Intel plans to 'rebrand' CPUs

[MikeHunt]

Intel plans to rebrand CPUs

MONDAY , 29 MARCH 2004

By TOM PULLAR-STRECKER

Does speed matter, or does performance come down to the size of your cache?

Both are important but dominant chip maker Intel believes consumers are attaching too much importance to the clock speed of processors when choosing PCs.

The company, which supplies about 85 per cent of the market for PC central processing units (CPUs), plans to introduce a new labelling system for its most popular processor lines in May.

It will encourage retailers to draw less attention to the clock speed of PCs, which is measured in gigahertz, by adopting of a numbering system for processors that is designed to provide a more holistic indication of their features.

Intel Australia and New Zealand spokesman Dan Anderson says the company is concerned that customers may not realise the size of a chip's cache and the speed, type and position of its bus are also key determinants of performance.

Instead of having their clock speeds headlined, Pentium Celeron, Pentium 4 and Pentium M, processors will be branded with three-digit codes starting with 3, 5, and 7 respectively, which may go up in increments of five to denote different models within each range.

Higher numbers should indicate a chip has either a higher clock speed or more performance features. But Mr Anderson says Intel can't preclude the possibility a chip with a lower three digit code may be faster than one with a higher number, in some circumstances.

He says Intel doesn't intend to hide the clock speed of processors in its branding material. The gigahertz rating of chips will appear in smaller print, alongside details of other features.

The change is expected to come into effect at the same time Intel launches its Pentium M chip for notebooks, codenamed Dophan.

Mr Anderson says Intel will need to educate retailers on the changes to point-of-sale branding.

The clock speed of a processor is an indication of how many tasks a CPU can undertake in a billionth of a second, though this is complicated by the fact some processors have more than one core and can carry out multiple instructions simultaneously.

The size of the cache determines how much frequently-used data can be stored close to the processor core where it can be accessed quickly.

The choice of bus determines how quickly and efficiently data can be moved to and from the processor.

Intel won't rebrand chips that are designed for computer servers.

Mr Anderson says Intel is looking at introducing a 4 gigahertz processor by the end of the year. The highest clock speed in its range today is 3.4 gigahertz.