Looking back at 2000 - Part 1: CPUs, Chipsets, Motherboards

Desperate times beget desperate measures

With rumors flying that AMD will be releasing a 1.1GHz Athlon very soon the pressure, once again, was on Intel to keep up with AMD in terms of clock speed.  Unfortunately, the Pentium III core was running out of steam and the Pentium 4 launch was still months away. 

Eventually the decision was made to launch the Pentium III at 1.13GHz at the end of July, a decision that would continue Intel's streak of bad luck throughout Y2K.  After a highly investigative report published primarily by Dr. Thomas Pabst of Tom's Hardware Guide, Intel was forced to recall the 1.13GHz CPU, as it was not fit for mass production.  Intel had taken a gamble in producing the CPU and lost. 

The repercussions of this were not huge since only a hundred or two of these CPUs actually got out, however Intel did feel the pain of this decision since the community as a whole realized the 1.13GHz launch for what it was: another completely marketing driven decision. 

To top things off, the 1.13GHz Pentium III was recalled the same day that AMD launched the 1.1GHz Athlon.

The month came to a close for Intel with their Fall Developer Forum, where Intel's NetBurst Architecture, the micro-architecture behind their upcoming Pentium 4 was discussed in great detail.  While we couldn't say anything on the issue, we knew the Pentium 4's exact performance data at this time as well.  Intel was definitely not going to go out with a bang in Y2K.