Rival chip makers Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. are both rolling out new processors aimed at the desktop and notebook space.
Intel on Tuesday expanded its line of mobile processors, including the second generation of its Mobile Pentium 4. The new chips—the 518, 532 and 538—offer faster speeds, ranging from 2.8GHz to 3.2GHz, 1MB of Level 2 cache and support for Enhanced Intel Speedstep technology that gives the mobile chips lower thermal output than their desktop counterparts.
The chips, manufactured via Intels 90-nanometer process, also support the Santa Clara, Calif., companys Hyper-Threading technology, which enables the processors to handle more than one thread of instructions and increases the performance of applications.
The processors are designed to run in desktop-replacement notebooks, according to officials.
In addition, Intel is introducing the Celeron M 340, at 1.5GHz, with 512KB of Level 2 cache and a 400MHz system bus. The chip is aimed at such form factors as thin-and-light laptops.
The new Mobile Pentium 4 chips range in price from $202 to $294 per 1,000 units; the Celeron M 340 is $134 per 1,000 units.
For its part, AMD on Tuesday rolled out four new 64-bit Athlon 64 processors at the Computex 2004 show in Taipei, Taiwan.
The FX-53 and 3500+, 3700+ and 3800+ include the Sunnyvale, Calif., companys Enhanced Virus Protection technology, which will be enabled with Microsoft Corp.s Windows XP Service Pack 2 release later this year and is designed to add another layer of protection to desktops and notebooks.
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The FX-53, 3800+ and 3500+ also use 939 pins—previous versions used as few as 754 pins—which will enable the chips to take advantage of dual-channel memory, according to officials. The pins are the link between the chip and motherboard.
AMDs Athlon 64 chips are part of the companys strategy of offering chips that enable users to run both 32-bit and 64-bit applications.
Available now, the new chips range in price from $500 to $799 per 1,000 units shipped.
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