Intel Corporation today announced three Intel Pentium 4 processors supporting Hyper-Threading (HT) Technology and a trio of chipsets enabling faster and more feature-rich corporate and consumer PCs at mainstream price points. The new Intel Pentium 4 processors - 2.80C, 2.60C and 2.40C GHz - come equipped with HT Technology and an advanced 800 MHz system bus that allows information to flow to and from the processor more quickly. Also launched today were the Intel 865G and 865PE chipsets, formerly code-named Springdale, supporting HT Technology and Intel's advanced 800 MHz system bus and other industry leading features that deliver excellent performance for desktop computer users. The chipsets improve productivity and enable richer digital media, gaming, and broadband experiences. The 865G chipset marks the beginning of the new Intel® Stable Image Platform Program unveiled at the Intel Developer Forum in February. Previously code-named Granite Peak, the program provides at least 12 months of chipset hardware and software driver stability for corporate PC buyers. The program provides software image stability that IT managers can use to more easily manage the deployment and maintenance of their PC environments. The combination of HT Technology, a faster system bus and innovative technologies such as integrated graphics and Gigabit Ethernet for the desktop - plus a new stable platform program - make these computing platforms ideal for corporate and small business PC upgrades and purchases. The Intel 865G and 865PE chipsets are designed specifically to support the Intel Pentium 4 Processor with HT Technology and Intel's advanced 800 MHz system bus. They also include a high-performance AGP8x graphics interface for an advanced graphics experience, integrated Hi-Speed USB 2.0 and Serial ATA 1.5Gb/s (150MB/s). Intel also offers these chipsets with optional built-in RAID capabilities utilizing the latest Serial ATA 1.5Gb/s interface for accelerated disk I/O. Additionally, the Intel 865P chipset, was also launched today. The Intel 865P chipsets offer the above features with support for Intel's 400MHz and 533MHz system buses. The Intel 865G chipset supports dual-channel DDR400/333/266 memory, providing exceptional performance across a full range of multimedia and 3-D intensive applications. It also incorporates a new generation of integrated graphics, named Intel Extreme Graphics 2, and is targeted at the high-volume business and consumer desktop market segments. Platforms based on the Pentium 4 processor with HT Technology and the Intel 865 chipset are well suited for the next major transition in networking: Gigabit Ethernet. PCs based on these platforms combined with Gigabit Ethernet allow users to finish such network intensive tasks as filing backups faster while simultaneously conducting a database query or performing other processor intensive tasks. The 865G chipset also offers a dedicated networking bus based on Intel's new Communications Streaming Architecture (CSA). CSA works in conjunction with the new Intel PRO/1000 CT Desktop Connection to double the Gigabit Ethernet networking bandwidth available on today's PCI bus based solutions. The Intel 865PE chipset with support for 800MHz system bus and dual-channel DDR400 memory, works with today's advanced AGP8x graphics cards to provide flexibility for consumers, and higher end performance for graphics intensive applications. A third chipset, the Intel 865P, supports dual-channel DDR333/266 memory, AGP8x graphics cards and both 533 and 400 MHz system buses. For computer makers and system integrators, Intel also announced availability of five desktop motherboards: ATX form factor Intel desktop boards D865PERC, D865PERL and D865GBF, and the smaller micro-ATX form factor Intel desktop boards D865PESO and D865GLC. In 1,000-unit quantities, the Intel Pentium 4 processors 2.80C, 2.60C and 2.40C GHz with HT Technology are priced respectively at $278, $218 and $178. The Intel 865G chipset is priced at $44 with integrated software RAID, $41 without RAID. The Intel 865PE chipset is priced at $39 with integrated software RAID, $36 without. The Intel 865P chipset is priced at $36 with integrated software RAID, $33 without. Systems and motherboards with these processors and chipsets are currently shipping in volume from a variety of computer and motherboard manufacturers worldwide. Reviews: Intel D865PERL Motherboard @ [H]ardOCP: The D865PERL is Intel?s initial offering based on the i865PE chipset. While the board itself is not packed with as many features as an ABIT or ASUS solution, it is no slouch. Like its big brother the i875P, the i865PE chipset offers support for the latest Intel CPUs with Hyper-Threading technology and DDR400 Dual Channel memory. The board itself offers 2 ATA 100 IDE ports, 2 SATA 150 ports with in-built RAID support, integrated Intel PRO/1000 Ethernet, 8 total USB 2.0 capable ports, 3 total IEEE 1394 capable ports, 6 channel audio with RCA and S/PDIF digital output, as well as your standard serial, parallel and PS/2 ports. Abit IS7-G Motherboard & Springdale Overview @ AnandTech: For the most part the 865PE comes within 2 - 5% of the performance of the 875P, which makes the 875P a tough sell. For the majority of users, we would strongly recommend the 865PE because of the significant cost savings. If you're the type of user that must have the fastest thing on the block and will not rest without the knowledge that you do in fact have the fastest thing on the block, then the 875P is for you, but for everyone else, the 865PE is more than sufficient. MSI 865 Neo2 Motherboard @ Tom'sHardWare: Our lab engineers made a very interesting discovery about the MSI Springdale board: during the boot process and when running Windows, the board behaved perfectly normally - as long as the processor was not working at full capacity. When we ran well-known utilities such as WCPUID, Intel Frequency Display, CPUZ and SiSoft Sandra 2003, they always measured the core frequency at 3014 MHz with a corresponding FSB speed of 200.96 MHz. ASUS P4P800 Deluxe (i865PE) Motherboard @ Hexus: Our first foray into the performance Springdale chipset unearthed a few surprises. It seemed to be stupendously fast when set to SPD (DDR-400) timings at 200FSB, comfortably beating the Canterwood into second place. Secondly, it's an FSB monster. 285FSB came and went with utter stability; a testament to Intel's impressive engineering prowess. Fast and relatively inexpensive, just how we like it. Recommended. Springdale @ ExtremeTech: If Moore's Law is to hold true, then today's mainstream platform should at least equal, if not outpace, the performance systems of the past. As we've seen in benchmark after benchmark, the 865PE systems outpace the PC1066 RDRAM-equipped 3.06GHz P4 system in tests that matter, even given slightly different processor speeds. You'd also expect the new performance platform to be even faster, and that's certainly true, in general. However, the difference in performance between the 875P and 865PE is somewhat less than the historical differences between the 850E and 845PE.