Intel Intros Pentium 4

Intel Corp. today unveiled its Pentium 4 processor
as a chip fast enough to meet the needs of the most demanding
computer user.

Intel has priced the 1.5 gigahertz (GHz) and 1.4 GHz models at $819 and
$644 each, respectively, in 1,000-unit lots. Intel says its new
architecture,
NetBurst, gives the Pentium 4 higher clock speed to power a performance
package designed to support the latest Internet technologies.

"Whether streaming content, playing interactive games, encoding video and
MP3 files, or creating Internet content - the Pentium 4 processor is
designed to
meet the needs of today's most demanding computer users," Paul Otellini,
manager
of the Intel Architecture Group, said in a news release.

The bottom line for users, Intel says, is better performance in Internet
audio and video streaming, high-performance 3D graphics, digital
photography
and digital video, speech recognition, multimedia, and MP3 encoding.

Intel said the Pentium 4, its first new processor design since the Pentium
Pro
in 1995, is able to execute software instructions in a 20-stage pipeline,
compared to the 10-stage pipeline of the Pentium 3.

See more about the Pentium 4 at
http://www.intel.com/procs/perf/pentium4/