Intel has started the new year off focused on updating its value Celeron processor and making the Pentium 4 attractive to a wider audience. The new 800MHz Celeron processor represents a significant move, as it is the first in its line to use a much faster 100MHz front-side bus instead of a 66MHz front-side bus. Many have considered the Celeron's reliance on a slower bus - which determines how quickly data can be transferred to the processor from memory - to be a notable disadvantage when the processor is compared with AMD's lower priced Duron CPU. The new 800MHz Celeron will be available in quantity to PC makers for about US$170, and it requires motherboards based on the Intel 810E2 chipset for 100MHz bus support.

　　The chip maker has also released a slightly slower and cheaper version of its flagship Pentium 4 processor that runs at 1.3GHz. One PC maker, Dell, is already offering the 1.3GHz Pentium 4 on its site in systems that cost less than $2000, about $200 less than systems that use the 1.4GHz Pentium 4. Unfortunately, because of differences in the way the chips work, there isn't necessarily a real-world performance gain with this cheaper Pentium 4 over the 1GHz Pentium III. Additionally, the expensive RDRAM memory and 850-based motherboard required by the chip still keep it more expensive than the top of the line Pentium III.