Quick change

National | Technology | Chris Stamper

Quick change

Forget that word Gigahertz when thinking of a computer chip's power. That's what microchip makers want people to do as their marketers play down that once-dominant statistic.

Intel, following competitor AMD, will no longer name its new processors according to speed. Whether a chip runs at 3 GHz or 10 GHz, the number will be included as one feature among many.

For nearly a quarter-century, processor speeds, computed first in megahertz (MHz) and then gigahertz (GHz), were the unquestioned equivalent of the batting average in baseball or the SAT among college applicants. To determine a model's capabilities, users first looked at the key standardized metric.

But speed is no longer most users' top priority. Features like wireless connectivity, DVD editing, and portability are now greater concerns. While users once considered PCs obsolete after three years, some people may keep a machine running twice that long before feeling they are behind the times.