Intel breaks gigahertz barrier

Intel Corp. demonstrated a general purpose microprocessor operating at 1GHz speed.

Shown to attendees at it's annual developer conference in Palm Springs, Intel officials claimed it was the first time a standard microprocessor has achieved one billion cycles per second. The technology demonstration used a 0.25-micron Pentium III processor, and required "special cooling techniques," according to the company. Intel expects to begin production of commercial microprocessors operating at 1GHz frequency next year.