January 2006 do you think we would have hit the 4 gig barrier?

Possibly, but, bugger me, can you imagine how expensive it will be !I mean, just look at the prices of some of those P4's that are out now,they buy them IN for a hell of a lot less money than what they ship them out for. it's about time the playing field was levelled a bit more in my opinion, there's just too much sheer greed out there right now.

Maybe. Maybe not. First, the processors has to be made more effective. I Think they will start to increase the amount of work done pr.clockcycle than before, so they don't need that high clockspeed that whe have nowadays. Just have a look at the Athlon64. It may not be as fast i MHz as the P4, but it is FAR more effective pr clockcycle, so it does not HAVE to run as fast as the P4. And then, one day, we will have 5 GHz, supereffective CPU-s:-) Time will show!

There's an Athlon64 4000 out. Has the power of a 4ghz P4. Not to mention Apple's dual 2ghz CPU rigs.

>January 2006 do you think we would have hit the 4 gig>barrier?Twelve months? Both AMD and Intel have a 4 Gig CPU out right now. Intel's is about $1075.00 shipped,and about $725.00 shipped for the AMD.

I thought Intel pulled the plug on the 4GHz P4. I'm pretty sure they just released a 3.8GHz P4.The fastest AMD 64 (FX-55, faster than 4000+) runs at 2.6GHz.Lee Hetherington, PP-ASEL (KBED)

>The fastest AMD 64 (FX-55, faster than 4000+) runs at 2.6GHz.AMD's CPUs run more efficently then a P4. A 4000+ may only run at 2.6ghz but it has the speed and power of a 4ghz P4. For AMD, the speed in hertz means nothings, the number in the CPU's name is the actual speed it runs at. The fastest clock speed for an Intel is 3.8ghz. The fastest P4 EE (also more efficient) is 3.46ghz but it has a FSB of 1.066ghz max where the others only have an 800mhz FSB max. Athlon 64s have a 1.6ghz FSB max.

I know. I didn't say a 4000+ wasn't as fast as a 4GHz P4. But yes, a good point for those that don't realize that GHz isn't everything. That is why AMD uses labels such as 4000+ intead of just saying 2.4GHz.Lee Hetherington, PP-ASEL (KBED)

The Prescott is not going to have a 4 ghz processor ... According to Intel.

>The Prescott is not going to have a 4 ghz processor ...>According to Intel.I've heard rumors stirring of a 64-bit Pentium. Maybe the PV is not long off...Intel is the only major CPU manufacturer that has not developed a 64bit CPU. (Apple was first shortly followed by AMD)

Pentium 4's with 64 bit extentions are already on the market in Japan.. We (as in the US) always end up on the back end of the new tech curvejust for your info cheers

I've been using P4s with the 64-bit extensions for at least 2 months here at work (Dell Precision 370 workstations). Having said that, we're currently running 32-bit Linux on them.I've also got an old Itaninum sitting here, just collecting dust. It was slow the day we got it a few years ago. We only turn it on if we get cold. ;-)Lee Hetherington, PP-ASEL (KBED)

>I thought Intel pulled the plug on the 4GHz P4. I'm pretty>sure they just released a 3.8GHz P4.>>The fastest AMD 64 (FX-55, faster than 4000+) runs at 2.6GHz.>>Lee Hetherington, PP-ASEL (KBED)Yep,although they must have released a few to reviewers because I saw some frame rate tests with them. I think the fastest CPU they have now is a 3.6 gig going for about $1100.00 with shipping.I'd bet a AMD64 4000 would be as fast in FS9 and about $300 cheaper.David

>I'd bet a AMD64 4000 would be as fast in FS9 and about $300>cheaper.Definately. The Athlon64 is a gaming CPU.