Alpha or an Athlon. (here's a thought... who out here thinks AMD shoulc buy the Alpha division from Compaq (and all the designers)???... instant 64-bit, established as the fastest processor in the world, and proven RISC design as opposed to questionable EPIC...and the Alpha gets the promotion in the market it deserves and the lastest FABs... hmmmm.. food for thought.)

    --
    - --
    "I Hate Quotes" -- Samuel L. Clemens
  143. The Intel Conspiracy by Bad+Mojo · · Score: 1

    Does anyone else out there get the feeling that Intel could have released this processor at any time? Sometimes I wonder if they don't sell slower chips just to get people to keep buying faster and faster chips as they release them. It's a great way to make money and maximize profits instead of just releasing a faster chip every two years. And in this case, AMD might have caused them to have to jump the gun in order to show up the Athlon. Hmmm....


    Bad Mojo

    --
    Bad Mojo
    "If you can't win by reason, go for volume." -- Calvin
    1. Re:The Intel Conspiracy by ntsucks · · Score: 1

      It is interesting that after the Athlon comes
      out with some success, Intel is able to rapidly
      accelerate their release schedule for newer,
      faster chips. Either Intel has a stunning ability
      to improve its engineering process and timelines
      or they were withholding better chips until we
      had all purchase their current chip du jour.

      Hope AMD can stay a float, because competion will
      be good for us all.

      --
      Those who can do. Those who can't sue.
    2. Re:The Intel Conspiracy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      mod that up, he's dead on

  144. Intel a Traitor To Be Avoided by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Even if it matches or exceeds Athlon in speed, the PSN in Intel chips gives Big Brother such a boost in tracing everyone that Intel deserves a good kick in the gut. I will never buy their NSA-inspired crap again. Even some PII's contained serial numbers and they never told the consumer. In response to consumer complaints they said "Tough shit" and released pathetic insecure software patches. Fuck Intel. They're overpriced anyway. www.bigbrotherinside.com

  145. ...Get your aluminum... by BradyB · · Score: 0

    So it seems that the way that Intel keeps going you're going to have to site at you computer with your left foot off the ground and left pinky finger pointing at the chip to get it to run 1100Mhz and then it won't run Windows worth a crap.

    --

    Good is never enough, when you dream of being great!
  146. clock rate isn't everything by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    if any of you remembered from your college computer architecture course, the three factors that determines performance is clock speed, cpi, and instruction count. it may be that deeper pipelines push the cpi way up while doing the same thing to the clock rate. there's also amdahl's law which states that performance gained is only equivelant to that being affected. i'd bet a 1100mhz chip would seriously suffer from cache miss costs being significantly higher than the cycle time making it a problem even with non-blocking caches and tomasulo out-of-order execution. i'd also bet that this chip sucks up all the power in the world and heats up a snow covered cabin for the winter.

  147. It is still an inferior design by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A 1,100Mhz Pentium whatever is still slower than lower clock speed Athlon processors. The GTK+ design of the Intel chips is no where near as efficient as the EV6 Alpha/Athlon bus. If you add additional processors, the difference gets greater with each one.

    Why didn't you (Slashdot) link to the other article at the Register... 1GHz Athlon to arrive 10 Jan 2000
    http://www.theregister.co.uk/991018-000006.html

    I'll bet that the 1Ghz Athlon will outperform the 1.1Ghz Intel chip...

    1. Re:It is still an inferior design by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This 1,100MHz Pentium will not be based on the good old P6 architecture, which was used in the PPro, PII and PIII. Therefore I think it's quite possible that this Willamette architecture will reach Athlon-class performance. But, eh, we'll see it when it ships. For now, Athlon is king!

      This new release date feels a lot like PR, I will be impressed if they are available in Q1 2000...

      By the way, the P6 bus is GTL+, not GTK+. We don't know if Intel will still use it for Willamette. They may introduce new chipsets at the same time.

  148. Sounds like FUD to me... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    to keep people from buying Athlons.

  149. Next version of windows will be in VB6 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

    You'll need a 1100mhz to run the OS minimum.

  150. That speed necessary? by dodobh · · Score: 1

    Do we really need a processor that fast to run common apps (like a word processor,browser, etc)? The only demand for that processor will be from diehard gamers and PHBs.
    My 200MMX chip running Linux outperforms a CeleronA @300MHz with windows.
    Really good performance gain will be from tight code, not from the hardware.

    --
    I can throw myself at the ground, and miss.
    1. Re:That speed necessary? by EdwinV · · Score: 1

      I don't think your average software DVD video player would agree with you on this one :-)

      Even worse, with the current lack of support for video card special hardware features in linux, you will actuall need the 1100MHz !

    2. Re:That speed necessary? by arcade · · Score: 1

      Do we really need a processor that fast to run common apps (like a word processor,browser, etc)?

      I didn't need any fast when I bought my 486SX20Mhz neither. It was lightning fast. I remember owning the fastest computer in my town.

      My god Win3.11 did start fast. It just popped up in three or four seconds. Not to mention my other programs, starting in , say 5-10 seconds (windows programs). It was - LIGHTNING fast. :)



      --

      --
      "Rune Kristian Viken" - http://www.nwo.no - arca
  151. Man I hate that. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    it's like oooh yeah, ohh yeah, you like that don't you? (flicker) >droop

  152. Funny... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Strange how intel needs to ship an Athlon killer...looks like quietly they've slipped... Good for AMD, too bad there is not some help for CYRIX...I guess the P3 WAS nothing special :)

  153. Re:But if they release this... by IntlHarvester · · Score: 1

    August 31, 1999 - Microsoft and Intel Announce 64-bit Windows Running on Merced Processor
    Intel and Microsoft hit key milestone for delivery of 64-bit hardware and software next year
    Link

    I'm not astroturfing, but Microsoft has been promising a 64-bit version of NT for Alpha Real-Soon-Now for years. It's just wishful thinking that they won't get it done eventually.

    --
    Business. Numbers. Money. People. Computer World.
  154. Re:The Register by jani · · Score: 1

    Okay, let's have a look at what a P3 overclocked to 1100 MHz would score in SPECint95 if it is as linear as it is from 450 to 600 MHz.

    These are the highest scores these processors have gotten so far, according to the General Processor Information page at Berkeley, along with what they should've gotten if the score was linear with clock speed (l450 means linear to the CPU with 450 MHz clock speed):


    MHz int95 l450 l500 l550 l600
    450 18.7 18.7 18.5 18.2 18.0
    500 20.6 20.8 20.6 20.2 20.0
    550 22.2 22.9 22.7 22.2 22.0
    600 24.0 24.9 24.7 24.2 24.0


    As you can see, the 600 MHz version performs less than expected from the 450 MHz version by a margin of 3.7% (projected performance improvement if Deschutes scaled linearly from 450 MHz to 600 MHz). Similar margins are 0.9% for 500 MHz and 3.1% for 550 MHz.


    Let's be nice and assume that the reduction won't be more than 4% for a clock speed of 1100 MHz compared to 600 MHz.

    That would give us a SPECint95 performance of 42.2, slightly less than a 1100 MHz Willamette would do according to The Register, which is 43.

    Without the 4% reduction, Deschutes might do 44, but I sincerely doubt that the architecture scales linearly when it didn't before, and a 2% reduction will bring you pretty close to the projected performance of Willamette.

    I suspect, howere, that the reduction for Deschutes may be closer to 5%, and possibly greater, though I have no way of proving that now, of course. :)


    As a side note, the projected linear performance (including a 4% reduction) of the 1000 MHz Athlon based on the 700 MHz Athlon would be 43.5, or 44.4 at 2%, or 45.3 at 0%. A 1100 MHz Athlon based on the 600 MHz Athlon would be 48.4% at 4%, 49.4 at 2% and 50.4 at 0%.

    A 667 MHz Alpha 21264 processor (it's a pretty old thing now) performs at 44 already, BTW, which really shows how far behind both AMD and Intel still are in the high performance market (though not the bang for bucks market).

  155. Re:MIPS and FLOPS by delmoi · · Score: 1

    (and soon silicon-on-insulator: 30% more power at same Mhz).

    Well, ether you ment 30% less power for the same clock (electrical power, not computational power), or you really don't know(or understand) what you're talking about. Also, to make a fair comparison, you should look at the top of each line: 700mhz athlon VS 450mhz G4. I'm sure the G4 can beat a pIII, but that's beacuse a pIII sucks. I'm sure a pIII can beat a G3, but that dosn't really matter much.

    Also. Next time try spliting you're comments into paragraphs, it makes reading much esayer :)
    "Subtle mind control? Why do all these HTML buttons say 'Submit' ?"

    --

    ReadThe ReflectionEngine, a cyberpunk style n
  156. Re:Based on Copper by psycho+killer · · Score: 1

    AMD and Motorola are in bed together, last I heard they have been working to let AMD in on IBM's copper process, and AMD "may" start producing G4's in it's dresden plant. (sorry to help with yet another rumor). "What would the world be like if Microsoft had gone on the Power PC route? Much cooler =)" -Me

  157. Memory latency by Hasdi+Hashim · · Score: 3

    1. The register is a rumour mill

    2. At 0.18 micron this stuff needs a supa-dupa cooling system. Maybe with sharper fab, you can get this speed

    3. Needs very large cache and very wide memory bus and heavy interleaving because the last time I checked the memory is still running at 100MHz max.

    If I were you, i'll either get a dual celeron bundle at $799 or a 400 PPC750 with monitor also for $999.

    1. Re:Memory latency by Xugumad · · Score: 1

      Scan are selling 133mhz RAM currently.

      Yes, I know they're in the UK, but I'm sure there are places selling it in the US too.

    2. Re:Memory latency by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      > Needs very large cache

      Sure! That's why they need to have at least 1MB L2 cache on die. Otherwise, performance would not be increased that much.

      > and very wide memory bus and heavy interleaving because the last time I checked the memory is still running at 100MHz max.

      I guess systems using Willamette will have 133MHz SDRAM or Rambus DRAM to increase bandwidth.

    3. Re:Memory latency by Lagged2Death · · Score: 1

      In regards to #3:

      Dell is currently advertising PCs with "PC700 RDRAM at 356Mhz"

      Not having kept up, I don't know what RDRAM is, why it would be called "PC700" and only run at 356Mhz, etc. But it sounds faster than 100 or 133 Mhz.

    4. Re:Memory latency by styxlord · · Score: 1

      RDRAM can move data on both edges of the clock (rising and faling) and has a throughput of 700MHz hence the PC700 name.

    5. Re:Memory latency by _ECC_ · · Score: 1

      The wafer size (.18) is not directly proportional to how much heat is created....

      With a thinner wafer... its possible to use less voltage and intel has been "pretty" good about keeping the voltages down on their chips... AMD learned their lesson early on... hopefully intel did too... Granted every new intel chip gets a little hotter then the previous... but this is new tech... I suspect they'll keep it reasonable (*note: the athlon while it uses large amounts of electricity... is still reasonably easy to cool)

      -Ecc

  158. Re:As far as I know by delmoi · · Score: 1

    1) Java is compiled when it's run. If its not, a faster interpreter means faster interpretation.

    2) The only thing that IA32 and IA64 have in common is there similar name. IA64 is a radicaly new system based on an EPIC structure. IA32 is a 15 year old 32bit extention (hack?) to the 8086 arcitecture.
    "Subtle mind control? Why do all these HTML buttons say 'Submit' ?"

    --

    ReadThe ReflectionEngine, a cyberpunk style n
  159. BUG ALERT! by THX1138 · · Score: 1
    That one should give all Intel users the shivers. AMD are now leading Intel around by the nose. The announcement of the 1G Athlon has Intel mis-managment needing clean unides

    Personally, I think it is nothing more than Intel FUD, but then I would say that, because I use the K5 and the K6-II in my machines at home. I suspect that, as with most other Intel offerings, when it does finally arrive, there will be rushed testing and bugs galore in the next design in a vain attempt to beat AMD to the punch.

    --
    Don't take life too seriously. It is only a temporary situation. Usual disclaimers apply.
  160. Prompt Delivery by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    About the only thing that has a better ship to schedule record is microsoft programs. Go Athlon Go! Really tho.. 1.1GHZ is more processing power than most corporations had until 1995. It's really a shame to see people wasting their money on these things for reading email. Its like wearing big ben to see what time it is.

  161. Based on Copper by EverCode · · Score: 1

    This chip could be based on copper interconnects, which means 1100 MHz is possible. I am sure Intel (and Motorola, etc.) have all been working on getting copper chips running, and Intel may be the first out of the gate in the x86 world.

    Don't look for these things to be be cheap, and for the name "Xeon" to be attached somewhere.

    EC

    --

    EverCode
    1. Re:Based on Copper by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I am sure Intel (and Motorola, etc.) have all been working on getting copper chips running, and Intel may be the first out of the gate in the x86 world.

      You are certainly mistaken about your second assertion here -- AMD began producing Copper Athlon chips at Fab30 beginning last week. IBM and Motorola (I think) already have this capability. I'm sorry I don't have a link for you, but I've read that Intel is way behind in the development of copper interconnect, preferring to stick with aluminum. All of their existing production fabs run Aluminum. Many people mistakenly believe that "Coppermine" chips are built using copper interconnect, but they're not (just Al on a new, smaller line width - 0.18).

      I'm highly skeptical that Intel will be able to pull this off in the timeframe being discussed. There is *no point* in putting Willamette on something as crappy as GTL+, so they're going to have to:

      1) Introduce a new bus architecture (with supporting chipsets, etc.)
      2) Develop copper fab technology & manufacturing capacity (little/none at present) -- Willamette probably clocks too fast for Aluminum.
      3) Get their design working on these new processes/busses/chipsets.

      I can believe that Intel is further along with the *paper* design of Willamette than most people would have expected. Intel will naturally just sit on its advanced designs until there's a market need for them (ie: competition), which is only happening now. If you can sell a crappy Zeon processor for >$1K, why spend all that money developing new tech?

      Still, it's laughable to suggest that Intel will be in a position to produce a working *product* by February (my guess is there won't be systems based on Willamette before 2001).

      In short, this is classic FUD (assuming this rumour was started by Intel). AMD is so far ahead of Intel right now that only by creating uncertainty in people's minds about the need to switch to AMD for high performance might allow them to retain market share in the high end.

      I don't think it will work this time, though.

    2. Re:Based on Copper by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      > This chip could be based on copper interconnects, which means 1100 MHz is possible.

      You can increase frequency by process improvements, by critical path optimisation, and by deeper pipelining. I think Willamette (P7) will have a deeper pipeline than the current P6.

      I don't expect this chip to use copper, especially if they want to ship them early next year.

      I am sure Intel (and Motorola, etc.) have all been working on getting copper chips running, and Intel may be the first out of the gate in the x86 world.

      Intel seems a bit late in the copper "race". I would bet on AMD, since Motorola assists them in developping their copper process.

  162. How dare you say that!!! by Electric+Eye · · Score: 2

    HOW DARE YOU!!!?!?!?! Are you crazy???? Of course you, as Joe Consumer, need an 100 MHz CPU for your Word and Quicken programs!!! You should be ashamed for being perfectly happy with what you have!!! You MUST feel the need to upgrade every time Intel releases a CPU!!!! You will be assimilated!!

  163. Could help GNU/Linux by Gonoff · · Score: 1

    If the price gets low enough it might make the corporate suit type realise that cheap things can be good too. It could help the uptake of GNU/Linux.

    --
    I'll see your Constitution and raise you a Queen.
  164. multimedia grunt work and more by xdc · · Score: 1
    why does the average person here need something this fast?

    Although for me disk capacity & speed are the greatest computing bottlenecks, I would have no problem putting 1100 MHz to good use compressing MP3s and running software DVD. Also, just think of all the RC5 key checking you could do for distributed.net!

    It might even make Win2K run at a decent clip. ;)

  165. Athlon: 1.5Ghz "A" Rating by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    AMD should just start marketing the "A" rating just like Cyrix did to show their processor as compared to a PIII in normal useage. They can just say that the Athlon 1.5ghz "A rated" CPU performs better than the intel 1.1ghz. Unlike Cyrix however they *can* back it up on paper!

  166. But if they release this... by El+Puerco+Loco · · Score: 1

    ...I would think it would cause big problems for merced. who is gonna want to change their entire platform to something new if intel proves they can provide substantial speed increases wtihout changing the architecture. Maybe they just won't release the faster chips as Xeons, making them useful only for gamers.
    ^. .^

    1. Re:But if they release this... by Ukab+the+Great · · Score: 1

      The point is that the architecture *does* need to be changed. CISC chips were nice, then 1980 arrived. I think that Intel is reaching the upper limit in terms of how powerful they can push the whole x86 thing. You kind of see this when Apple's RISC G3 line easily kicks the butt of pentium chips whose clock speed is easily over 100mhz faster. Intel has to keep on adding multimedia instruction sets just to attempt to keep an edge over Alpha/PowerPc/Sparc etc. Changing the architecture is not as painful as it sounds. Apple very successfully made the switch from CISC motorola 68000 series to the RISC PowerPc, and they did a pretty good job of keeping backwards compatibility with older programs. A chip as powerful as merced, with its EPIC architecture, should have no problem running an emulated environment for x86 programs.

  167. Very suspicious by hedgehog_uk · · Score: 5
    According to the article, the Willamette is coming out 9 months early. So were Intel originally planning on sitting on this chip for 9 months, but forced to release early by the impending 1GHz Athlons due early next year? Is this chip going to be fully tested, or will it contain major problems like those found in the i820 chipset? Perhaps this is just vapourware, designed to put off people who were thinking of buying Athlon systems - this wouldn't be the first time that companies have done this.

    I'm left wondering if this article is going to be any more accurate than one the Register ran earlier this year when they said that the 666MHz Coppermine would appear in late 1999, "clear 12 months before AMD is expected to reach the magical figure". Yeah, right.

    HH

    --
    Yellow tigers crouched in jungles in her dark eyes.
    She's just dressing, goodbye windows, tired starlings.
    1. Re:Very suspicious by dead+sun · · Score: 1

      Actually, I had heard of this at least being in development from a friend who has a close relative working at Intel US. Early this year he told me that they were working on finishing Williamette. I wouldn't put it past Intel to sit on the chip for 9 months and milk Coppermine if they could, it would be a bad marketing decision to create the Coppermine and Williamette simultaneously, then release both in a short span of time. Obviously it would kill the sales of Coppermine. But if you have the resources, and look at the size of chipzilla, why not develop multiple processors at once?

      --
      If not now, when?
    2. Re:Very suspicious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      >So were Intel originally planning on sitting on this chip for 9 months, but forced to release early by the impending 1GHz Athlons due early next year?

      Not impossible. Here's one of my theories :

      Maybe their original plan, a few years ago, was: "We keep IA-32 performance leadership, and then IA-64 introduces completely new performance levels".

      Unfortunately, Merced does not fulfill expectations, and the P7 team comes up with great performance. Intel decides to put P7 on hold, because it could threaten their IA-64 strategy.

      But Merced is late, and AMD takes the IA-32 leadership with Athlon. Intel is forced to react if it doesn't want to lose ground.

  168. Whoops... by Electric+Eye · · Score: 1

    That rant should say "...1100 MHz..."

    1. Re:Whoops... by look · · Score: 1

      It was pretty funny the way it was, because it's true! Plenty of people run everything they need on 100 Mhz...

  169. Adding more pipelines (width) has its own issues by aheitner · · Score: 3

    largely that it's very hard to parallelize code so that you can run it through separate execution units without stalling the processor. With the Pentium's two shallow integer execution units it was possible to hand-optimize your assembly to keep the two pipes filled. But breaking up code that is linear in design (i.e. most programs have a single "flow" and assume linearity of execution as their core model) into parallel chunks is a hard problem.

    Continuing down the "more, simpler pipes" path is akin to explicitly parallel chips. It's a hot area of research, and there are some applications for which it might pay off (the ones where multiprocessor machines already pay off, perhaps: servers that are doing several unrelated things at once) but for doing just one thing and doing it fast, faster deeper is probably far easier a problem. Remember, Intel has had problems with the old P6 core (ppro/pII/pIII) because it's already very hard to write a compiler that doesn't stall it left and right.

    With all that said, I don't see any mention in this article about the actual design of the new chip, except for some very vague (and likely wrong imho) stuff in the article about Wilamette that's referenced in this one.

  170. Vapourware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Register is playing into the hands of Chipzilla. Said chip may or may not exist, and may or may not be a good performer (Bong, bong, bong lukewarm Pentium III), but you, gentle slashdot looser, will wait for it anyway. You should not wait. AMD is selling a rather nice chip right now. They could use your support. Did you ever play a game called Prisoner's Dilemma ? If you ever decide to buy Bongbongbong again you might gain a couple of MHz, but in the long term everybody looses if AMD dies.

  171. Quit nagging on the register by Nexus7 · · Score: 1

    The Register reports what other people say. They even put a 2 para disclaimer on this one. Every now and then I see somebody on /. bashing them. If only these people would learn to read. Oh wait... people turn into nasty libertarian gun-jumpers when they post here.

    1. Re:Quit nagging on the register by Roundeye · · Score: 1
      Oh wait... people turn into nasty libertarian gun-jumpers when they post here.

      Hey, I resent that! I *do* shower occasionally. Maybe "grungy" but "nasty" is definitely going too far!

      --
      "Cause there's 40 different shades of black, so many fortresses and ways to attack, so why you complainin'?"
  172. Re:Language by Nexus7 · · Score: 1

    Learn to spell before you give others gratuitous advice (ahem). It's "Ritalin."

  173. The Register by Defiler · · Score: 2

    If you look through the back-stories of The Register, you'll find that basically everything they've ever said has turned out to be a lie, or unproveable. I'd take this story, and the one about the 1GHz copper Athlons in January, with more than a little grain of salt. Also, those SpecINT numbers are much, much worse than even a P3 overclocked to the same speed would post. I think The Register can't even be bothered to lie convincingly.

    --Conquering the Earth Since 1978.

  174. 2.4 GHz by Ole+Marggraf · · Score: 2

    One step closer to the frequency of a typical microwave oven (around 2.4 GHz)... Imagine, your pizza will never get cold if you just put it on top of your tower.

    --
    God, root, what is difference? - Pitr
    1. Re:2.4 GHz by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually it's more like 10GHz. 2.4GHz is your a typical wireless communications device.

    2. Re:2.4 GHz by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      2.45 GHz is the most common frequency in microwave ovens.

    3. Re:2.4 GHz by Ricardo+Casals · · Score: 1

      New .sig ;)

      --
      yeah ... i'm going to have to go ahead and not put a .sig here, alright?
  175. The GHz barrier by Enoch+Root · · Score: 2
    I remember two years ago, playing around with projections, and me and my friends came to the conclusion that we'd have 1 GHz processors and 1 MB RAM before 2000.

    I'm happy to see that the GHz barrier is likely to be broken before 2000, if just barely (though you have to wonder how much vaporware this is.) As for the MB RAM barrier, I guess it's always possible, but it's starting to sound like overkill (well, maybe not for W2K, but certainly for most of the uses I make of apps under Linux!)

    Now all I need is a 1 TB hard drive to go with that 1 MB RAM and 1 GHz processor. In a Palm Pilot. There's nothing like misusing power to put any 1990 supercomputer to shame on playing X-mines!

    "There is no surer way to ruin a good discussion than to contaminate it with the facts."

    1. Re:The GHz barrier by Skratch · · Score: 1

      I sure hope you mean 1GB of RAM, and most NT server practically require that much RAM to run effectively....

      --

      -- My neighbors dog has a four inch clit.
    2. Re:The GHz barrier by Enoch+Root · · Score: 1
      Er... 1 GB of RAM! Need. Coffee.

      Besides, Bill said it, we don't need more than 16K of RAM!

      "There is no surer way to ruin a good discussion than to contaminate it with the facts."

    3. Re:The GHz barrier by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      1 MB of RAM??? What in the hell are you talking about?? Video RAM? no L1/L2 cache? no...you mean 1GB of RAM?? Been done.

      Quit cracking that smoke.

      -paul

    4. Re:The GHz barrier by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No he means the 1MB barrier imposed upon us by Bill Gates....

  176. MIPS and FLOPS by narsiman · · Score: 1

    Does anybody care about MIPS and FLOPS. G4 is lightyears ahead with better starting base. Did anybody see the Power G4 Avt. on TV.



    Faster processors - they just wait faster.

    1. Re:MIPS and FLOPS by wct · · Score: 1

      Sorry, a television advertisement isn't the best reference when comparing the merits of processor architectures.

      It would be naive to think that a single metric measures the net quality of a processor. For example, the G4 may well execute more instructions per second than a P3 (boosting it's MIPS figure), but if it takes 4 instructions to do the same job as 1 P3 instruction it obviously isn't performing as well. AltiVec may be an incredibly fast processor extension, but how many applications directly use and benefit from it _right now_?

    2. Re:MIPS and FLOPS by monstar · · Score: 1

      it comes in an assortment of colours too, so it MUST be better!!

  177. Kryotech Dual 1Ghz Athlon by Jungleland · · Score: 0

    According to this interview

    http://www.targetpc.com/dimex/misc/interviews/Kr yotech/index.html

    "Kryotech : We are scheduled to release a dual Athlon KryoCooled system in late Q1 or early Q2 2000. Each processor will run at least 1GHz."

    I guess Intel will have to go back to the drawing board. :)

  178. Not quite yet... by cdipierr · · Score: 2

    Intel didn't release ANY information about the Willamette (P7) at the Microprocessor Forum. Now, as much as people want speed, Intel also has shareholders to appease. If they knew about an impending P7 release, they'd have to make that knowledge public otherwise they'd be misleading shareholders to believe that the Coppermine is the Q4 1999 and Q1 2000 contender.

    While we're on that subject. If Intel does paper release the P7 in December, they've pretty much signed the death certificate for the Coppermine and PIII line. Now Intel's a marketing genius (love them/hate them for their technology, but any company that can convince people they need a PIII for the Internet has strong marketing) so there's no way they'll throw away all those ad dollars on the PIII line quite yet.

    The Register had been getting better, but this is reverting to their old self...

  179. Coppermine recycled as Celeron III by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Something Intel could do is recycle Coppermine as a new Celeron.
    Coppermine looks like an enhanced Mendocino anyway : same P6 core, smaller process (0,18um vs 0,25um), doubled L2 cache size (256KB vs 128KB).

    Then Willamette will surely end up in "Xeon" branded Pentiums...

    The question is, will you find Willamette cores in vanilla Pentium III's ?
    Or will they later introduce the Pentium IV brand for those ?

  180. Re:Big mz AMD by c+era · · Score: 1

    Um . . . the Athlon's bus speed is set by the chip, not the bios . . . and the curent Athlons can be overclocked to 1050 Mhz using 100Mhz bus (although the bus bandwith is very close to maxed). I would expect good 133Mhz boards when there are Athlon processors that run with a 133Mhz bus.

  181. Re:Replacement for Central Heating? by Lawrence_Bird · · Score: 2


    1.1Ghz? Intel? So is this a replacement for my
    stove or central heating? Do I need one of those
    big restaurant freezers or can I just move to
    Nome and keep it outside?

  182. Not in the least true... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    AMD's K6/K7 chips are some of the best overclocking chips and indeed just dont run that hot. In fact with a little more cooling they can run up to 3x their intended stamped speed reliably

  183. 1 Meg of ram by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well I dunno about you, but if I gotta go back to 1Meg of ram (running 512M now) to get 1Ghz, screw the 1Ghz processors :). I assume you might mean 1Gig of ram.

  184. As far as I know by xmedar · · Score: 0

    1. Kryotech already have Athlons with their cooling running at 900MHz

    2. 1GHz Athlon is supposed to be around in the beginning of next year

    3. Its AI32, in other words a 32 bit version of Merced / Itanium, and the jury is still out on the EPIC archetecture, especially the fact that code needs to be optimised very highly by the compiler and so is ineffecient when it comes to interpreted languages, so it might choke on Java etc.

    --
    Any sufficiently advanced man is indistinguishable from God
    1. Re:As far as I know by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      3... No IA32 (Intel Architechture 32bit) is from i386 to PIII. I think they mention this no to confuse with the new upcomming CPU (merced) from Intel.

  185. One word: emulation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I still maintain a Windows partition in large part because XMAME is hideously slow compared to either the DOS or Windows/DirectX versions. Heck, even in GDI mode the Windows version kicks it's butt. I think 1100 MHz of juice oughta get some pep outta things :-)

    1. Re:One word: emulation by warmi · · Score: 1

      What's XMAME ?

  186. Intel scamming.. by kurgon · · Score: 2

    I believe the fact that Intel has had many high cost machines to even release to the public due to cost. How many want to bet that intel has machines in there building running at even higher than 1100.. Think about it, they just release stupid ?33's, ?50's and ?66's just to have more money in their pocket. People will by whatever is the cheapest out and most cost effective.

  187. Re:Replacement for Central Heating? by KyleCordes · · Score: 1

    As long as they can keep dropping the voltage level, the heat can be kept under control.

    (someone with electronics knowledge can quote the relevant formula)

  188. ummmmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I want

  189. Ritalin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Well, we didn't have our bottle to read...sure its easy for you to look on your bottle and let us know the correct spelling. Incidentally, spelling matters not to the HakorZ and PC weenies.

  190. Intel Leak Check by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1


    Hmm, this could quite possibly be an attempt by Intel to discover who is leaking stuff to the Register.

    Its an old ploy: create false story, leak to likely engineers who has girlfriend who has loose lips, then see who the culprit is.

  191. Sounds like you all have forgotten... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    It sounds from all these remarks that you have all forgotten how Pentium Pro came out something like half a year earlier than anticipated, and, took the breath out of everyone that time.

    Me, I'm not surprised if this turns out to be true.

    I'm ain't no whiner!!!

    Kill Athlon if you can! Go for it! Kill, kill, kill with fair speed.

  192. Exactly what Intel needed by qqaz · · Score: 1

    This must have something to do with their recent profit report. It looks to be nothing more than a way to reassure their investors.

    --
    sup :cool:
  193. Direct Rambus has 600 to 800 MHz speed... by Freaky · · Score: 1

    Once they get it out the door.

    --
    Timing is everything
  194. Gigabyte Mobo is available by Cplus · · Score: 1

    And not just to OEMs. I got one just the other day. The hunt was hard to get one though. I checked all of AMD's recommended manufacturer's from their site for weeks and came up with nothing. I only got the 500mhz Athlon but oh, yeah, it smokes.

    --
    "Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality." -- Dalai Lama
  195. By accepting the challenge, they admit defeat by DragonHawk · · Score: 2

    In the past, Intel has always been able to dismiss their competition as inferior. Oh, sure, there were times companies like AMD or Cyrix had a slightly faster chip, or better price-performance on the low end, but they were always brief and/or insignificant. Undercutting prices is a common enough thing on the low end; AMD/etc simply has to reduce costs below the giant Intel.

    Athlon was different. Athlon challenged Intel on Intel's home turf, and won. It was the fastest high-end x86 CPU around, and is going to stay that way for at least several months, if not longer. Intel had a serious threat for the first time. AMD may still be small compared to the behemoth Intel, but David was smaller then Goliath as well.

    The fact was one thing, but as we know, the spin can be another. Intel could have found some sort of flaw in Athlon, or fired up the FUD guns. In most cases, you can argue some point or other as an advantage over your competitiors. Even Windows, to use the favorite /. example, does a few things better then Linux.

    But Intel did not do that. Intel could not find a way to counter Athlon in the trenches. Intel looked for ammo, and found none. For the first time, Intel looked at the competition, and found itself unable to immediately compete!

    Now Intel is scrabling to catch up, to try and build a counter-weapon to use against Athlon. The fact that they feel the need to "kill" Athlon is very telling. It is one thing to know you have a threat. It is quite another to classify it as the threat.

    By accepting AMD's challenge, by admitting that the Athlon is strong enough that they need to target an entire product series at it as a "Athlon killer", Intel admits that they have lost a battle. That AMD has stole ground away from them. That Intel is wounded enough for it to hurt.

    It may be only in pride, or in market perception, that Intel feels pain. Their sales are still large enough that AMD is no immediate financial threat.

    But suddenly, the small fry that they paid little mind to before, has woken up and bit them hard. Hard enough for Intel to step back, shake itself, and wonder what to do about this new threat.

    I imagine the British felt a similar feeling when their American colonies fought to break lose -- and started to win.

    It will be very interesting to watch this war as it unfolds.

    --

    dragonhawk@iname.microsoft.com
    I do not like Microsoft. Remove them from my email address.
  196. Static VS dynamic branch prediction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The P6 has dynamic branch prediction. That is, it remembers how the branch has been resolved in the past. For a loop executed 255 times, it might get the branch direction wrong the first time and the last time, but it gets it right the other 253 times.

    The success on the first branch of the loop might be increased with heuristics : an unknown branch can be predicted taken if it is backwards (most loops) and not taken otherwise. I'm not sure if it's what happens in the P6, but this is used in several processors.

    Static branch prediction (the branch hint in the instruction itself, generated by the compiler) can be used in combination with dynamic prediction, to help the predictor when a branch is first encountered. But static prediction only gives poor results.

    Branch prediction is critical to achieving good performance with long pipelines and out-of-order superscalar processors, such as the P6 or the Alpha 21264. There are many clever techniques to increase dynamic branch prediction accuracy that I won't describe here.

  197. We want better technology not faster chips by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    the 386 was revolutionary, the pentium as well, intel should be coming up with new technology instead of just going for the speed race. It is long overdue.