For example, this latest 2200+ model actually operates at a clock speed of 1.8GHz, but will apparently give an Intel Pentium 4 2.2GHz processor a run for its money 'on a broad range of end-user applications'. Although it's potentially confusing, this approach aims to allow more appropriate comparisons between the Intel and AMD product lines. Also, it's worth remembering that the latest AMD model numbers indicate relative performance rather than clock speed. This is the first model with AMD's new 0.13 micron technology and smaller die size, which ought to bring operating temperatures down - always good news if you want quiet fans. Meanwhile, AMD ( have released the Athlon XP 2200+ processor, which features a Quantispeed architecture to allow more instructions to be accomplished per clock cycle. The fastest clocked speed for Intel's standard Pentium 4 range is now 2.53GHz at the time of writing. Although desktop PC sales seem to be dropping, perhaps because many people are realising that their existing model will still be perfectly adequate for some time to come, notebooks are continuing to sell successfully, and this release is only likely to push the trend further. The 2GHz model should already be available in machines from Dell and Hewlett Packard by the time you read this. Originally released in a 1.7GHz model just a few months ago, like all CPUs intended for mobile use, the mobile Pentium 4 has a lower power consumption than the standard range for longer battery life. Intel ( have broken the 2GHz barrier for notebook PCs with the launch of the new Pentium 4 processor-M model.

The best news for PC Gold users with Waves' 3.5 update is the inclusion, for the first time, of the PAZ psychoacoustic analyser, previously only available in the Mac bundle.Īs Intel and AMD continue to push the clock speeds and architectures of PC processors, music software developers are taking advantage of the optimisations possible, as demonstrated by Waves with the latest update to their native plug-ins.

Waves gold plugin bundle