P4's Power Push

P4 Design Tweaks

Intel has not radically altered the new P4 CPUs. The most significant change is the new chip's .13-micron manufacturing process. This process produces chips that are both cooler and more power-efficient than the original P4s (built with a .18 micron process), allowing the new chips to run at 1.5 volts instead of 1.8 volts. The revised process also lets Intel pack more transistors into the chip--enabling a 512KB Level 2 cache, twice the cache of the original Pentium 4 CPUs--and delivers a cost savings because Intel obtains higher chip yields from the silicon than it did previously.

A new version of the 845 motherboard chip set debuts with the new P4 CPUs. The updated 845 lets P4 system makers use either SDRAM or faster DDR SDRAM (as in the HP Pavilion 9905) for main memory--a very welcome improvement. Released in August 2001, the original 845 chip set, which isn't upgradable to the new version, let vendors use SDRAM with the P4. Before that, vendors could pair P4s only with fast but expensive RDRAM. (Via Technologies released a controversial chip set for P4 PCs and DDR memory in late 2001.)

"DDR is going to be the best mainstream memory for the next two years," says Kevin Krewell, a senior analyst at MicroDesign Resources. Our testing backs that up, showing that DDR provides the best balance of price and power for most desktop PC buyers.

The Value Question

As any PC veteran knows, if you want a system carrying Intel's best-of-breed chip when it first arrives, you must pay a premium. The P4 2.2 GHz chips will cost PC makers about $300 more than Athlon XP chips and $200 to $300 more than older P4 2 GHz chips. That difference will appear in PC prices. The new P4 2A GHz chip should cost only about $20 more than the P4 2 GHz, though, so the price difference between old and new 2-GHz PCs should be small.

The PCs we tested represent a good sample of what you'll find at various prices. All have ethernet, and only the Compaq Evo D300 lacks a modem. The Compaq is also the least expensive unit here, providing the top-of-line Intel CPU in a no-frills, corporate configuration with a 40GB hard drive, a CD-ROM drive, and a 15-inch monitor, all for $1656.

Aimed at home PC enthusiasts, the HP Pavilion 9905 offers an attractive package with both a DVD+RW and a DVD-ROM drive, an 80GB hard drive, an NVidia GeForce3-based graphics card, and a 17-inch monitor. It costs $2349 configured with the P4 2 GHz CPU, $2379 with the P4 2A GHz, and $2499 with the P4 2.2 GHz. The 2A model is the best deal: You get the extra L2 cache for less than top dollar.

The $3179 Dell Dimension 8200 is a bit pricey, but it delivers 256MB of RDRAM, an 80GB hard drive, both a CD-RW and a DVD-ROM drive, an NVidia GeForce-based graphics card, Turtle Beach audio, and a 19-inch monitor.

The MicronPC unit offers a sweet deal at $1707. Though it does use NVidia GeForce2 MX 400-based graphics instead of the newer GeForce3, it has a CD-RW drive, a 19-inch monitor, and a 40GB hard drive.

Wise Buys

Looking ahead, AMD plans to move to a .13-micron manufacturing process by midyear. This will let it add more L2 cache to its Athlon XPs, though it may elect not to do so because of cost pressures.

Later this year, Intel should release a new high-end system chip set, in RDRAM and DDR SDRAM versions, that supports a 133-MHz system bus "quad-pumped" to 533 MHz; this should provide a major speed boost for data flowing to and from the CPU. Today, the system bus runs at 100 MHz, quad-pumped to 400 MHz.

We can give power-PC buyers this advice: The new Pentium 4 systems are certainly powerful and can handle your toughest jobs. But they fail to deal a finishing blow to Athlon XP-based PCs, and--for now--they offer less value for your money. If you work with video or must have an Intel-based system, consider a P4 2A GHz PC instead of a P4 2.2 GHz unit. You'll get similar performance, and you may save a couple hundred dollars.

SUMMARY

Intel Pentium 4 2A GHz and Pentium 4 2.2 GHz Great boost for tasks such as graphics editing and video encoding, but not office apps.

SUMMARY

Compaq Evo D300 (Preproduction unit, not yet rated) Nice price for a no-frills, Pentium 4 2.2 GHz corporate system. Street: $1656

SUMMARY

Dell Dimension 8200 (Preproduction unit, not yet rated) A good but costly performer with a generous feature set. Street: $3179

SUMMARY

HP Pavilion 9905 (Preproduction unit, not yet rated) Great graphics, but a $2379 P4 2A GHz unit performs similarly. Street: $2499 (P4 2.2 GHz)