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Intel unshackles its Pentium 4 chips from controversial, high-priced RDRAM with the launch of its SDRAM-based 845 chip set today. The performance of the new chip set is better than predicted: Exclusive PC World tests show that while a P4 system with SDRAM does runs slower than one with RDRAM, the margin is smaller than expected.

Intel has long maintained that P4-based systems using SDRAM won't perform as well as RDRAM-based PCs--after all, the chip maker and Rambus built the two technologies to go together.

Our tests bear out Intel's contention, but not by much. In tests of two comparable systems, the RDRAM-based unit scored a relatively meager 5 percent higher on PC WorldBench 2000 than an SDRAM system.

Regardless of test scores, PC vendors are eager to show their support for the new standard, which many analysts predict will push the P4 into more widespread usage. Dell, Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, Gateway, and others all announced plans for systems in concert with Intel's announcement.

P4 Goes Mainstream

"While the Intel 850 platform continues to provide the maximum Pentium 4 processor performance, the 845 broadens the Pentium 4 processor family by delivering support throughout the mainstream market segment for the advanced, and ever-evolving end-user PC usage models," Intel's Louis Burns, vice president and general manager of Desktop Products Group, says in a statement issued Monday.

Despite Intel's clear preference for RDRAM in performance-minded systems, both consumers and corporate buyers will likely embrace PCs based on the 845 chip set, says Mike Feibus, senior analyst with Mercury Research.

"I hesitate to say this will open the floodgates, not in this market, but it will push more people to P4," he says.

Cost Cutting

For consumers, the biggest draw is that PCs with SDRAM should carry a lower cost, he says, but he notes that with memory prices down across the board, even RDRAM is relatively cheap right now. An informal PC World survey shows the average price for 128MB of PC-133 SDRAM at about $26 retail; the same amount of RDRAM goes for about $106.

Corporate buyers, on the other hand, want SDRAM because they are extremely averse to risk, he says.

"The 845 will be a very stable chip set that uses mainstream memory," he says. That addresses the two big concerns of IT buyers, he adds.

After Intel ran into trouble with its first RDRAM-based chip set, the 820, corporate buyers have been leery of RDRAM, he explains. "It's a case of once bitten, three, four, five times shy," he says.

Analyst Nathan Brookwood of Insight 64 sums up the 845 in another way: "It gives IT guys a warm fuzzy."

The Tests

We asked Dell Computer to supply us with two matching 1.7-GHz P4 systems with 256MB of memory: one with RDRAM and one with SDRAM.

Dell sent us a shipping Dimension 8100 with 800-MHz RDRAM and a pre-production Dimension 4300 with 133-MHz SDRAM. Both units are stacked with top-notch components, including 256MB of memory, the same 60GB, 7200-rpm hard drive, an NVidia GeForce3 graphics card with 64MB of DDR memory, a 16X DVD-ROM drive, a 16X/10X/40X CD-RW drive, a 17-inch monitor, and Windows 2000.

Dell priced the 8100 at $2099, while the 4300 will sell for a surprisingly high $2079. We expect most SDRAM-based systems to offer a larger savings over their RDRAM-based counterparts.

The RDRAM-based PC scored a 219 on PC WorldBench 2000, and the SDRAM-based unit landed a 208. That means the RDRAM PC scored just 5 percent higher than the SDRAM-based system.

Since PC WorldBench emphasizes business applications, we also tested the systems using three additional programs to test the systems' other capabilities.

In our Musicmatch Jukebox test, we used each PC to encode MP3 files: In a test where lower is better, the RDRAM system finished in 63 seconds and the SDRAM system in 64 seconds. The RDRAM PC did outpace the SDRAM unit by about 5 seconds in our PhotoShop 5 test.

It wasn't until we ran our Autodesk User Group International AutoCAD test that the RDRAM system really shined, finishing in 541 seconds while the SDRAM system finished in 614 seconds. That means the RDRAM system completed the task about 11 percent quicker than the SDRAM unit.

Shipping Systems

Vendors obviously aren't too worried about performance differences, as all of the major vendors have 845-based PCs in the works. In fact, Dell and Gateway are already offering systems for sale.

As noted, Dell will offer the 845 in its Dimension 4300 line. While our test unit was slightly pricey, the company is offering an entry-level configuration that starts at just $849. That system includes a 1.5-GHz P4, 128MB of SDRAM, a 20GB hard drive, a 16MB ATI Rage Ultra graphics card, a 48X CD-ROM drive, a 15-inch monitor, and Windows Me.

On the business side, Dell is offering its 845 chip set in its OptiPlex GX240 system. In its basic configuration, it includes a 1.7-GHz P4 chip, 128MB of SDRAM, a 20GB hard drive, integrated networking, a 32MB ATI Rage graphics card, a 48X CD-ROM drive, a 17-inch monitor, and Windows 2000 for $1174.

Gateway's first 845-based unit is the E-3600, which is also geared toward business users. Available now through the company's Web site, the unit will offer a range of configurations, with prices starting at $1199. The company plans to offer a consumer model starting at $999.

Officials at HP and Compaq also confirmed plans to ship the 845 in their respective Pavilion and Presario lines, although those products won't launch until later this month.

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