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New
Technologies for 2004-2005
(page updated 01/03/05)
Latest
developments at Intel
Added
(early 2005): Execute
Disabled XD
End
2004:
Starting
in mid 2004 were Intel's LGA 775 processors. Intel moved the goal
posts again. Any previous 478 pin motherboard can't be upgraded
anymore as the 478 pin processors are being phased out. The LGA775
is different from all previous Intel formats in that the pins are
now on the board and the CPU itself has just sockets. This is
claimed to reduce the number of CPUs that get returned with bent
or broken pins. The FSB is still 800 and CPU speeds are still
largely the same - up to 3.4 GHz in both 478 pin and LGA 775 - but
with one or two new CPUs like the LGA775 3.6 GHz. In another major
departure Intel is moving away from the focus on clock speeds and
have dreamed up a new number system with the "520 Intel"
being an LGA 775 P4 2.8 GHz, the "540 Intel" being the
same in 3.2 GHz and the "560 Intel" being the 3.6 GHz
version. Confusion is good because you can then be sold a
"faster internet" if you go for the latest Intel
processor!
Previous
news
Intel's
Prescott chip is not as exciting as people thought it would be. Analysts
and the IT
press have been distinctly unimpressed. The
good news is that the motherboards
we use for our high end PCs are the most compatible with the
Prescott chip.
Intel's
Hyper-threading
technology seems to be paying dividends. Most
technical websites now rate Intel's CPUs as faster than the AMD
equivalents. See our page on AMD
processors
Since
our last update Intel has released several new processors, going
all the way up to the 3.06 GHz Pentium 4. They've also raised the
speed of the FSB (Front Side Bus) from 533 MHz to 800 Mhz, so our
earlier advice of going for a 478 pin motherboard to protect
against future changes already looks outdated as this time though
Intel haven't changed the number of pins on the new CPUs they have
changed the FSB and if you've got a 478 pin motherboard that
supports 533 MHz FSB processors it won't take the new ones :-(
Intel
announced two new motherboard chipsets to handle the new 800 FSB
processors. These are the 875P (Canterwood) and the 865
(Springdale) chipsets. More
here. Most motherboard manufacturers are now
building their more expensive motherboards around the 875P, and
their cheaper motherboards around the 865 chipsets.
The
3.06 was Intel's first CPU with hyper-threading (read
our article on hyper-threading). Since then they've
introduced some of their lower end processors with this feature to
make a complicated market even more complicated. So now buying a
2.4 GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor becomes a major decision as it
comes in so many different flavours many of which may not work in
your motherboard. You've got the
1.
Intel Pentium 4, 2.4 GHz in socket 423 (423 pins) format
2. Intel Pentium 4, 2.4 GHz in socket 478 with 400 FSB (Front Side
Bus)
3. Intel Pentium 4, 2.4 GHz in socket 478 with 533 FSB
4. Intel Pentium 4, 2.4 GHz in socket 478 with 800 FSB
5. Intel Pentium 4, 2.4 GHz in socket 478 with hyper-threading ...
more to come.
Make
sense of it all. Anandtech and Tom's Hardware are good places for
more detailed information and test results:
link
1
link
2
Previous
information posted on 26/11/02
Intel's
Guide to latest technology: click
here
If
you only visit two sites to make sense of Intel motherboards and
the myriad of chipsets make it these two:
link
1
link
2
Our
Take:
Motherboards:
Think the market for AMD motherboards is fragmented and confusing?
The Intel camp is in a
complete mess. You had slot 1 processors which were followed by
the socket 370 processors, which were a completely different shape
and therefore did not fit in existing motherboards. But that was
only the start of the confusion. When the Intel Pentium 4
processors came out Intel ensured that they were yet another
physical shape and therefore needed yet another type of
motherboard. What followed were motherboards with a 423 pin socket
for the processor (423 referring to the number of physical pins on
the underside of the processor). Not content with the confusion already caused,
newer versions of the Intel Pentium 4 processor have 478 pins
making all previous boards redundant overnight. And that's just
the start of the confusion. They then brought out the Northwood
version of the Pentium P4 processor that did not work in all 478
pin motherboards. They then changed the FSB from 400 (4x100) to
533 making all existing 478 pin boards immediately outdated.
Take
the Pentium P4, 2.2 GHz CPU. You can get it in 423 pin or 478 pin.
In 478 pin you can get the 256 kb cache version and the 512 kb
cache version (called Northwood). You also get the 2.2 GHz Northwood with
400 Mhz FSB (Front Side Bus) and the faster 533 MHz FSB. And they all come in OEM or Retail Box packing.
So if you're looking for a 2.2 GHz Intel Pentium P4, you've got to
choose between eight types. Is it clear now?
The
market for motherboards that support Intel processors has suddenly
become a vast maze. There were motherboards based on Intel's 810
and 815 chipsets (among others). There were motherboards based on
Via and other chipsets. And these were all designed for use on the
Intel Socket 370 processors (Celerons and Pentium PIIIs). But then
came the Pentium 4 which was a CPU with 423 pins and all you could
get for it was the Intel 845 chipset motherboards. Intel then
released the 850 chipset. The new chipsets had to have the very expensive RD RAM, prices of
which were kept artificially high for a long time. As the chipsets
from Intel and the matching RAM were both very expensive
motherboard manufacturers were desperate for a chipset that
supported the cheaper SDRAM and DDR SDRAM. Via and Sis then developed
chipsets that could be used to build motherboards
that supported Intel's Pentium 4 processors and worked with the
cheaper RAM. Not very good news for Intel so Intel threw the toys
out of the pram and accused all and sundry of patent infringement. The last we heard on this the case was still in
the US courts.
More
on the current chipsets choices like the 850E and 845E, the 845G
and 850G etc., for Intel motherboards to come
soon. Please bear with us - this page is still under construction.
Brief warnings:
1. A 423 pin motherboard won't take the newer Intel
Pentium 4 processors, so when buying a Pentium 4 based PC always
ask how many pins the processor has.
2. Some Intel Pentium P4 processors (like the P4, 2.4 GHz) come in
both 400 FSB and 533 FSB. Specify that you want the 533 FSB
version.
Intel
has changed from socket 423 to socket 478 so older P4s can't be upgraded!! Article
Confused?
These two links should help make sense of it all:
link
1
link
2
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