Yes – Intel are still at it. The 1Ghz FSB Barrier Sma

So nope, no joy for Intel fanboys – yes you have guessed it. The 1Ghz FSB system has really brought Intel no closer what so ever to totally wiping the floor with AMD. Its still close calling. But what is all this 1Ghz FSB malarky all about.

Well, a FSB or Front Side Bus, is the speed in which the CPU communicates with the North and South Bridges, which in turn communicates with the RAM and PCI Bus and AGP Bus. So you would think a higher FSB is better, well once again this is very far from the truth. After all what good is a high speed link – if the link is starved of information. This is a bottleneck. So are Intels latest efforts futile? Well maybe not, perhaps futureproofing is the name of the game. Eitherway, lets have a look at what they are offering.

It was announced in Santa Clara, USA today. Intel are launching a new P4 EE edition, and a new chipset to go hand in hand. That supports the new FSB speed. The CPU chip is worth a stonking $1000, and with a Level 2 Cache of 512Kb and a Level 3 Cache of 2Mbs its a rather good package – albeit at a nasty cost.

Then there is the chipset – named the 925XE. Intel proudly say it will give a massive 33% increase in ‘data throughput’. Now excuse my use of quotes, but 33% is a large figure, and banding that around, when its not true will make Intel very unpopular. Of course it goes without saying they also say it will give massive improvements in the gaming sector.

Now without wanting to try and sound to pessimistic – until I see benchmarks, I remain dubious.

The chipset is due to be taken up my motherboard manufacturers shortly, and we should see the setup in a few months time.