Intel's Broadest Processor Launch to Date Includes 733 MHz Performance for Desktop PCs and the First Mobile Pentium III
Processors.
Intel Corporation has introduced 15 new Pentium® III and Pentium® III Xeon(tm) processors, all built using advanced
Intel 0.18-micron process technology that enables faster processor speeds, new performance enhancing features and lower
power consumption. The launch is the broadest in company history and establishes Intel's highest levels of performance
for desktop, mobile, server and workstation computing. The new processors feature an Advanced Transfer Cache that
delivers a performance boost of up to 25 percent when compared to earlier Pentium III processors running at the same
clock speed.** New packaging options enable a wide choice of system configurations including ultra-thin and light mobile
PCs and small form factor desktop PCs.
"We are delivering a wave of design-enhanced, 0.18-micron processors to all segments of Internet computing - desktop,
mobile, workstation and server," said Scott Gilmour, General Manager, Intel New Zealand. "The breadth of this
announcement - in combination with the new levels of performance - is unprecedented in our company's history."
In addition to these new microprocessors, Intel also introduced the Intel® 840 Chipset for the workstation and server
market segments.
Mobile Pentium III Processors
With this product introduction, Intel is bringing all the benefits of Pentium III processors to mobile PCs for the first
time, offering the best combination of performance, mobility and choice. Whether running office applications, accessing
the Internet or corporate intranets, viewing high quality video, or manipulating 3D images, these new mobile Pentium III
processor-based systems offer the highest performance ever for Intel Architecture-based notebooks.
Mobile Pentium III processors are now available in 500, 450 and 400 MHz speeds. These new processors bring a significant
performance boost - in some cases greater than a 100 percent performance increase - over Intel's fastest mobile
processors today.** Systems with the new processors also feature a 100 MHz system bus, representing a 50 percent
increase in bus bandwidth over today's Pentium II processor-based notebooks. The mobile Pentium III processor at 400 MHz
operates at an extremely low voltage (1.35 volts) and is targeted specifically at mini notebook designs. Intel designs
microprocessors specifically for the mobile personal computer market segment. These processors consume less power than
their desktop counterparts, are significantly smaller in size, and also have sophisticated power management features.
The smallest mobile Pentium III processor package (called Ball Grid Array or BGA) is about the size of a postage stamp.
The combination of higher frequencies, smaller size and better power management features will enable system
manufacturers to bring to market notebooks in a range of price points and sizes, including full size, "thin and light"
and mini notebook designs. This range of systems gives businesses, students and other users the ultimate flexibility to
buy the mobile systems that best fit their needs.
Desktop Pentium III Processors
Today's mainstream and performance desktop PCs will now offer choices of new Pentium III processors at 733, 700, 667,
650, 600, 550, 533 and 500 MHz. These processors are supported by a variety of chipsets including the Intel® 810E
Chipset, Intel® 440BX Chipset and Intel® 440ZX Chipset. These processors will also be supported by the Intel® 820
Chipset when it ships later this year.
Pentium III processors at 550 and 500 MHz are also available in an innovative flip-chip (FC-PGA) package. This advanced
flip-chip package technology results in a smaller processor package that enables a new generation of smaller, sleek,
high-performance PCs, with improved ease of use.
This combination of new packaging and chipsets will provide customers with a broad range of desktop solutions with
leading edge performance.
Workstation Processors and the Intel 840 Chipset
Intel has extended its offerings to the workstation market segment with the Pentium III and Pentium III Xeon(tm)
processor at frequencies of 733, 677, and 600 MHz.
Workstations based on these processors and the new Intel 840 Chipset offer enhanced systems features and capabilities
including the 133 MHz system bus, 64-bit PCI support, graphics support for AGP 2x/4x, and dual Direct RDRAM memory
channels with up to 2 GB of memory support. These new products lay the foundation for a new generation of workstation
systems and give workstation users the power to manage increasingly complex projects, cut down on design time and work
more efficiently.
The latest processors and chipsets elevate the performance of graphics components for greater texturing, more fluid
movements, and better display output, enabling "e-creation" for the Internet and the flexibility and scalability
necessary to support advanced e-Business, resulting in better products, better visualisation and more complex analysis.
Pentium III Xeon Processor for Servers
Intel has also unveiled the latest versions of its Pentium III Xeon processor family with new processors for two-way
servers. These new volume-priced processors extend Intel's Pentium III Xeon offerings further into e-commerce and
business computing solutions. These processors feature frequencies of 733, 677 and 600 MHz and are designed to deliver
the scalability, headroom and availability features necessary to enable front-end Internet commerce platforms.
These latest Pentium III Xeon processors feature advanced system buffering and 256K advanced transfer cache, as well as
a 133 MHz system bus and on cartridge voltage management for enhanced reliability and reduced cost. Future large cache
options will be available next year for maximum two-way performance and headroom. Server platforms will also be
available with the Intel® 840 Chipset.
Re-Architecting Pentium III Processor Technology for All Segments
Today's new Pentium III processors for desktop and mobile PCs and Pentium III Xeon processors for servers and
workstations contain new features, such as an advanced transfer cache and advanced system buffering, that deliver higher
performance at the same clock speed as their previous counterparts.
Advanced transfer cache technology includes 256K of on-die, full-speed level two cache that utilises a wider path
between the processor and level two cache memory. Advanced system buffering technology increases the number of "buffers"
that speed the information from the system bus to the processor. These new technologies boost performance up to 25
percent at the same clock speed over previous Pentium III processors.**
These technologies, in combination with higher frequencies and 0.18-micron enhancements, establish a new generation of
silicon performance for today's Internet and communications intensive computing environment.
Intel's 0.18-Micron Process Technology
Intel is the first company in the industry to begin high-volume manufacturing utilising 0.18-micron process technology.
Intel is using this technology in four factories around the world. The 0.18-micron process technology features
structures that are smaller than 1/500th the thickness of a human hair, smaller than bacteria and smaller than the
visible wavelength of light (for the human eye).
The smallest structures on this new process are as small as 0.13-microns. Intel's new 0.18-micron process technology
uses six layers of aluminium metal interconnect, a low SiOF (fluorine-doped silicon dioxide) capacitance interconnect
insulator, and can feature voltages as low as 1.1 to 1.65 volts (the lowest voltage of the products introduced today is
1.35 volts).
Product Price and Availability
Below is the list of new processors with US$ 1KU volume pricing:
Pentium III-733 133 MHz $776
Pentium III-700 100 MHz $754
Pentium III-667 133 MHz $605
Pentium III-650 100 MHz $583
Pentium III-600EB 133 MHz $455 *
Pentium III-600E 100 MHz $455
Pentium III-550E 100 MHz $368 (FCPGA package)
Pentium III-533EB 133 MHz $305
Pentium III-500E 100 MHz $239 (FCPGA package)
Workstation/Server
Pentium III Xeon-733 133 MHz $826
Pentium III Xeon-667 133 MHz $655
Pentium III Xeon-600 133 MHz $505
Mobile
Mobile Pentium III-500 100 MHz $530
Mobile Pentium III-450 100 MHz $348
Mobile Pentium III-400 100 MHz $348 (low voltage)
*E = To differentiate 0.18-micron from 0.25-micron processors at the same frequency
*B = To differentiate 133 MHz front side bus processors from 100 MHz front side bus processors at the same speed
Intel, the world's largest chip maker, is also a leading manufacturer of computer, networking and communications
products. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom.
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