Intel drops plans for 4GHz Pentium 4

THERE WON'T NOW be a version of the Pentium 4 running at 4GHz, Intel has confirmed to the INQUIRER today.

According to a representative we spoke to at Intel this evening, the reason is part of its strategy shift to offering CPUs based not on frequency but on features such as additional cache, eventually dual cores, and other elements such as front side bus speeds.

Other sources tell the INQUIRER that its 6XX family, which we reported earlier this year, will have 2MB of level two cache, faster bus speeds and be based on the existing Pentium architecture.

Reading between the lines, this indicates the end of the road for Intel processors with 1MB of cache.

Chipset support isn't a problem for such processors, we understand. But those 6XX chips, intended to be launched in the first quarter, will definitely not be based on frequency boosts.

We now also confidently expect that Intel will use the Pentium M in several desktop configurations.

Then there's dual core systems, which Intel still confidently expects to ship in some quantities during 2005. Originally the Pentium 4 Netburst architecture was supposed to scale to as much as 10GHz, but there's been a complete re-alignment of Intel's strategy, which started to happen earlier this year. The roadmaps have changed - OEMs are being told about the significant changes this week. µ

See Also
Intel's 660 series is a riddle wrapped in an enigma
Details of the 6XX series