Introduction

No matter which side of the CPU fence you're sitting, it is quite clear that Intel is really putting the pressure on AMD. As we entered into 2002, both Intel and AMD released impressive new processor models, but since then it's been all Intel's show. The last big head-to-head battle took place between the Athlon XP 2100+ and the Pentium 4-2.2 GHz, with AMD squeezing out the victory.

Then Intel shot back with the Pentium 4-2.4 GHz and basically took back the performance lead, albeit with a very slim margin of victory. In addition to the performance benefits of the newer Pentium 4-2.4 GHz, the lower-speed 1.6A and 1.8A GHz Pentium 4 Northwood models really started to make their presence felt. These CPUs provided Intel with some impact in lower-cost OEM solutions, as well as taking back a part of the enthusiast market from AMD with a low cost, highly-overclockable processor line.

Most assumed that AMD would make the next move, either with the Athlon XP Thoroughbred, or in the event that delays occurred, a quick release of the Athlon XP 2200+. Neither of these came to pass, and instead it is Intel introducing a rather significant new line-up of 533 MHz Pentium 4 processors. These are the Pentium 4-2.53, 2.4B and 2.26 GHz models along with an enhanced i850E chipset replacing the i850 as the high-performance Intel platform. In this review, we will be covering the Pentium 4-2.53 and Pentium 4-2.4B GHz processors, along with full benchmarking using the i850E-powered Intel D850EMV2 motherboard.