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Intel took nearly 29 years to produce its first 1-GHz processor, but just 18 months more to push its Pentium 4 to the 2-GHz mark, further increasing the P4's speed advantage (on paper) over AMD's current crown jewel, the 1.4-GHz Athlon.

But our tests show that despite the new chip's extra megahertz, the Athlon still performs better on some applications. The P4 has closed the gap on most tests, however, and has widened its lead in certain tests, such as video encoding. The P4 should also perform better with apps that have been optimized for it, such as Ulead's VideoStudio 5 and Dragon NaturallySpeaking 5. On the other hand, Athlon-based PCs remain less expensive than P4 systems, making them better values.

We looked at two 2-GHz P4 systems geared toward professional users, both packing 256MB of high-speed PC800 RDRAM and running Windows 2000. The preproduction Gateway Professional S2000 should cost $2637; the shipping Hewlett-Packard Vectra VL800 costs $3039 sans monitor. Expect other major vendors such as Compaq, Dell, and IBM to have 2-GHz machines available soon.

Power Play

The Gateway barely outperformed the HP: The Professional S2000 notched a PC WorldBench 2000 score of 235, and the Vectra had a 229.

Both 2-GHz systems scored markedly higher than comparably configured 1.7-GHz P4-based machines we've tested (the PC World Test Center has yet to test a system based on the 1.8-GHz P4, previously Intel's fastest). The Gateway PC was about 9 percent faster than the average score of eight 1.7-GHz P4 machines, a difference you're likely to notice.

The 2-GHz P4 was more evenly matched by AMD's 1.4-GHz Athlon. The average mark of five 1.4-GHz Athlon PCs with 256MB of DDR SDRAM was 239. That puts it in a virtual dead heat with the Gateway unit--pretty good for a chip running 600 MHz (30 percent) slower. Still, this is the first time top-of-the-line Windows 2000-based P4 systems have caught up with high-end Athlon PCs on PC WorldBench 2000.

Previous PC World tests have indicated that P4-based systems tend to outperform Athlon-based machines on video encoding, some music encoding, and certain games. With the faster P4-2000 chip, that lead can only grow.

In the Case

Neither 2-GHz unit will leave you power-hungry. Both pack a fast NVidia GeForce2 graphics board (the Gateway's has 64MB of memory; the HP's has 32MB), a 40GB hard drive, 10/100 ethernet, and a CD-RW drive. HP throws in its comprehensive system management tools and a 12X DVD-ROM drive, while Gateway bundles speakers, Microsoft Office XP Small Business Edition, and a 15-inch LCD. HP sells monitors separately; a 17-inch HP CRT costs $259.

At $2637 including the LCD panel, the Gateway PC is a better value than the $3039 HP Vectra. HP's management tools may help the latter unit fit more smoothly into a corporate network, however.

Of course, neither price is small. That's especially noticeable when you match the P4 PCs with similar Athlon-1400 PCs from the same vendors.

For example, Gateway offers a Select 1400 Deluxe PC with 256MB of SDRAM, comparable hardware (including the LCD), and Windows Millennium Edition, for $1858. That's a $779 difference, and worth serious consideration.

A 1.4-GHz Athlon HP Pavilion geared toward home users sells for $1623. It combines a 40GB drive, 256MB of DDR SDRAM, a 16X DVD drive, GeForce graphics with 64MB of RAM, ethernet, a 17-inch CRT monitor, Polk speakers, Windows Me, and Office 2000 Small Business Edition. And you can get it all for a whopping $1416 less than the monitor-less 2-GHz Vectra costs.

Looking Ahead

If you really want a P4 system but can hold off buying, you may be better served later this year when Intel launches the next version of the P4.

Code-named Northwood, the new, smaller P4 chip will be made using a .13-micron process instead of the current .18-micron process. It should launch at speeds faster than 2.3 GHz. Some analysts predict that Intel will double the chip's on-die secondary cache from 256KB to 512KB (as it has already done with the new mobile Pentium III-M), which could translate into a nice performance boost.

Another reason to wait: Intel's upcoming 845 chip set, which will support the P4 and SDRAM (instead of the pricey and controversial RDRAM). It should bring P4 system prices well into the mainstream.

AMD isn't standing still. Look for the next version of AMD's desktop Athlon in the second half of 2001, launching at speeds greater than 1.5GHz. The new CPU is already shipping in mobile form as the Athlon 4; the desktop version still carries the code name Palomino. The chip should include new multimedia instructions, as well as a data-prefetch feature to help speed performance.

If you want top performance and you plan to edit video, the P4 has a lot to offer. If most of your work involves standard business tasks, Athlon-based units are a better value.

SUMMARY

Gateway Professional S2000 (Preproduction unit, not rated) The unit's ever-so-slightly higher score, flat-panel monitor, and lower price make it a smart buy for Intel-minded users. $2637 (estimated) find.pcworld.com/12080

SUMMARY

Hewlett-Packard Vectra VL800 The HP is solid but seems overpriced even in this class. $3039 (no monitor) find.pcworld.com/12081

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