Intel's Latest 64-Bit Offering Delivers

Intel's latest processors, however, now deliver the speed and power necessary to manage even the most demanding applications and graphics-intensive multimedia content.

Those features come at a price with Intel's new Pentium 4 Processor Extreme Edition, which runs at 3.73GHz. Extreme Edition is built on 90-nanometer technology and incorporates the LGA775 socket. The processor features a 1066MHz system bus and 2 Mbytes of L2 cache, which greatly improves the transfer of instructions to the processor. Otherwise, the processor uses the same core as Intel's normal Pentium 4 600 series.

Intel's 3.73GHz Extreme Edition incorporates 64-bit processing or, as Intel calls it, EMT64 (otherwise known as Extended Memory Technology). EMT should trigger a broader shift toward 64-bit solutions, with audio and video applications benefiting the most from the increase in instruction sets.

The new CPU also includes Execute Disable Bit security technology, which allows the processor to classify certain areas of memory and designate where application code can and cannot execute. For example, if the processor senses that a malignant virus or worm has accessed the buffer, the CPU can shut down the request, preventing worm propagation. AMD, Sunnyvale, Calif., has included a similar security feature in its processors for quite some time; the company calls this function No Execute.

The Pentium 4 Processor Extreme Edition is available now and is priced at $999 in 1,000-unit quantities. Comparable 64-bit microprocessors from AMD carry a lower price point. For example, AMD's Athlon 64 FX-55 is $827 each.

No matter how far behind Intel has fallen, its new 64-bit CPUs doubtless will accelerate mainstream acceptance and encourage 64-bit software development throughout the industry.