Intel’s Pentium 4 Processor
Technology
continues to grow at an exponential rate with new products coming out on the
market every day. These products can be specialized hardware or even software,
though hardware probably gets the most attention in the media. Generally,
when we speak of computer hardware, we think of the main components and what
generally comes to mind is the central processing unit (CPU). A processor
is the logic circuitry that responds to and processes the basic instructions
that drive a computer.
|
Features
|
The
Processor
|
- NetBus Architecture
- 400MHz System
Bus
- Advanced Transfer
Cache
- Advanced Dynamic
Execution
- Hyper Pipelined
Technology (20)
- Rapid Execution
Cache
- Multi Media (SSE)
- Enhanced Floating
Point
- Operates on Intel's
850 Chipset
- Available in
1.3, 1.4 and 1.5GHz versions.
|
|
Like
its older brother the PIII, the Pentium 4 is based on the same .18micron process
and uses Aluminum interconnects. With the release of the .13 version of the
Pentium 4, later this year, Intel will start using copper interconnects in
order to achieve the maximal yields. The Pentium 4 hosts 42 million transistors
compared to the 28.1 million featured
transistors on the Pentium III (Coppermine). At 1.5GHz, the Pentium 4 dissipates
52W of heat, compared to the Pentium III at 1GHz that dissipates 33W. Quite
good for a processor featuring a 217mm^2 die, even better when compared to
AMD’s Athlon running at 1GHz that already does it at 54W.
Special Note: Later this year the Pentium 4 will be available in two
versions. First is the current Socket 423 version and the Socket 478 Version.
The 478 Version is going to be a preparation for Intel’s Next Pentium 4 core
codenamed Northwood that will debut in Q3 of this year. This part will only
be available in a 478-pin format (socket mPGA478).
