Features

Intel Introduces Prescott

The newest member of the Pentium 4 family - and likely the last - Prescott is meant to usher Intel processors into the realm of 5 GHz frequencies, improved multimedia creation and playing capabilities, and increased performance. Prescott joins the current version, dubbed Northwood, and the Extreme Edition version. It's official title is the Intel Pentium 4 with Hyper-Threading technology, like its predecessor, but underneath the hood are an assortment of performance enhancing technologies that will give it an edge over previous generations.

As with any release of a new processor from Intel, the manufacturers lined up to announce desktops and workstations featuring it the day the chip debuted. Dell, HP, Gateway, IBM, RackSaver and others all announced plans to release machines with the new chip.

Steve Kleynhans, analyst for Meta Group, sees Prescott as smoothly taking over the lower end of the workstation market from the Northwood. Kleynhans says, "Prescott advances Intel's cause in the lower end of the workstation market, but Xeon and Itanium remain the keys for the higher end."

Prescott is rolling out at three speeds, 2.8 GHz, 3 GHz, and 3.2 GHz, with a 3.4 GHz processor to arrive in March. Those 3 GHz and faster support Hyper-Threading and an 800 MHz front side bus (the 2.8 GHz version does not support Hyper-Threading and has a 533 MHz fsb). They will be distinguished from Northwood processors with the letter 'E' following the clock speed. The Extreme Edition, which had a 3.4 GHz version released at the same time, is distinguished by a 'EE' designation.

Prescott is the first chip to be produced using a 90-nanometer manufacturing process, making it smaller than Northwood, which is built using a 130 nanometer process, and thus cheaper to produce. It has more than double the number of transistors onboard, 125 million to Northwood's 55 million. To reduce manufacturing costs, Intel hopes to rapidly produce Prescotts and phase out the Northwoods. The transition between Northwood and Prescott should be made easier because of Intel's aggressive pricing plan: both chips have same price.

Despite its introductory fanfare, Prescott remains something of a work in progress. The processor is a complete product, but its surrounding infrastructure will still be emerging over the coming year. Prescott is compatible with existing Pentium 4 motherboards and heatsinks, but Intel is planning to introduce a new chip socket architecture later this year. Plumbing the extent of its capabilities will also require changes to software and operating systems.