Intel

Intel CPUs
CPU	Current	12/20/01	Change	Company	Rating
Pentium 4 2.2 GHz 478-pin	$468	N/A	-	StarComp	-
Pentium 4 2.0 GHz 478-pin	$306	$425	-119	nMicroPC	5.7/7
Pentium 4 1.9 GHz 478-pin	$233	$274	-41	NewEgg	6.5/7
Pentium 4 1.8 GHz 478-pin	$191	$216	-25	NewEgg	6.5/7
Pentium 4 1.7 GHz 478-pin	$161	$204	-43	NewEgg	6.5/7
Pentium 4 1.6 GHz 478-pin	$135	$168	-33	Krex	5.6/7
Pentium III 1.26 GHz Tualatin	$238	$266	-28	JazzTech	5.2/7
Pentium III 1.2 GHz Tualatin	$179	$254	-75	Accubyte	5.2/7
Pentium III 1 GHz	$112	$134	-22	NewEgg	6.5/7
Pentium III 933 MHz	$106	$123	-17	ECONOPC	-
Pentium III 800EB MHz	$95	$108	-13	Accubyte	5.2/7
Pentium III 700E MHz	$96	$104	-8	Krex	5.6/7
Celeron 1.2 GHz	$84	$114	-30	Krex	5.6/7
Celeron 1.1 GHz	$72	$80	-8	TCWO	6.0/7
Celeron 1.0 GHz	$64	$60	+4	TCWO	6.0/7
Celeron 900 MHz	$51	$46	+5	TCWO	6.0/7
Celeron 850 MHz	$48	$43	+5	TCWO	6.0/7
Celeron 800 MHz	$53	$47	+6	TCWO	6.0/7

Notes

The price drops we observed with AMD take place on a somewhat lesser scale when we look at Intel prices. Just about every CPU dropped in price, with the exception of the Celerons – those fluctuated around as they have been for a rather long while. The new additions to the Intel lineup include the 2.2GHz Northwood, as well as a host of other Northwoods that have gone incognito for the moment. They are out there, but not very many companies are carrying them at the moment. If you were after a P4, we’d really recommend getting a 1.6A-1.7AGHz model. The newer Northwood variants have been known to overclock almost as well as the Celeron 300A of yore. Priced at a meager $135, the 1.6A would make for a pretty light purchase. Some reasonably quality DDR SDRAM and an 845DDR board shouldn’t set you back much further.

What we are really waiting for is the release of the RAMBUS 1066 i850 boards. They should be popping out pretty soon, around quarter two – we hope. With those boards one should be able to take advantage of the current 1.6A fad, and pull even more performance out of it. To those of you that still think RAMBUS is expensive, please do look at the prices. Conventional RIMMs are either the same price as DDR, or even cheaper. This is definitely an option waiting to be taken seriously, especially as DDR prices increase.

Prices on PIII parts have finally started to take a small tumble, but most are still to high to warrant considering. Unless you are upgrading and don’t want to be bothered to change out your current setup, this is clearly no mans land. We hear the Celerons are good overclockers at the moment, but their performance barely justifies their cost. A comparable Athlon setup in price, sans overclocking, will most likely roast the Celeron to a crisp. So unless you are going for a small upgrade, steer clear.