Intel Selling New Chips for Desktop Computers

Intel Corp., the world’s biggest semiconductor maker, on Thursday began selling a new set of chips for desktop computers used for home entertainment as the company seeks to repeat the success of its Centrino laptop product.

Intel, which has about 350 workers in Riverton, is offering a package of chips that let personal-computer users perform multiple tasks such as burning a DVD and surfing the Internet simultaneously, Vice President Gerald Holzhammer said at a press conference in San Francisco.

New Chief Executive Paul Otellini is focusing on selling chips in sets to expand the features in PCs as users demand sharper graphics and better sound for playing games and watching videos. Intel, based in Santa Clara, Calif., -based Intel has sold $5 billion worth of Centrino, a package designed for laptops that includes a processor and other chips, since it was introduced in 2003.

Otellini is counting on new products to reverse slowing sales growth. Revenue growth will slow to 11 percent this year and 7 percent in 2006, compared with 13 percent in 2004, according to Thomson Financial.

Shares of Intel rose 37 cents to close at $27.37 Thursday in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading.

The new product includes a dual-core Pentium chip, which puts two processors on a single chip, allowing a machine to perform several tasks at the same time. Machines that use the product are designed to act as a typical desktop computer as well as manage video and audio files in a so-called digital home, Holzhammer said.

“It’s a PC really pushing into the living room,” he said. “These are machines designed around great acoustics and great designs.”

Dell Inc., the world’s biggest PC maker, today began selling a version of its Dimension desktop computer that uses the new Intel package. Round Rock, Texas-based Dell designed the machine to appeal to consumers who store and edit digital photos as well as music on their PCs instead of simply computing.