Windows NT Performance
Conclusion
For a user that is not going to be overclocking and has already decided on buying a Pentium III, the best option is probably the 450 or 500MHz parts, depending on the price of the processor. Until the release of the Pentium III 550, the 500MHz parts were simply too expensive to even consider, however now that the 550 has made it out the 500 should drop to a more reasonable (for a Pentium III) level.
For overclockers, the 450MHz chips are probably more than enough considering they provide the most bang for your buck if you overclock them to 504MHz, something that is very possible with most retail 450MHz parts. The 500MHz chips, for those of you that just feel 504MHz isn't enough, generally hit 560MHz without a hitch however the overclocking monsters are the 550MHz chips. At 616MHz, the 550 is unbeatable by any other competing x86 chip, however you can expect to spend a pretty penny on a nicely outfitted 550MHz system. The performance boost experienced from 550MHz to 616MHz may or may not be worth the money depending on what you believe justifies the added cost of the processor.
The most bang for your buck still seems to be the Celeron processor which is now at speeds of 466MHz (overclockable to 525MHz pretty easily), however for the user that must have it all, Intel's latest 550MHz part is capable of breaking the 600MHz barrier quite effortlessly. With AMD still insisting that their K7 will be released next month (most likely it'll hit the streets at the end of June or towards mid July), it'll be interesting to see how long Intel's 550 stays at the top of their Pentium III line. What you're seeing are the effects of competition, but one thing's for sure, prices are bound to fall, it depends how long you're willing to play the waiting game for that makes the difference.
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