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December 21, 1999
Web posted at: 12:10 p.m. EST (1710 GMT)

by Tom Mainelli

(IDG) -- The chip wars are bearing fast-growing fruit: Before the end of December, you will be able to buy not only systems based on the Intel Pentium III-750, but also PIII-800 machines.

Intel's announcement Monday of the 750-MHz CPU comes weeks earlier than expected, and it unveils Intel's 800-MHz chips months ahead of schedule.

Dell, Gateway, and Hewlett-Packard all expect to ship 800-MHz Pentium systems in December. In fact, Gateway isn't bothering with 750-MHz units; instead it plans to jump immediately to the faster chip. Watch for the systems in retail outlets in January.

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Athlon vs. Pentium III: Duel at 750 MHz

With its release of the 800-MHz Pentium III, Intel regains the speed title from Advanced Micro Devices' 750-MHz Athlon chip, which the company introduced November 29. Intel's announcement is only the latest move in a game of leapfrog between the companies that analysts predict will continue well into the next year.

Dell in December

Dell executives were happy to hear the new chips would be available sooner than expected, says Ron Van Dell, brand director and general manager of Dell's Dimension line.

"It was not a total surprise, but clearly Intel is becoming more energetic, and that pleases us," he says.

Having the speedy 800-MHz PIII early lets Dell release sooner a fast system that better uses the speed advantages of Rambus, Van Dell says. "A high-end system with Rambus is a real performance gain," he says.

Dell is taking orders Monday and could ship before the end of the month, as "lead times won't be bad," Van Dell says.

Dell customers configure their systems to order, but he offers a few sample configurations and prices.

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A Dimension XPS T750r with the 750-MHz PIII processor, 128MB of SDRAM, a 27GB hard drive, a 17-inch monitor, a 48X CD-ROM drive, a modem, and Microsoft Works sells for $2119. An XPS T750r with the same memory, a 34GB hard drive, a 19-inch monitor, an 8X DVD-ROM drive, a G.Lite modem, and Microsoft Office sells for $3140.

A configuration of the Dimension XPS B800r with the 800-MHz PIII processor and the 133-MHz front side bus includes 128MB of Rambus memory, a 27GB hard drive, a 17-inch monitor, a 48X CD-ROM drive, a modem, and Microsoft Office and costs $2911. The same system with a 34GB hard drive, a 19-inch monitor, an 8X DVD-ROM drive, a G.Lite modem, a 3Com network interface card, a Zip drive, and Office will go for $3811.

Gateway: Straight to 800 MHz

Gateway is unveiling and taking orders on Monday for its Performance 800XL, based on the PIII-800. The system has 128MB of SDRAM, a 27GB hard drive, an 8X DVD-ROM drive, a CD-RW drive, a modem, home networking support, and a TV tuner. It bundles three months of Internet access through America Online, and Microsoft Office Small Business edition. Gateway will not offer a system with the PIII-750.

HP will offer the new processors in both consumer and business PCs. You'll be able to configure your own 800-MHz Pavilion PC by using shopping kiosks in Best Buy, Circuit City, or Staples stores or at HP's online store starting December 22, says Ray Aldrich, an HP spokesperson. The custom-configured systems should ship shortly after, he says.

Preconfigured systems will hit retail stores by the middle of January, branded as the HP Pavilion 9000 series, Aldrich says. A sample system configuration includes the 800-MHz PIII, 128MB of SDRAM, a 40GB hard drive, an 8X DVD-ROM drive, and a network interface card for about $2500.

HP will also feature the new processors in its line of business PCs, says Michael Cade, Vectra product manager. Details are still being ironed out, but Cade says HP will offer both the 750-MHz and 800-MHz chips in business desktops starting in the first quarter of 2000. Systems will be available with either SDRAM or Rambus.