Intel's Upcoming Celeron Chip

Diversifying its Pentium II lineup, Intel has introduced its solution for the low-cost PC with a new chip. The chip will enter the market under a new brand name, Celeron.

Yes, it does look like the word celery. Nonetheless it appears that Celeron will be the "salad of choice" for PC users looking for what Intel is calling the "basic PC."

The new chip is based on the Pentium II (P6) core architecture and will serve the interests of people looking for PCs in the US$800-$1200 price range. Intel competitors AMD and Cyrix already offer low-cost chips for this market.

Intel said that the chips will appear in April and will be incorporated into systems by midyear. Rumor on the Web says that Intel will announce Celeron on April 15 for a price of $155.

If you've been following Intel, Celeron is the chip previously code-named Covington throughout its development. The chip, which will fit into the Slot 1 connection in the less costly Pentium II EX chipset motherboard, will not be a good solution to people looking for performance PCs - if you're a gamer, you probably want the highest performance you can get. Even Intel has suggested that performance seekers look to the standard PII.

In April, Intel is expected to make additional price cuts on the currently available higher-end Pentium II to make way for the 350MHz and 400MHz Pentium IIs. At that same time, Intel will introduce its new BX chipset that will raise the bar on bus speed to 100MHz.