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CPU Marketshare Wars
New CPUs, chipsets coming
With the April '99 release of the K6-III, followed by the summer release of the K7, loss-plagued AMD continued its marketshare war against Intel during 1999. The K6-III contained the same high-performance CXT core as the previously released 380 and 400 MHz versions of the K6-2 (distinguished from their predecessors by the suffix "CXT" on the chips), plus additional on-chip L2 cache. As well, AMD, on April 5th, announced its fastest "consumer" chip, the 475MHz K6-II. However, Intel was busy with its own plans and improving its own chip fabrication processes.
Here's what's ahead for Intel:
- Intel is phasing out its Slot One architecture -- gradually. News.com reports that Intel views its Slot 1 SECC cartridge form factor as unnecessary now that a newer .18 micron fabrication process allows processors with onboard L2 cache, eliminating the need for the larger and more expensive SECC design. This was confirmed by a Jan. 14th 1999 Intel dealer memo. Intel's upcoming Coppermine and Cascades chips, the first to be made under the new .18 micron process, will contain 256KB of integrated cache memory. Thus, Slot One Celerons are all but dead; however, Intel continues to make its high-end processors available in the Slot One format and, in fact, in Oct. '99 released multiprocessing capable versions of the Pentium IIIB (code-named "Coppermine") only in the Slot One format. The Socket 370-format PIIIB chips are not multiprocessing enabled -- at least officially. Thus, Intel, at least as of Q4'99, continues to define Slot 1 as a market differentiator for its CPUs.
- Camino, Intel's successor to the 440 BX chipset, supports a Front Side Bus speed of 133 MHz. Camino also supports Rambus memory and UDMA/66, for higher speed memory and hard disk performance, respectively.
- New mobile Pentium III models were released in Oct '99, following the company's "Dixon" series of mobile Pentium II chips with 256KB of integrated memory, released Jan. 25, and mobile Celeron designs. Typically, the fastest mobile CPU from Intel runs at about 75% of the fastest desktop processor speed.
- Intel's much-rumored plans to put an end to overclocking are apparently just that -- rumors. However, the new Pentium III chips are Intel's least overclockable chips yet. Note, however, that Intel's "WebOutfitter" web site is Pentium III specific -- it checks the chip's embedded chip ID, and won't run on anything but a genuine PIII. While non-PIII owner's aren't missing much -- yet -- this could be a powerful persuader for some.
- According to The Register (www.theregister.co.uk) Celerons are poised to go to 100MHz FSB real soon now. You have been warned.
Here is a table of Intel CPUs and the products they represent: (code-name / supported bus speeds / fabrication type / processor family / amount and type of L2 cache)
- Klamath (66MHz, .35micron PII; 512K half-speed cache)
- Deschutes (66/100MHz, .25micron PII; 512K half-speed cache)
- "original" Celeron (66MHz, .25micron Celeron, no cache)
- Mendocino (66MHz, .25micron Celeron-A, 128K full-speed cache)
- Katmai (66/100MHz, .25micron PIII; 512K half-speed cache)
- Coppermine (100/133MHz, .18micron PIIIB; 256K full-speed cache)
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