If Technology Is Pushed, Prices Fall
Once again, Intel has unveiled a powerful new chip for controlling IBM-compatible PCs. So if you’re not the kind of person who must always own the fastest and newest model, why should you care?
Intel’s newest central processing unit, like all CPUs, determines the speed at which the computer will process data. New high-end chips are significant to all PC buyers, even those in the market for less-expensive systems. By making it possible for PC manufacturers to start selling new, state-of-the-art machines, they put downward price pressure on older machines.
Yesterday’s top-of-the-line PC is no longer at the cutting edge and, therefore, not quite as expensive. The new chip (the 66-megahertz Intel 486 DX2) is about 140 times faster than the chip IBM used in its original PCs a decade ago. It’s twice the speed of the chip (the 33-MHz 486) used in the high-end systems sold in 1991 and about four times faster than the (33-MHz 386) chip that, just two years ago, was the powerhouse of the industry.
Is this progress? For most users, a 386 chip is just fine. It’s powerful enough to run Microsoft Windows and even the most demanding software. The 486 just runs faster. That matters for the handful of people who are using their machines for computer-aided design, desktop publishing, programming and other tasks that put enormous pressure on the system.
As for the rest of us, well, I must admit that I enjoy having my computer respond instantaneously to my commands. But we’re talking about seconds--not months, days or even minutes. Increasing the speed of a machine doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll get your work done faster.
Although the newest DX2 chip runs at 66 MHz, it communicates with other parts of the computer at half that speed. It’s like having a 60 m.p.h. freeway with 30 m.p.h. on- and off-ramps. The CPU runs at full throttle while it is processing data but slows down while it is passing data to and from other parts of the computer. Overall, a 66-MHz DX2 will run about 70% faster than a regular 33-MHz 486 DX chip.
Unlike other CPUs, chips with the DX2 designation can run in machines that were designed for older CPUs. As a result, manufacturers don’t have to retool to offer the latest and greatest. They can pop a 66-MHz DX2 chip into a 486 machine that was designed to run at 33 megahertz. That not only cuts down on design costs, but allows companies to use older and less-expensive components, which, hopefully, will result in lower prices for consumers.
Intel will soon release an end-user version of the DX2, called the overdrive processor, that users can purchase to upgrade their own 486 machines. The overdrive chip, according to Intel, will improve performance by an average of about 70%. These chips work only in 486 machines. They cannot be used to upgrade other systems.
Here is the list of Intel CPUs, starting with the slowest and least expensive:
* The 8088 and 8086, used in old “XT-style” machines. They power a lot of PCs now in use, but hardly anyone still builds machines with these chips.
* 80286, used in “AT-style” machines. Most companies are phasing them out. They’re OK for regular MS-DOS programs but not powerful enough to get decent performance with Microsoft Windows and some other new programs.
* 386SX. It can process 32 bits of data at a time, but it communicates with the rest of the machine in 16-bit chunks. They are powerful enough for any of today’s software, though not as fast as 386DX and 486 chips.
* 386DX CPU, a full 32-bit processor. It’s fast enough to do a good job with Windows and most other programs. But if you want optimum speed for demanding programs, you’re better off with a 486. The 386DX comes at various speeds, from 16 to 33 MHz. Advanced Micro Devices makes a compatible 40-MHz version.
* 486DX. In addition to being fast, it comes with a math co-processor that can provide enhanced speed improvements with software that performs math-intensive calculations. It is available in 25-, 33- and 50-MHz versions.
* 486SX, like the DX except that it doesn’t have a built-in math co-processor. It’s available in 16-, 20- and 25-MHz versions.
* 486 DX2, available in 50- and 66-MHz versions. It’s like the DX chip except that it communicates with the rest of the computer at half its speed. Overall, they’re still quite fast. A 50-MHz DX2, for example, is about 85% as fast as a 50-MHz DX chip. Intel doesn’t make a 66-MHz DX chip.
* Overdrive processors. Basically the same as DX2 chips, except they are designed for the after-market. Intel now ships overdrive processors for users who wish to upgrade their 486SX machines. The company will soon release overdrive processors for the 25- and 33- MHz DX machines. The chip for 33-MHz machines is expected to have a “street price” of about $500.
* P5, the code name for Intel’s next generation of CPUs, due out next year. They are expected to be considerably faster (and initially much more expensive) than the 486 family.
