3GHz Pentium 4 means pricier PCs

Necrosis · Aug 25, 2002, 04:15 AM

By Matthew Broersma
ZDNet (UK)
August 22, 2002, 5:56 AM PT

ZDNet: 3GHz Pentium 4 means pricier PCs

Motherboard makers are gearing up to support Intel's upcoming 3GHz Pentium 4, and the cost of their upgraded parts could mean a price hike for PC buyers.

The Pentium 4 is expected to break the 3GHz barrier in late September or early October, but the faster chip will require a new power supply and other new technology. As a result, Taiwanese motherboard makers are planning to create separate versions of their main products in order to support the new chip, according to a report on Wednesday in Taiwanese industry journal DigiTimes.

Besides putting inventory-control pressure on the motherboard makers, the duplicate lines will add $2 (about £1.28) in production costs for each board, according to the report. This could turn into higher wholesale motherboard prices and, ultimately, add to the cost of 3GHz Pentium 4 systems.

Taiwan is home to many of the biggest PC motherboard makers, including Acer Laboratories (ALI), Asus, Chaintech, First International Computer (FIC) and Gigabyte.

Most companies have already finished their new designs, but some are continuing their development work in an attempt to bring prices down, according to the report.

The 3GHz Pentium 4 will require a 70-watt power supply, making it incompatible with current 60-watt motherboards. This will mean changing a power-control circuit called a pulse width modulation controller, according to the report. On top of that, to make room for more components, board makers will have to rearrange the boards' circuit layouts.

Intel is expected to release a Pentium 4 running at 2.8GHz on Monday and recently shifted up the schedule for the 3GHz part in order to make it available for the Christmas shopping season. The current fastest Pentium 4 runs at 2.53GHz and costs $637 in quantities of 1,000. Intel is currently using a manufacturing process that creates chip features 0.13 microns in size, but is planning to shift to a 0.09-micron process next year.

The 2.8GHz parts will also begin the shift to using silicon wafers that are 300 millimeters in diameter, a larger size that allows Intel to cut manufacturing costs.

nForcer · Aug 25, 2002, 06:12 AM

woot...yet another reason to keep or tweak the hardware you already have! Everything works! And ya don't need to spend anymore money on new powersupply's!

digitalwanderer · Aug 25, 2002, 06:35 AM

"NEVER buy any motherboard with a new socket/slot designed for a bleeding edge intel CPU." Take it from the owner of a socket4 P60, or ask any of them PII233-333 slot mobo owners out there.

FuNsTeR · Aug 25, 2002, 12:36 PM

Tell me something Wut the fcuk is "woot" all about it sounds like something a 12 year old would type ... if you are 12 sorry ..... if your older grow up!!!

digitalwanderer · Aug 25, 2002, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by FuNsTeR1970
Tell me something Wut the fcuk is "woot" all about it sounds like something a 12 year old would type ... if you are 12 sorry ..... if your older grow up!!!

At 36 I think I count as older, and "w00t-w00t-w00t!" is quickly becoming one of my fave expressions. It comes from the hacking world; once you crack a box and get root access it's the favored expressions to scream. It's 'sposed to mean the same as yelling, "root-root-root"; implying you've gotten root control of the target...but those goofy leet-speaking type couldn't leave it at that so they changed it to "w00t".

Imagine "root" said in an Elmer Fudd voice then transcribed into leet-speak, that's where it came from and what it means.

It's one of the better over-used terms floating around the web as of late, IMHO.

uf4 · Aug 25, 2002, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by digitalwanderer
At 36 I think I count as older, and "w00t-w00t-w00t!" is quickly becoming one of my fave expressions. It comes from the hacking world; once you crack a box and get root access it's the favored expressions to scream. It's 'sposed to mean the same as yelling, "root-root-root"; implying you've gotten root control of the target...but those goofy leet-speaking type couldn't leave it at that so they changed it to "w00t".

Imagine "root" said in an Elmer Fudd voice then transcribed into leet-speak, that's where it came from and what it means.

It's one of the better over-used terms floating around the web as of late, IMHO.

lol lol

dlmoye · Aug 25, 2002, 07:29 PM

Not if you buy an Athlon XP

christophe · Sep 5, 2002, 06:15 PM

some people never grow up...

btw, didn't AMD do the same sometimes ago?
i know Intel has already changed its socket for the P4 once.

ho.. forgot... what's the point of copying and pasting something from Zdnet
without adding a comment?
and posting a news on warp2search linking to this post and not the article on zdnet.com?

JavaFox · Sep 5, 2002, 11:37 PM

I KNEW IT!

When I posted a big long post (some of it based on VansHardware's editorials) in the FlameZone discussing the architectural inferiorities of the Pentium 4, I said:

"The problem with the P4 is that IT CAN CAUSE VOLTAGE TRANSIENTS!! By clock gating, and by being clocked so damn high. EMI is a bitch! This is precisely the reason Intel switched from socket 423 to socket 478 -- it needed more grounding pins to prevent signal noise. Expect to see new sockets and elaborate methods to combat EMI and voltage transients as time increases. I guarantee it."

Van said it first -- the reason Intel went from Socket 423 to Socket 478 is because they needed more grounding pins, and I knew that they'd do it again.

Don't people ever get tired of upgrading their motherboard for new Intel processors?

FuNsTeR · Sep 6, 2002, 09:42 PM

Intel Sux Inside

..... Amd Rox Inside

and people have the cheek too ask me why i refuse to buy Intel again

sint@x · Sep 7, 2002, 03:01 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by FuNsTeR1970
Intel Sux Inside ..... Amd Rox Inside

and people have the cheek too ask me why i refuse to buy Intel again

Amen brother!

crazy overclock · Sep 8, 2002, 01:35 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by FuNsTeR1970
Intel Sux Inside ..... Amd Rox Inside

and people have the cheek too ask me why i refuse to buy Intel again

Bows in agreement

Aug 25, 2002, 04:15 AM	#1
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	3GHz Pentium 4 means pricier PCs By Matthew Broersma ZDNet (UK) August 22, 2002, 5:56 AM PT ZDNet: 3GHz Pentium 4 means pricier PCs Motherboard makers are gearing up to support Intel's upcoming 3GHz Pentium 4, and the cost of their upgraded parts could mean a price hike for PC buyers. The Pentium 4 is expected to break the 3GHz barrier in late September or early October, but the faster chip will require a new power supply and other new technology. As a result, Taiwanese motherboard makers are planning to create separate versions of their main products in order to support the new chip, according to a report on Wednesday in Taiwanese industry journal DigiTimes. Besides putting inventory-control pressure on the motherboard makers, the duplicate lines will add $2 (about £1.28) in production costs for each board, according to the report. This could turn into higher wholesale motherboard prices and, ultimately, add to the cost of 3GHz Pentium 4 systems. Taiwan is home to many of the biggest PC motherboard makers, including Acer Laboratories (ALI), Asus, Chaintech, First International Computer (FIC) and Gigabyte. Most companies have already finished their new designs, but some are continuing their development work in an attempt to bring prices down, according to the report. The 3GHz Pentium 4 will require a 70-watt power supply, making it incompatible with current 60-watt motherboards. This will mean changing a power-control circuit called a pulse width modulation controller, according to the report. On top of that, to make room for more components, board makers will have to rearrange the boards' circuit layouts. Intel is expected to release a Pentium 4 running at 2.8GHz on Monday and recently shifted up the schedule for the 3GHz part in order to make it available for the Christmas shopping season. The current fastest Pentium 4 runs at 2.53GHz and costs $637 in quantities of 1,000. Intel is currently using a manufacturing process that creates chip features 0.13 microns in size, but is planning to shift to a 0.09-micron process next year. The 2.8GHz parts will also begin the shift to using silicon wafers that are 300 millimeters in diameter, a larger size that allows Intel to cut manufacturing costs.

Aug 25, 2002, 06:35 AM	#3
digitalwanderer Colour Commentator Join Date: May 2002 Location: Highland, IN USA Posts: 5,619 Rep Power: 0	IMPORTANT GEEK LESSON #13 "NEVER buy any motherboard with a new socket/slot designed for a bleeding edge intel CPU." Take it from the owner of a socket4 P60, or ask any of them PII233-333 slot mobo owners out there. __________________ WTF is up with the sigs?

Aug 25, 2002, 12:36 PM	#4
FuNsTeR Caledonian and Proud Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Darkest Ayrshire Posts: 1,305 Rep Power: 88 System Specs	Tell me something Wut the fcuk is "woot" all about it sounds like something a 12 year old would type ... if you are 12 sorry ..... if your older grow up!!! __________________ "They say when you play a Microsoft CD backwards you can hear satanic messages ..... but that's nothing, if you play it forward it will install Windows"

Aug 25, 2002, 07:29 PM	#7
dlmoye DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 11 Rep Power: 0	Not if you buy an Athlon XP __________________ Ak31a AthlonXp 1800+ Audigy 5.1 Gamer Radeon 8500(Retail) Crucial 256x2 Linksys Nic v5 Liteon CDRW(16x10x40) Toshiba CDR IBM 30G GXP

Sep 6, 2002, 09:42 PM	#10
FuNsTeR Caledonian and Proud Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Darkest Ayrshire Posts: 1,305 Rep Power: 88 System Specs	Intel Sux Inside ..... Amd Rox Inside and people have the cheek too ask me why i refuse to buy Intel again __________________ "They say when you play a Microsoft CD backwards you can hear satanic messages ..... but that's nothing, if you play it forward it will install Windows"

Aug 25, 2002, 06:12 AM	#2
nForcer Twice the fun! Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 1,404 Rep Power: 0	woot...yet another reason to keep or tweak the hardware you already have! Everything works! And ya don't need to spend anymore money on new powersupply's!

Sep 5, 2002, 06:15 PM	#8
christophe DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 3 Rep Power: 0	some people never grow up... btw, didn't AMD do the same sometimes ago? i know Intel has already changed its socket for the P4 once. ho.. forgot... what's the point of copying and pasting something from Zdnet without adding a comment? and posting a news on warp2search linking to this post and not the article on zdnet.com?

Sep 5, 2002, 11:37 PM	#9
JavaFox E Pluribus Unum Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 3,203 Rep Power: 0	I KNEW IT! When I posted a big long post (some of it based on VansHardware's editorials) in the FlameZone discussing the architectural inferiorities of the Pentium 4, I said: "The problem with the P4 is that IT CAN CAUSE VOLTAGE TRANSIENTS!! By clock gating, and by being clocked so damn high. EMI is a bitch! This is precisely the reason Intel switched from socket 423 to socket 478 -- it needed more grounding pins to prevent signal noise. Expect to see new sockets and elaborate methods to combat EMI and voltage transients as time increases. I guarantee it." Van said it first -- the reason Intel went from Socket 423 to Socket 478 is because they needed more grounding pins, and I knew that they'd do it again. Don't people ever get tired of upgrading their motherboard for new Intel processors?