Intel chips: out with the old, in with the new

Intel has announced it will release 150-MHz and 166-MHz versions of its Pentium chip on Thursday. The new chips are more than twice as fast as those Intel was selling in January 1995.

This week more than 50 companies will begin selling PCs that use the new chips. The wholesale cost of the new Pentiums, $547 for the 150-MHz version and $749 for the 166-MHz chip, will enable manufacturers to sell the new machines for between $2,300 and $2,700.

Intel plans to reduce the prices of its slower chips by 20 percent in the coming weeks. Analysts predict that Intel will retire its chips with speeds under 100 MHz by the end of this year.