IBM, Dell and Compaq Unveil New Super PCs

International Business Machines Corp. and its chief competitors in the personal computer industry unveiled the most powerful PCs to date Monday, setting the stage for a fierce new battle over market share.

IBM, Compaq Computer Corp. and Dell Computer Corp. all said they were providing desktop users with access to Intel Corp.’s super-advanced 66-megahertz 486DX2 microprocessor, which is twice as fast as the most widely used PC chips.

The announcements were aimed primarily at business users, and included offers of advanced graphics, analysis and imaging features compatible with Microsoft Corp.’s popular Windows software.

The 66MHz 486DX2 chip doubles the performance of the 33MHz 386 chip that is widely used in the PC market. It also is 35% faster than the original 50Mhz 486DX2 chip that Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel unveiled last March.

The 486DX2 microprocessors, part of Intel’s bid to maintain command of the world computer chip market, send and receive data at the same speeds as slower PC components, but internal processing takes place at the more advanced pace.

Intel’s stock was up 37.5 cents to $59 a share on the NASDAQ market after the announcement that the three PC giants were using the company’s new chip.

IBM, Compaq and Dell are the market leaders in PCs that conform to the hardware standard IBM established in 1981. They have been locked in a price war over market share that has constrained profits.