SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 21, 2003 - Intel Corporation today announced three Intel® Pentium® 4 processors supporting Hyper-Threading (HT) Technology** and a trio of chipsets enabling faster and more feature-rich corporate and consumer PCs at mainstream price points. The new Intel Pentium 4 processors -- 2.80C, and 2.60C, and 2.40C GHz -- come equipped with HT Technology and an advanced 800 MHz system bus that allows information to flow to and from the processor more quickly.

Also launched today were the Intel® 865G and 865PE chipsets, formerly code-named Springdale, supporting HT Technology and Intels advanced 800 MHz system bus and other industry leading features that deliver excellent performance for desktop computer users. The chipsets improve productivity and enable richer digital media, gaming, and broadband experiences.

The 865G chipset marks the beginning of the new Intel® Stable Image Platform Program unveiled at the Intel Developer Forum in February. Previously code-named Granite Peak, the program provides at least 12 months of chipset hardware and software driver stability for corporate PC buyers. The program provides software image stability that IT managers can use to more easily manage the deployment and maintenance of their PC environments.

The combination of HT Technology, a faster system bus and innovative technologies such as integrated graphics and Gigabit Ethernet for the desktop - plus a new stable platform program - make these computing platforms ideal for corporate and small business PC upgrades and purchases.

"In choosing Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor with HT Technology PCs, corporate IT organizations get more PC performance and responsiveness while minimizing the impact of such essential background tasks as virus checking, email encryption and file compression, resulting in higher performance, manageability and a more secure infrastructure," said Louis Burns, vice president and general manager of Intels Desktop Platforms Group. "Platforms featuring Hyper-Threading Technology and the Intel 865 chipset reaffirm Intels commitment to increase IT and end user productivity while reducing the cost of ownership for corporate PCs by advancing the PC at all price points."

Home users also benefit with these new HT Technology-enabled PCs, giving them the power to do more at the same time without sacrificing performance. For instance, users can smoothly record live TV (Personal Video Recorder) while gaming without impacting playback quality, or they can play their favorite game while encoding the latest music in the background. The new platforms also enable such new usage models as editing family video to produce DVD movies that can be shared with friends and families.

The Intel 865G and 865PE chipsets are designed specifically to support the Intel Pentium 4 Processor with HT Technology and Intels advanced 800 MHz system bus. They also include a high-performance AGP8x graphics interface for an advanced graphics experience, integrated Hi-Speed USB 2.0* and Serial ATA 1.5Gb/s (150MB/s). Intel also offers these chipsets with optional built-in RAID capabilities utilizing the latest Serial ATA 1.5Gb/s interface for accelerated disk I/O. Additionally, the Intel® 865P chipset, was also launched today. The Intel 865P chipsets offer the above features with support for Intels 400MHz and 533MHz system buses.

The Intel 865G chipset supports dual-channel DDR400/333/266 memory, providing exceptional performance across a full range of multimedia and 3-D intensive applications. It also incorporates a new generation of integrated graphics, named Intel® Extreme Graphics 2, and is targeted at the high-volume business and consumer desktop market segments.

Platforms based on the Pentium 4 processor with HT Technology and the Intel 865 chipset are well suited for the next major transition in networking: Gigabit Ethernet. PCs based on these platforms combined with Gigabit Ethernet allow users to finish such network intensive tasks as filing backups faster while simultaneously conducting a database query or performing other processor intensive tasks. The 865G chipset also offers a dedicated networking bus based on Intels new Communications Streaming Architecture (CSA). CSA works in conjunction with the new Intel® PRO/1000 CT Desktop Connection to double the Gigabit Ethernet networking bandwidth available on todays PCI bus based solutions.

The Intel 865PE chipset with support for 800MHz system bus and dual-channel DDR400 memory, works with todays advanced AGP8x graphics cards to provide flexibility for consumers, and higher end performance for graphics intensive applications. A third chipset, the Intel 865P, supports dual-channel DDR333/266 memory, AGP8x graphics cards and both 533 and 400 MHz system buses.

For computer makers and system integrators, Intel also announced availability of five desktop motherboards: ATX form factor Intel desktop boards D865PERC, D865PERL and D865GBF, and the smaller micro-ATX form factor Intel desktop boards D865PESO and D865GLC.

Pricing and Availability

In 1,000-unit quantities, the Intel Pentium 4 processors 2.80C, 2.60C and 2.40C GHz with HT Technology are priced respectively at $278, $218 and $178. The Intel 865G chipset is priced at $44 with integrated software RAID, $41 without RAID. The Intel 865PE chipset is priced at $39 with integrated software RAID, $36 without. The Intel 865P chipset is priced at $36 with integrated software RAID, $33 without. Systems and motherboards with these processors and chipsets are currently shipping in volume from a variety of computer and motherboard manufacturers worldwide***.

Source: Intel