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Pentium II-333s Raise the Bar

Systems from Dell and NEC--the first based on Intel's 333-MHz Pentium II chip--debut as the fastest PCs yet, just as we expected. But the even faster PCs to come may keep you from jumping the gun on these powerhouses.

  

Henry Ford once said that people can buy any color Model T they want, as long as it's black. With Intel's latest Pentium II-333 chip now on the streets, and faster PII-350 and PII-400 versions coming soon, you can almost hear Andy Grove muttering much the same thing: "They can have any CPU they want, as long as it's a Pentium II."

The latest is the PII-333, found in two machines we tested this month. The PII-333 is the first of the long-anticipated Deschutes-class chips, which use a new manufacturing process to break the 300-MHz barrier, and the first PCs based on it are amazingly inexpensive, selling for as little as $2500. The low prices are in turn driving down the prices of 233-, 266-, and 300-MHz Pentium II systems, a phenomenon that is rewriting our power and budget charts.

Even as Deschutes debuts, however, the expected arrival of more-powerful systems gives buyers reason to pause. By the end of April, faster system RAM and motherboards, and ever faster Pentium II processors--running up to 400 MHz--promise to shake up the buying picture.

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