Intel's Pentium III smorgasbord (Part 3)

Compaq Computer took a slightly different tack with its Deskpro EN series. The company will offer the new Pentium III chips with either the 810E or the 440BX chip set. A Deskpro EN with the 810E chip set will cost about £1,169 when configured with a 667MHz Pentium III processor, 64MB of RAM, a 13.5 GB hard drive and a 17-inch monitor, said company officials in Houston, Texas. The company is also expected to announce models based on the 820 chip set, once it becomes available.

HP will begin shipping a new Vectra VEi8 PC with the 600EMHz Pentium III and a 100MHz system bus by the end of the year. With 64MB of RAM, a 13.5GB hard drive and 48X CD-ROM drive, it will cost about £899 without a monitor, HP officials said.

On the consumer side, the company will offer a Pavilion -- the 8595c -- with VIA's Apollo Pro 133 chipset. The new Pavilion will include a 733MHz Pentium III, 128MB of RAM, a 32GB hard drive, along with a high-end NVDIA Vanta TNT2 graphics board and CD-Rewritable and DVD-ROM drives. It will start selling next month for about £1,439.

IBM, Micron offering VIA chip set

IBM and Micron Electronics also offer the VIA chipset. IBM, developed its VIA-based PC design in parallel with one based on the 820 chip set from Intel. The VIA PCs are shipping now. IBM says it will ship 820 when it becomes available. IBM on Monday announced new PC300GL and PC300PL desktops based Intel's 533EBMHz, 600EBMHz, 667MHz and 733MHz and VIA Technologies Apollo PRO 133 chip set.

A bevy of other PC makers announced support for the new Pentium III chips Monday. One such company, Gateway, will offer GP-Series desktops with the 600MHz Pentium III, starting at about £1259, and the 700MHz Pentium III, starting at about £1,619. Intel has not yet announced a new ship date for the 820, which was delayed in late September.

Take me to the Pentium III Special.

Take me to the Merced Special.