Summary
If the situation with FlasK MPEG should be exemplary for Pentium 4's performance - and why shouldn't it? - then it really counts on the software industry to at least re-compile their applications to make Pentium 4 look a whole lot better. Once that's done Pentium 4 has a good chance to become a success even at its current clock speeds.
Of course this is easier said than done. Which software maker would supply its customers with a new and free version of its product, although it only took a re-compilation? Which software maker will even bother to do that for the time being? After all Pentium 4 systems are very expensive and thus not exactly widely spread. We know that Intel has a very forceful way of 'convincing' other industries to follow them. We will see how much power Intel has right now. For the time being Intel is in the same situation AMD used to be with K6-2 and 3D Now! Without proper support of the software industry it will be hard to make a product such as Pentium 4 successful. Let's not feel too sorry for Intel however. It is in a lot better situation than AMD used to be.
At the end of this article you will have to do without a 'to buy or not to buy' comment from me. I supplied you with a lot of facts so far and I am sure that you can come to your own conclusions. Additionally, there is a lot of P4-testing still going on in our lab. Very shortly this article will be followed by another benchmark evaluation, which should help us all to put the Pentium 4 puzzle together a little bit further.
PLease follow-up by reading Tom's Blurb: Pentium 4 - Another Recount? .
