Intel Corp added nine new chips to its Desktop Pentium III line yesterday as part of the Coppermine launch (see separate story) with clock speeds ranging from 500MHz up to 733MHz. In the absence of the 820 chipset, which was nevertheless used for the benchmarks, the chips can be used with the recently launched 810E or the existing 440BX and 440ZX chipsets.
Intel’s Desktop Products General Manager, Pat Gelsinger, said he expected to see mainstream BX users retaining their existing chipset but still upgrading to the new Coppermine chips, with the transition over to the 820 expected to stretch out until the end of next year. Intel claimed up to 52% in performance gains for the new desktop systems, comparing the new Pentium 600EB (0.18 micron, 133MHz front-side bus) with the existing .25 micron part at the same clock speed. It didn’t supply figures comparing the new chips running with either the old BX chipset or the new 820 chipset, as installed in a prototype Compaq machine shown at the event.
Pentium IIIs now come in two form factors: Slot One and the new flip-chip pin grid array package, FC-PGA, which is smaller and can take advantage of existing Slot 370 motherboards. FC-PGA is currently only available in 500 and 550MHz versions using the 100MHz front-side bus, but other versions are due in the first quarter of next year.
Prices for the Pentium III 500E, 100MHz FC-PGA chip start at $239 in quantities of 1,000. The 533MHz Slot One chip is $305. At the high-end, 733MHz Pentium IIIs are $776 in the same quantities.