ActiveWin: How long was the Intel Pentium III 1 GHz processor in development? How many people were on the development team? Did you set any milestones or
overcome any setbacks?

Graham Palmer: We do not provide specific design team details, we do however employ a design methodology that involves multiple design teams working in parallel on multiple products, i.e. Pentium 4 Processor, Itanium(TM) Processor, future processors.

ActiveWin: What are some of the benefits of purchasing a system with a 1 GHz
processor? How will it aid to the overall enjoyment of games, surfing the
web or using heavy-load applications such as Adobe Photoshop?

Graham Palmer: Due to the design of the Pentium 3 (L2 cache running at full core speed) performance of the chip scales with frequency, so all applications improve in performance - of course the rest of the platform need to be capable of the performance levels the processor can offer, e.g. memory, graphics etc.

ActiveWin: Are there significant performance increases between the 1 GHz processor
and it's immediate predecessors such as the 933 and 866 MHz processor?

Graham Palmer: The increase depends on the benchmark, pure CPU benchmarks will show a linear improvement, platform benchmarks also take into account memory/gfx/hdd performance etc, so the outcome is not so clear cut.

ActiveWin: How easy it is to upgrade to these upper-end Pentium III processors from older processors such as the Pentium II?

Graham Palmer: It really depends on the motherboard you have, if it supports the correct voltage etc, this info will be available from the motherboard manufacturer.

ActiveWin: What changes were necessary in the design of the processor which
allowed the 1GHz processor to achieve such high speeds than the previous PIII models?

Graham Palmer: The move to 0.18u manufacturing allowed us to 
reduce voltage, and hence power consumption and heat dissipation, 
at the same time allowing higher speed operation.

ActiveWin: When will the 1 GHz processor be available for mobile PCs?

Graham Palmer: Q1 2001

ActiveWin: What do you think Intel processors have over the AMD Athlon 1GHz and the Athlon Thunderbird 1GHz processors? In your opinion, why should a consumer buy an Intel Pentium III 1 GHz processor over an AMD?

Graham Palmer: I obviously can only talk about our products. 
The Pentium III Processor is the most popular desktop processor 
in the world, Intel is recognised world wide a a brand which offers
 leading edge technology and quality, Intel has been instrumental
 in driving the industry to develop core technologies which are 
fundamental to the PC as we know it today - USB, ATX, PCI, AGP.........

ActiveWin: How does the 1GHz processor differ from the future Pentium 4
processors? Once those are released, will production of the PIII models cease?

Graham Palmer: The Pentium 4 is a completely new 32 bit design, its our first new 32-bit design for 5 years since the Pentium Pro. We anticipate Pentium III and Pentium 4 will coexists in the consumer and business markets.

ActiveWin: How high can one overclock an Intel Pentium III 1GHz processor? Are there any limitations? Is it more difficult to overclock these higher speeds
than the older models?

Graham Palmer: Intel does not recommend overcooking processors 
as this can result in permanent damage and void your warranty.

ActiveWin: How do you explain the reliability problems with the Intel Pentium III
1.13Ghz? Now that you've stopped production of it will the Pentium III
1Ghz be the last model of the PIII generation?

Graham Palmer: We will re-introduce the 1.13 in Q2 2001 when we are 
able to supply high volumes, if users want the fastest processors 
available the Pentium 4 will launch later this year. Although not 
desirable the fact Intel recalled the 1.13 processors illustrates the 
commitment to meeting the expectations of our customers i.e. quality.

ActiveWin: For the upcoming Pentium 4 what frequency do you expect to be the highest? We heard rumors of a Pentium 4 clocked at 2Ghz: when do you
expect to see this new processor out on the market?

Graham Palmer: 1.4 and 1.5GHz this year, we have publicly
demonstrated an air cooled 2 GHZ Pentium 4 already this year,
 but no commitment on if and when that would be a shipping product.

• Read our complete review of Intel 1GHz Review
• Intel Website