If you thought 3.06 GHz PCs were fast, get ready for Canterwood, Intel's new chipset that further boosts the performance of Pentium 4 processors.
Code-named Canterwood, Intel's new 875P chipset includes a number of advancements for demanding users. However, a possible glitch with the new processor has thrown a wrench into Intel's plans to bring out new silicon for high-performance chips for top-of-the-line PCs.
A new train won't get you to your destination any faster if it's running on old tracks. Tunnels and bridges must be upgraded, switches and crossings improved, and curves straightened in order to allow the Acela to run at its higher speed. The same holds true for chips and chipsets. Think of the chip, or the central processing unit (CPU), as the train engine and the chipset as the tracks that link the CPU and your PC's various subsystems. As CPUs get faster, so must the paths between the CPU and the memory, the graphics card, and the hard drive.
Monday marked the release of Intel's new 875P chipset, code-named Canterwood, which replaces the 850E chipset for the performance class of PCs. It features a number of improvements, including its most important feature: support for dual-channel DDR400 memory, or memory that runs at 400MHz on two independent paths. Also significant is the increased speed of the frontside bus (FSB), the main link between the CPU and the memory. The 875P supports a 800MHz FSB, up from the 533MHz FSB of the previous-generation 850E chipset.
In many respects, the 875P is identical to Intel's forthcoming Springdale chipset, which will launch next month for the mainstream PC market. Both have an 800MHz FSB and offer support for dual-channel DDR400 memory, Serial ATA, AGP 8X, Gigabit Ethernet, and Intel's own Hyper-Threading technology. In fact, both chipsets are manufactured using the same .13-micron process. But only those components that pass Intel's stringent requirements, including optimum timing (Intel calls this Performance Acceleration Technology, or PAT), are qualified as 875P. Intel has different requirements for those components that will qualify as Springdale.
What's a new chipset without a new processor? To accompany the 875P chipset, Intel has introduced a new 3GHz Pentium 4, which is different from the 3.06GHz processor released last November in that it can take advantage of the new 800MHz FSB. It may be .06GHz slower, but on the whole the new 3GHz P4 outperformed the older version on CNET Labs' tests because of its speedier system bus and support for faster memory, nearly guaranteeing improved performance at digital-video editing and 3D gaming.
It seems that Intel will, however, be delaying the launch of the new processor. According to a CNET News.com report, the chipmaker discovered a possible problem with the new chip at the last minute. So until the so-called anomalies are resolved, the new 3GHz Pentium 4 running 800MHz bus will be put on hold temporarily. This means that users will not be able to get hold PCs with the new chipsets and processors, for at least a while.
So while PC makers have inventory of the new 3GHz chip, but it is unlikely any of the chips have gotten to end customers yet. Intel is still talking with PC makers about what to do with the 3GHz chips that are in the field. Meanwhile, an Intel spokesperson has confirmed that the issues do not affect the current batch of 3.06GHz Pentium 4 processors with 533MHZ bus.
Note: Intel has confirmed that the new 875P chipset has been shipped to mainboard vendors since Monday. However, the Canterwood-based motherboards are expected to be available in shops, only in the later part of this month.
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