Santa Clara (CA) - Intel today announced additions to its Celeron D entry level processor family. The new chips come with LGA775 packaging known from 90 nm Prescott Pentium 4 processors and a new PCI Express chipset 910 GL Express.

A completely new processor is just the Celeron D 340 which offers a clock speed of 2.93 GHz. The previously announced versions 325 (2.53 GHz), 330 (2.66 GHz), and 335 (2.80 GHz) are now also updated to support the LGA775 package but continue to be available also for the Socket 478 as well. The new processors reveal themselves through a "J" in the product name, such as Celeron D 325J.

The Celeron now also can be combined with a PCI Express chipset. Intel announced for the processor the 910GL Express chipset and is derived from the Grantsdale and Alderwood family (915G and 915GV). The chip delivers 7.1 surround sound and the Graphics Media Accelerator 900 (GMA 900) for improved graphics capabilities. However, the 910GL only supports DDR1 memory as well as a front side bus with 533 MHz.

This update allows Intel to defend itself against the market entry of AMD's upcoming entry-level processor Sempron. AMD claims that the chip will perform "at the top of its class" and will initially be available with clock speeds from 1.5 GHz to 2.0 GHz and corresponding model numbers ranging from 2200+ to 3100+.

Intel's new J processors are priced at the same level as the Socket 478 products. The 325J retails for $79, the 330J for $83 and the 335J for $103 (1,000-unit quantities). The 340J lists for $117, the Intel 910GL chipset for $34.

Source : Tom's Hardware US