[EAS]Pentium IV and AMD

[pjk]

Subject:   Pentium IV and AMD

(from NewsScan Daily,  9 January 2001)

AMD UNVEILS FASTER CHIP
Advanced Micro Devices has taken the wraps off a new speedier
version of  its Duron microprocessor for PCs. Though the
850-megahertz chip began  shipping in December, AMD planned the
official debut for this Monday, less  than a week after Intel
introduced its own 800-megahertz Celeron chip.  Gartner Dataquest
analyst Martin Reynolds says although some AMD chips  outperform
Intel's products, it's not likely that Intel will be ousted any 
time soon from its No. 1 spot in the market. "AMD is doing real
well.  They're matching Intel up and down the line. They're going
to make a pile  of money. They're not going to knock Intel off the
block, but that's  probably not their goal, either." (AP/USA Today
8 Jan 2001)
http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/review/crh824.htm

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The Pentium IV mess
http://www.emulators.com/pentium4.htm

Reading this long piece (with numerous links) in its entirety is
only for the very technically versed, but the message seems clear.
Despite claims by computer manufacturers, Intel's vaunted 1.5 GHz
Pentium 4 chip has major design flaws that can throttle it down to
speeds slower than existing Pentium III, Celeron, and AMD Athlon
chips.

>From my admittedly rather distant perspective, Pentium 4 seems a
terminal case of elephantiasis. Wasn't there something called RISC
design that pointed to the lean way? Compounding the problems at
Intel was the rush to launch the Pentium 4 before year-end. The
prospects for CPU leadership of the flagship semiconductor
manufacturer look somewhat cloudier.

Of course as a Macintosh user I bring to all this a finely honed
objective detachment.

   --PJK