Intel's 2.80GHz P4 hits Pricewatch

The site lists the CPU as costing $578, Intel's latest roadmaps have it at $508, but that's a distributor and OEM price, when the chip is bought in quantities of 1,000.

In the four week roadmap before that, Intel listed the price as over $637 - this is before it decided to introduce swingeing price cuts on a range of processors including desktop, mobile and server CPUs.

Earlier reports we heard, in June, that Intel would introduce hyperthreading into the 2.80GHz were obviously not without foundation.

At the end of last week we saw an Intel document which said it was sampling 2.80GHz Pentium 4s with hyperthreading enabled. Mind you, hyperthreading has been sort of enabled in desktop CPUs for some time, all Intel needs to do is throw the switch and make sure BIOSes in motherboards support the claimed performance buster.

In fact, it now appears that when the 3.06GHz Pentium 4 is released, and the latest date for that from Intel is November, all that hyperthreading stuff will be implemented. And if it's got a 3.06GHz chip kicking in November, how far will the clock speeds get on the P4 in the first half of next year.

Intel's roadmaps this year have been cautious on clock speeds for its Pentium 4 but this is obviously a ploy by the chip giant, which realised in the first quarter of this year that its "Northwood" process was capable of raming steadily on frequencies during 2002.

So the Prescott at 3.20GHz+ which it shows as launching in the second half of next year, currently, is a similar cautious ploy - intended not to raise expectations but at the same time an attempt to FUDify Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), which now appears to want to start the speed leapfrogging all over again. µ

See Also
Intel's desktop CPUs in graphics
Intel moves 2.80GHz Pentium 4 into Q3
Microprocessor page
Up-to-date Intel desktop, mobile, server roadmaps