Price Guides July 2004: CPU and Motherboards

Intel CPU's

Intel has been seemingly just as active as AMD when it comes to socket development and rollout. Intel has taken things one step further with their LGA-775 socket design, which places the pins on the motherboard instead of the CPU itself. While some say that this design is necessary, it does present one possible drawback in that the pins are extremely small (even compared to the pins currently found on processors), which makes them susceptible to damage. With insertion lifespan estimates hovering around 15 times, it may be an issue for those who change their processors somewhat frequently, but still keep the same motherboard. The good side, however, is that the motherboard is almost definitely less expensive to replace than a CPU.

In any case, these models are not yet available for purchase, and when they are, they are sure to be pricey. So, they do not affect our recommendations for Intel processors this week. The Pentium 4 2.8GHz (800MHz FSB, 1MB L2 cache, Prescott core) catches our attention this week with its low price. For just a few bucks more than the same chip using the Northwood core, this is a pretty good deal. Of course, some may still shy away from Prescott, based on its heat output and less-than-amazing performance, in which case the Northwood version of this same processor is also priced very well.