Intel, PC makers sued over Pentium 4 performance

PC World - A small group of PC owners has quietly filed a class-action lawsuit against Intel Corp., Gateway Inc., and Hewlett-Packard Co., alleging that the companies misled them into believing the Pentium 4 was a superior processor to Intel's own Pentium III and the Athlon from Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
The complaint -- Neubauer et al. v. Intel et al. -- was filed June 3 in the Third Judicial Circuit in Madison County, Ill. The case is in limbo awaiting a ruling on whether it belongs in a state or federal jurisdiction and has not yet achieved class-action status. It came to light this week after a copy of the complaint was sent to PCWorld.com anonymously.
The plaintiffs claim that the companies deceived the public when marketing Intel's flagship processor and allege that it is "the material fact that there is no benefit to consumers in choosing the Pentium 4 over the Pentium III." The complaint alleges that "the Pentium 4 is less powerful and slower than the Pentium III and/or the AMD Athlon."
Noting the sheer number of Pentium 4s Intel has sold, the complaint goes on to say the class "is so numerous that the individual joinder of all members is impracticable" and that the class could include "hundreds of thousands of members." According to MicroDesign Resources in Sunnyvale, Calif., Intel has shipped upwards of 50 million Pentium 4s since the chip was launched in November 2000 (see story).
The complaint doen't name the monetary amount sought by the plaintiffs. It does, however, cite what it says is law in California -- where the companies are based -- that each plaintiff is entitled to actual damages, restitution of property and punitive damages. The complaint notes that the cumulative total would be less than $75,000 each.
Attorneys Stephen M. Tillery and Aaron M. Zigler of the law firm Carr Korein Tillery in St. Louis filed the complaint on behalf of five plaintiffs. The firm declined to comment about the case, but Zigler confirmed the June 3 filing.
Intel and Gateway executives also declined to comment about the complaint, citing company policies regarding ongoing litigation. HP didn't return calls seeking comment.
The plaintiffs don't appear to be accusing Intel of lying about the Pentium 4's clock speed, said Rob Enderle, a research fellow at Giga Information Group Inc. They're complaining about the chip's performance, and that's a crucial element to the case's viability, he said.
"As long as the market is going after megahertz, and Intel is reporting the correct megahertz, then