Thermal Design Power Overview

Intel says its Pentium 4 6x1 devices have a TDP of 86 Watts, which are thus at the same level as that of AMD's powerful single-core processors. Yet we have to add that the processors do not seem to make use of the power consumption specs, since they run considerably cooler than their 90 nm counterparts. At the same time, we have to note that AMD's SOI technology (silicon on insulator) is capable of allowing AMD's CPUs to achieve a similar power consumption level with a 90 nm process - although production costs are higher.

Processor Pricing

The pricing has not changed very much. While the top models are rather expensive and thus do not get our best recommendation, it is nice to see that the entry model Pentium D 920 should already be available for around $250.