Gawkin'

Alert reader John Gustin sent us some interesting info about what appears to be new packaging for Pentium II processors.  He writes:

I just got a new Compaq Deskpro EN series computer that has a 400Mhz Pentium II processor in it.  At least I thought it was a Pentium II 400.  When I opened the case expecting to see the old black cartridge of the PII, I saw what appeared to be a Celeron hiding behind a large heatsink.  This peaked [sic] my curiosity, so I removed the processor and this is what I found.  (No it's not a Celeron.)  See the attached pictures.  Did Intel release a new fab of the PII's or is this just simply a cost cutting form factor?  It looks exactly like the Pentium 3 !!

Check out the pics below.  Assuming the pics are legit, this move makes sense, since the old PII packaging was cumbersome and expensive, anyhow.  I imagine these new PIIs could be very overclockable, if the processor core is exposed like it is in the PIII--not under a metal cap like the Celerons.   Hmmmmmm...  If any of the rest of you have seen PIIs with this kind of packaging, drop us a note in the Forum with your experiences.

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