Intel Corporation will release 700 MHz Pentium II Xeon and 600 MHz Pentium II CPUs in 1999, while mobile Pentium II processors will be bumped from their 1998 high of 300 MHz to 366 MHz and beyond. Meanwhile, Celeron systems will get 100 MHz buses and more L2 cache. Another improvement for 1999 Intel CPUs: high-speed integrated cache, starting with a 256K chip that will be built directly into a new 333 MHz system code-named "Dixon." Because Dixon's cache is built directly into the CPU, it can run far faster than any external cache, improving overall system performance.
These advances are all possible because of Intel's quicker-than-expected move to the smaller 0.18 micron manufacturing process. The smaller size means chips can run faster at cooler temperatures. The "Katmai" Pentium II extensions (which will likely be called MMX-2) will be featured in these next-generation Pentium II systems.
Before 1999, there are some incremental improvements to watch out for as well. The Pentium II and Pentium II Xeon processors will be bumped up to 450 MHz by September and 500 MHz by January. 300, 333 MHz Celeron CPUs will debut this Fall, and will feature 128 K of L2 cache (the current generation of Celeron CPUs have no L2 cache). 300 MHz mobile Pentium II processors will be available this Fall as well
