MMX Pentium or Pentium II?
News Item (cadieux@librarybook.com)
Sun, 21 Sep 1997 21:27:15 -0400
Date: Sun, 21 Sep 1997 21:27:15 -0400
Message-Id: <3.0.32.19970921212814.007ec780@librarybook.com>
From: News Item <cadieux@librarybook.com>
To: Multiple recipients of list <conntech>
Subject: MMX Pentium or Pentium II?
Originally published in the Oct 1997 issue of Computer Shopper...
Intel Corp.'s new 233MHz MMX Pentium processor should prove to be the
ultimate Pentium in more than one sense. With its higher clock speed, the
newest MMX chip (P55C) outruns all previous Pentiums. The 233MHz MMX
Pentium is also reportedly the last Pentium incarnation meant for desktop
systems, foreshadowing the end of the Pentium's long, successful reign.
The Pentium II and its emerging competitors--including AMD's K6 and Cyrix's
6x86MX--are poised to pick up where the Pentium leaves off, particularly
with their superior capabilities under Windows NT.
At a time when Windows 95 convincingly dominates the desktop, however,
you'd be remiss to write off the Pentium just yet. Under Windows 95, the
233MHz Pentium II, the 233MHz K6, and the 6x86MX-PR233 don't boast much of
a performance advantage, if any, over the 233MHz MMX Pentium.
The same will likely hold true with Microsoft's forthcoming release of
Windows 98--also known as Memphis. Factor in Intel's just announced price
cuts and the 233MHz MMX Pentium may prove hard to resist for those who
would rather stick to mainstream Windows than move up to Windows NT.
If you expect to upgrade to Windows NT 5.0 in the coming year, you might
thank yourself later for choosing a Pentium II system now. If you plan to
stick to Windows 95 or 98, however, one of these 233MHz MMX Pentium-based
systems should provide ample performance well into the future.
September 21, 1997
by Stephen W. Plain
Edited for ConnTech. Full text at:
http://www5.zdnet.com/cshopper/content/9710/cshp0005.html