Pentium what?

Before the release of Intel's new generation of processors, it was easy to track the progress of computers (and also to find out how outdated your PC is). All that you had to do was to find out the number label of the latest Pentium processor. For example, if your computer is run by a Pentium II processor then it is two generations older than a Pentium IV computer. Recently, however, things got a little bit more complicated. 

If you've been to a computer store lately, you'd see showcases of units powered by processors like Pentium D, Pentium M, CoreDuo and Core II Duo. So what happened to the numbers? Why the sudden shift of labels?

To understand this massive change, let's see how things evolved in response to need.

First, the Pentium IV. If you've owned a pc run by a Pentium IV, I bet you'd agree with me when I say they lag in response especially when you type, surf the net, and listen to music at the same time. Right? This is because this processor and the generations before it are not capable of simultaneously performing several actions. So to address this need, Intel came up with the Pentium IV with HT or Hyper Threading technology which allowed the processor to work on an additional action while in the middle of performing another one. Seems like the perfect and final answer to all computing needs right? For those working on simple tasks, maybe, but not for hard-core computing addicts. Especially now that the new generation of users seem to have very limited attention span for a single window, the need for a processor capable of handling MULTIPLE-tasks seems to be the only answer. So once again, Intel responded by  coming up with a processor, this time with two cores.

This new processor performs twice as fast as a single core would because instead of cuing actions in one unit, two units would simultaneously process multiple actions at once. Thus, the first generation of dual core processors was born - the Pentium D in desktops and the CoreDuo in laptops.

But just like before, Intel would make improvements on their processors after just a short time. So now, the next generation processors take center stage - the Core II duo. They are faster in the same sense that the Pentium IVs are faster than the Pentium IIIs.  Both would have the same basic technology (dual cores) but they'd differ in speed.

In order to identify one from the other, the Pentium Ds and Core Duos would have speeds identified by the numbers 2050 or 2250 while the Core II Duos  would come in 5300s, 5400s, 5500s, (laptops) or 6400s, 6500s and 6600s (desktops). Recently, however, faster models are now available like the 7100s and 7200s.

Who knows what intel will come up with next? Maybe they might even replace the Pentium label already? I just hope I'm still around when the next generation would be asking questions like Pentium what? What's that?