P4 Bests Athlon

New 1.7-GHz Celeron: A Bad Buy

In its latest move to woo budget PC buyers, Intel has ratcheted up the clock speed of its Celeron processor from 1.3 GHz to 1.7 GHz and pumped up the frontside bus speed from 100 MHz to 400 MHz. But based on PC World's exclusive tests of a PC using the new Celeron, you should avoid it: This chip is all bark and no bite.

The new Celeron uses the same core as older Pentium 4 chips. But Intel decided to ship this processor with a scant 128KB Level 2 cache, half the size of the L2 cache of previous Celeron and older P4 chips (newer P4s have a 512KB L2 cache).

The 128KB L2 cache evidently hindered the speed of the preproduction 1.7-GHz Celeron system we tested, an $849 Gateway 300S: It managed a meager score of 83 on our PC WorldBench 4 tests. A comparable 1.7-GHz Pentium 4 system--with the same integrated graphics--ran more than 12 percent faster, earning a score of 93.

The CD-RW drive, monitor, and speakers on our $1253 P4 test system, a preproduction Gateway 500, were better than those on the 300S. But when configured just like the 300S except for the CPU, the 500 sells for $1028--only $179 more.

In addition, the 1.7-GHz Celeron system actually performed worse than older Celeron machines that PC World has tested: A comparable 1.3-GHz Celeron system from Dell earned a score of 92, and similar 1.2-GHz Celeron PCs from Gateway and HP logged scores of 89 and 90, respectively.

It Sounds Fast

Intel decided to go with the 128KB cache size in order to deliver the 1.7-GHz Celeron at a desired price point, says spokesperson George Alfs.

Analysts say consumers should not be amused.

"I think Intel's handling of [this] Celeron represents a complete disregard for its customers," says Kevin Krewell, senior analyst at MicroDesign Resources. "The 128KB of L2 cache is simply Intel crippling the processor's performance to make the latest Pentium 4 look better. It would be like going to a car dealer and finding that the economy car has only half the cylinders enabled."

At the same time that 1.7-GHz Celeron systems ship, you'll also see PCs based on a new version of the old-style Celeron running at 1.4 GHz. Although it uses the old 100-MHz frontside bus, it retains the 256KB Level 2 cache, so PCs powered by this chip should outperform systems equipped with the new 1.7-GHz Celeron, Krewell says.

Bottom line: If you want a sub-$1000 system based on a Celeron, the 1.4-GHz chip looks like the smarter option. Before you buy either one, however, shop around for sub-$1000 systems based on Intel's older P4 chips or AMD's Athlon processors. Most of them will easily outperform computers running on either flavor of the Celeron.