Intel Corp. is prepared to unveil the new, turbocharged Pentium 4 processor, designed to turn computers into hot rods capable of ripping through even the most demanding applications.
Problem is, analysts say, there aren’t many challenges for the microprocessor’s extra horsepower.
At the Intel Developer’s Forum that begins Tuesday, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company will be touting the Pentium 4, trying to encourage software developers to write programs that exploit its ability to speed up graphics, speech and streaming video. The Pentium 4, which will run at speeds of 1.4 gigahertz, will be available in the fourth quarter and laptop versions sometime after that. Most computers now sold run much slower–700 megahertz or less.
“It’s quite similar to buying a car; you want the best possible engine you can put in this,” Albert Yu, Intel’s senior vice president and general manager of the Architecture Group, said at a briefing. “We’re pushing the edge of technology.”
A radical redesign of Intel’s consumer-targeted processor line, the Pentium 4 squeezes 42 million transistors onto a single chip, up from 28 million transistors on the Pentium III.
But the lack of accompanying software for faster chips has vexed both Intel and its main competitor, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. As the two compete to release ever-faster chips, they typically lower prices for older chips, relying increasingly on high-end processors to make a profit.
The battle between the two for bragging rights to the fastest chip has confused consumers and hurt U.S. PC sales, said Rob Enderle at research firm Giga Information Group. “Like buying a car today, you don’t buy a 500 cubic-inch monster engine unless you need to pull a boat,” he said.
Shares of Intel rose $1.50, to $72.06, in Nasdaq stock market trading.
