Intel to Unveil 2 Celeron Chips for Cheaper PCs

Intel Corp. is expected to announce today its fastest Celeron microprocessors that are slated for personal computers costing less than $1,000 and cited research claiming it has 94% of the U.S. retail market for cheap desktop PCs.

Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel is introducing two Celeron chips, one running at 766 megahertz and the other at 733 megahertz. Both use Intel’s 0.18-micron manufacturing process, which allows more transistors on a chip and the ability to get more of them out of a silicon wafer.

According to a research firm Intel hired, 94% of the computers sold that cost less than $1,000 each use the Celeron processor, said NPD Intelect.

Intel’s chief rival, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., has been successfully competing against the chip giant for more than a year by focusing on the performance of its chips. Advanced Micro has the fastest chip on the market, its Athlon processor.

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Advanced Micro has its own low-cost chip out, called the Duron, which is gaining in popularity among PC makers. Nine of the top 10 PC makers use the firm’s chips in their computers, with the sole exception of Dell Computer Corp.

The 766-megahertz chips cost $170 each in lots of 1,000, while the 733-megahertz chips cost $112 each in lots of 1,000.

On Friday, Intel shares fell $4.38 to close at $37 on Nasdaq; Advanced Micro fell 94 cents to $20.06 on the New York Stock Exchange.