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Intel on Monday will bring integrated graphics to a wide range of PCs when it kicks off a family of chip sets that also includes high-speed peripheral support with USB 2.0 technology.

The company will offer a range of chip sets based on the 845G chip set, which can be used with Pentium 4 processors as well as with Celeron chips that use the Pentium 4's 478-pin packaging type. Gateway on Monday is expected to be among the vendors that will begin shipping systems based on the 845G as well as using an 845GL chip set. Starting prices for the new Gateway systems will be as low as $649.

Cheaper, Efficient

Integrating graphics processing into a chip set saves a manufacturer from having to add a separate graphics card to a PC, reducing costs. Until now, integrated graphics capabilities for Intel-based PCs have been offered generally only for value-priced systems.

USB 2.0 capability, available in many peripherals on the market today, offers much faster communication between the PC and external devices such as scanners, digital cameras and printers. USB 2.0 has never been integrated into an Intel chip set before. However, Gateway is among the several vendors that are shipping some systems with USB 2.0 add-in cards already installed.

Range of Chip sets

Intel will offer a wide range of chip sets based on the 845G for value-priced, mainstream and performance-oriented systems, Intel spokesman George Alfs said on Friday. The 845G will support both 400MHz and 533MHz front side bus speeds and DDR SDRAM, according to Alfs.

The lower end 845GL will support exclusively the 400MHz front side bus used with the 478-pin Celeron chips, according to a Gateway representative. It also will support DDR, according to Gateway.

Gateway will offer models of its 300 and 500 series PCs using the new chip sets, ranging from the $649 Celeron-based Gateway 300LS to the $1499 Pentium 4-based Gateway 500X.