Intel to demo 1,000MHz chip in February
By John G. Spooner, ZDNet
Dec 16, 1999

Breaking the next major chip barrier, Intel Corp. plans to demonstrate a 1,000MHz Pentium III chip in February.

The Santa Clara, Calif., chipmaker will show the 1000MHz, or 1GHz, Pentium III, which is based on its current Pentium III design, code-named Coppermine, at the IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference on Feb. 7.

While the ISSCC demonstration will be just that, a demonstration, Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) officials have said the company will offer a version of the chip at 1GHz if it is feasible. Feasibility takes into account a number of factors, such as reliability of the chip, availability or whether or not the chip would be available in sufficient numbers and the practicality of selling a 1GHz Pentium III.

If the chip were to ship, it would likely do so late in 2000.

Watch out for competitors
While Pentium III would likely top out at 1GHz, Intel is planning a successor to the chip, code-named Willamette, for the end of next year. This chip, which sports a whole new 32-bit architecture, will be capable of 1GHz and faster speeds, the company says.

The Pentium III chip will achieve the clock-rate milestone at room temperature, according to conference organizers. It will feature an optimized design that, among other things, tweaks interconnect aspect ratios, for greater performance. Interconnects are tiny pieces of wire that run between transistors inside the processor. They are measured in microns, a measurement that is 1 millionth of a meter. The Pentium III features 0.18 micron interconnects.

Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE: CPQ), Alpha Processor Inc. and Samsung Electronics Corp., which collaborate on the design and development of the Alpha processor, will demonstrate a version of that chip with a core frequency of 1GHz at room temperature as well.

IBM will also show a version of its Power PC chip running at 1GHz.

While the Power PC and Alpha chips will likely be found only in workstations or servers, there is a good chance that the 1GHz Pentium III could make its way into PCs.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc., which will demonstrate a version of its Athlon processor at the conference, is also gunning for the 1GHz mark.

AMD (NYSE: AMD) officials say it will also achieve the 1GHz mark in the second half of next year. It is not clear what clockspeed Athlon will be demonstrated at the ISSCC. AMD, however, has demonstrated 900MHz versions of the chip at room temperature, with both aluminum and copper interconnect technology. It plans to do so again during January's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, company officials said.

See Also:
The 1GHz race is on
AMD eyes 1,000MHz chips with new fab
Intel demos Pentium III running at 1,000MHz
A 1,000MHz PIII? Now that's a chip!

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