Intel and AMD ready high-speed PC chips

AMD is set to ship its 64bit Athlon desktop processor in mid-September, it was revealed last week. The timing means that the Athlon 64 will probably launch at about the same time as Prescott, the successor to Intel's Pentium 4 and a 32bit chip, offering a contrasting approach to next-generation desktops.

The Athlon 64 will launch on 22 September, according to a document accidentally released by AMD. The chip, a desktop version of the Opteron workstation and server processors, runs current 32bit software such as Windows but has extensions that also allow it to run 64bit operating systems and applications.

The Athlon 64 is expected to find a niche with professionals running high-end applications, but it faces competition from Intel's Prescott chip. Prescott is based on the Pentium 4 but adds new instructions and a large 1MB of on-chip L2 cache to boost performance. Intel would only say that Prescott is due in the second half of this year but a September or October launch would fit the pattern of many previous releases. The Intel Developer Forum in San Jose is being held between 16 and 18 September and a formal release announcement could well be made at the event.

Prescott is a 32bit chip like the Pentium 4, but is expected to first appear at 3.4GHz and eventually reach a clock speed of 5GHz. Although AMD has long claimed that its chips are more efficient than Intel's, the high clock speed and architectural enhancements in Prescott could mean it matches or outperforms the Athlon 64 for at least some tasks. It is built using Intel's most efficient 90-nanometre process that allows greater integration of chip components.

AMD's Opteron family is so far available at clock speeds up to 1.8GHz, and 2GHz versions are planned for release in the near future. HP has already said it plans to offer an Athlon 64 desktop system; and Prescott-based PCs are likely to be available from most business PC vendors.Prescott may be branded as Pentium 5 when it ships, but Intel has yet to confirm the name.

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