By Eric Franklin
(6/7/02)
Intel seems to be churning through clock cycles at unprecedented speed these days. The move to a .13-micron manufacturing process, code-named Northwood, can take most of the credit for the company's ability to quickly ramp up processor speeds with relatively little fanfare. Intel hopes the latest iterations of its Pentium 4, which include a speed increase to 2.53GHz and a frontside-bus speed boost from 400MHz to 533MHz, will finally provide the system architecture to realize the chip's full potential. So we decided to find out for ourselves.
Smaller is better
We've seen a spate of processor speed bumps over the past months. Find out how Intel keeps upping the speed ante and what the future holds.
The numbers speak
Of course, it's all about performance. See how the .13-micron P4 stacks up against its .18-micron sibling in the trenches.
Smaller is better
Eric Franklin is a project leader for CNET Labs.
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