New Desktop Standard: 200 MHz

Power users rejoice! Advances in processor technology bring new levels of affordable performance.

Dave Andrews and Tom Thompson

A new round of desktop and notebook systems with affordable but powerful 200-MHz processors will arrive throughout the second half of the year for PC-compatible systems and the Mac. Starting in June, the first systems using Intel's 200-MHz Pentium arrived, beating the 200-MHz 603e and 604e from Motorola/IBM out of the gate. However, companies such as Apple, Power Computing, and Umax Computer, who are basing their new Mac OSÐbased systems on the latest PowerPCs, should find the extra wait worthwhile. That's because early results from running BYTE's 32-bit multiplatform CPU/FPU BYTEmark tests ( see the chart ) indicate tha t the 200-MHz 603e and 604e outperform the 200-MHz Pentium and Pentium Pro, respectively.

Both IBM and Motorola say they will release specific pricing for the 603e, a low-power-consumption processor that targets notebooks and entry-level desktops, and the 604e, which targets desktop and entry-level server systems, later this year. However, Power Computing says it will ship the first of its systems using the new PowerPC processors this summer, and that prices will be competitive with or better than equivalent Wintel PCs. Apple and other manufacturers say new PowerPC-based systems will ship this year.

Besides the price/performance battle between the PowerPC and x86, Intel is finding strong competition in its own backyard in the under-$600 200-MHz category. While Intel pursues numerous strategies in making the Pentium Pro a more affordable desktop PC (see "Pentium Pro Moves to the Desktop," June BYTE), its $599 200-MHz Pentium will soon receive pressure from Cyrix's 6x86-P200+. Cyrix says that when the 6x86-P200+ (which actually runs at 150 MHz with a new 75-MHz system bus) ships in volume this month, it will deliver application performance that slightly exceeds that of Intel's Pentium. And Cyrix is selling the 6x86-P200+ for $499. Whether you use a Mac or a PC, your next top-of-the-line system will probably have a "200" in it.

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PowerPC and Pentium Results

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Mainstream 200-MHz BYTEmark CPU/FPU results.