October 14, 2004 – Intel Corp. has cancelled plans to develop its top-speed 4Ghz Pentium 4 chips for desktop computers, after earlier pushing back the release date into next year.

Intel said it plans to shift resources to accelerate the development of dual-core chips for desktops, servers, and notebook computers, which the company plans to ship in 2005. Intel spokesperson Chuck Mulloy gave no specific reason for the change, except that “for Intel and for our customers it’s the right decision,” according to a Reuters report, which quoted an analyst suggesting power and heat issues were to blame.

The cancellation follows an earlier change of plans in July, when Intel told customers that it wouldn’t ship the new 4GHz Pentium 4 chips until 1Q05, in order to “better meet our customers’ volume requirements.” Intel has had other fits and starts concerning its Pentium 4 line — in May the company claimed it would shift attention away from its fourth-generation 90nm-based “Tejas” and “Jayhawk” Pentium 4 chips, as well as a new Xeon processor, to focus on its dual-core chips.