XBit Labs reports that Intel is releasing a 2.4GHz Prescott and that it is already showing up in Asia.
This is a chip that runs at a 133MHz bus, and has no hyperthreading. It’s meant for cheaper PIV platforms, and will probably carry a U.S. price tag of around $130.
How much attention should overclockers pay to this chip?
1) It’s still a PressHot. If you try cranking it up, you’re going to run into the same thermally-related problems and resultant overclocking bottleneck its big brother has.
2) There’s no hyperthreading, which is an absence you ought to think twice about if you do real work on your computer.
3) This chip will be slightly slower at a given speed than a “regular” Prescott. Assuming that you can run a 2.4A at 3.6GHz, you would be running a 200MHz FSB. Run a 2.8E at that speed, and your FSB is more like 257MHz FSB. Performance with the 2.8E ought to be higher, especially for apps/games sensitive to memory bandwidth.
4) It’s not THAT much cheaper.
In short, for most overclockers, it’s not worth bothering with, at least at the moment.
But not all.
Who Ought To Look At This?
1) If you are:
you might want to consider this, though I think an Athlon 64 3000+ is a better choice.
2) Current Intel mobo users who wouldn’t mind spending $130 for something new to do, or who really got a bum steer 200MHz Northwood.
3) How about people with older Intel mobos? At first glance, this may seem ideal for those with 845E boards, but you ought to make really, really sure your mobo supports Prescott. Some do, some don’t.
In all instances, if you can wait (and that could be for quite a while), you’ll probably be better off with the next stepping on these chips.
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