The Consequence of Waking Up a Sleeping Giant: Intel Roadmaps Inside
by Kristopher Kubicki on January 25, 2005 7:44 PM EST- Posted in
- CPUs
Single Core Desktop
Now for desktop processing; we have good news and better news. The good news is almost all desktop Prescotts (including the Celerons) will get a 64-bit makeover real soon. Unfortunately, you'll still need to buy a new processor but the roadmaps indicate there will be virtually no price premium on the 64-bit versions. With Windows XP 64-bit release less than a few months away, it makes sense that Intel's 64-bit push comes strong and hard in the 9th inning. We are particularly interested in how fully committed the roadmap details EM64T; even the puny Celerons get the instructions. You may recall that the Socket 754 Sempron processors are nearly identical to AMD's Athlon 64 processors with half the cache and the 64-bit instructions removed. It will be interesting to see how the two companies play this against each other as AMD will be the 32-bit SKU on the desktop when WinXP Pro x64 launches.
Just to detail the whole outline for 64-bit Socket 775 processors, here is a quick roadmap of what we have to look forward to:
| Intel Single Core Mid Range Desktop Lineup LGA775 | ||||
| Processor | Speed | L2 Cache | FSB | Launch |
| Pentium 4 XE 3.73GHz | 3.73GHz | 2MB | 1066MHz | Soon |
| Pentium 4 XE 3.46GHz | 3.43GHz | 512KB | 1066MHz | Nov 2004 |
| Pentium 4 571 | 3.80GHz | 1MB | 800MHz | Q2'05 |
| Pentium 4 561 | 3.60GHz | 1MB | 800MHz | Q2'05 |
| Pentium 4 551 | 3.40GHz | 1MB | 800MHz | Q2'05 |
| Pentium 4 541 | 3.20GHz | 1MB | 800MHz | Q2'05 |
| Pentium 4 531 | 3.00GHz | 1MB | 800MHz | Q2'05 |
| Pentium 4 521 | 2.80GHz | 1MB | 800MHz | Q2'05 |
| Celeron D 355 | 3.33GHz | 256KB | 533MHz | Q4'05 |
| Celeron D 351 | 3.20GHz | 256KB | 533MHz | Q2'05 |
| Celeron D 346 | 3.06GHz | 256KB | 533MHz | Q2'05 |
| Celeron D 341 | 2.93GHz | 256KB | 533MHz | Q2'05 |
| Celeron D 336 | 2.80GHz | 256KB | 533MHz | Q2'05 |
| Celeron D 331 | 2.66GHz | 256KB | 533MHz | Q2'05 |
| Celeron D 326 | 2.53GHz | 256KB | 533MHz | Q2'05 |
As you can see, the EM64T enabled CPUs have incremented their model numbers by 1 relative to their non-EM64T counterparts. We're glad that Intel is making a clear distinction between the two variants, rather than simply adding a new suffix. Where there is no earlier part, like the 3.33GHz Celeron D, the model numbers do not have the +1.
The 3.73GHz Pentium 4 EE will show up real soon, if that's your thing, and it will become the second processor to support 1066FSB. We haven't been real impressed with the 1066FSB launch thus far, and a 300MHz bump in clock speed doesn't strike us as something that will revolutionize the performance desktop anytime soon either. However, keep in mind this new P4EE is very different from the previous 3.46GHz revision, and with a different core we may see a very different performance curve on the 1066MHz front side bus. The rest of the Intel roadmap neglects to mention any other 1066FSB processors, including the dual core behemoths, so the technology is either a little bit ahead of its time or simply a temporary dead end.
Next we have the great news. Not only will we see the launch of four Prescott 2M/Iriwindale processors next month, but soon after we will also get our first taste of Smithfield - several quarters ahead of what the previous roadmap had anticipated! Prescott 2M will launch with four SKUs listed below, along with a "670" model clocked at 3.8GHz sometime shortly after.
| Intel Single Core Performance Desktop Lineup LGA775 | ||||
| Processor | Speed | L2 Cache | FSB | Launch | Pentium 4 670 | 3.80GHz | 2MB | 800MHz | Q2'05 |
| Pentium 4 660 | 3.60GHz | 2MB | 800MHz | Q1'05 |
| Pentium 4 650 | 3.40GHz | 2MB | 800MHz | Q1'05 |
| Pentium 4 640 | 3.20GHz | 2MB | 800MHz | Q1'05 |
Like the other Prescott processors, Prescott 2M will launch with EM64T and XD, but it adds Enhanced Speed Step (EIST) as well. EIST is very similar to AMD's Cool n' Quiet as it dynamically ramps the clock speed of the processor to conserve thermals and power. However, the big difference between CnQ and EIST is maturity - EIST has existed in some form or another since the earliest days of the P6 architecture. How EIST will affect performance on everyday desktop processing - particularly on a processor with such a high clock speed - we leave for the actual launch date sometime next month.
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mikecel79 - Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - link
#12 it's right there on the first page under Top Insider Stories.Zebo - Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - link
#10 I've seen some testing... On the 6 series about 5% gain in games due to fat cache not nearly enough to overcome AMD's 15-25% lead in games right now not to mention when they release E0's and faster chips like 57.. not much gain on anything else.For the dual core chips battle, just go look at any opteron vs.xeon/nocona to see domination by the little company that could.
so in effect, 2006 minimum before intel strikes back..prolly with some dothan derivative.
Zebo - Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - link
your aticle does'nt show on main site even written today/.. luckly I found it by clicking CPU tab looking for an older article.JarredWalton - Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - link
#10 - I'm not overly concerned with who has the *lead*, as I'm not into spending $3000+ on a new computer. The Prescott 2M and Smithfield processors will certainly increase the price/performance ratio of Intel processors, which has been lagging for a while. Assuming we don't have another "Prescott" with the transition to 65nm, that's where I expect things to get really interesting though, and you're right that it won't really be until 2006 before that happens.Reflex - Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - link
Well, this was interesting, but I did not see anything that would allow Intel take the performance lead. I think it will be 2006 before that happens(and it is inevitable that it will see-saw again) unfortunatly, which is too bad because it keeps prices stable.JarredWalton - Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - link
#3: Cedar Mill is a single core 65nm NetBurst chip (presumably) while Presler is a dual core 65nm NetBurst (again, presumably) chip.JarredWalton - Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - link
One of the scariest things for AMD, when you consider that they're like 1/8 the size (in terms of cash flow) of Intel is that they're *just* getting 90nm chips out the door, and Intel is already talking 65nm in the relatively near future. I wouldn't be surprised to see AMD go fabless at some point, as you can't continue to spend billions of dollars every year on new fabrication facilities when you're "only" making a few billion each year.IBM and Intel are about the only companies that can afford to keep making faster, smaller fabs if trends continue. With IBM already helping out AMD in quite a few ways, I wouldn't be shocked to see them start fabbing most/all of future AMD chips.
Darth Farter - Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - link
Nice 4 intel.But It seems like a total revamp still based on the less stellar prescott core...
anyway, I hope it works out for them, but I'm really interested to see AMD's tricks and I hope on a fierce but healthy competition. (though a bit in favor of the lesser company for it to grow) as it pushes both to give us great value, performance & technology for our money.
remember, "Without AMD, Intel would still be letting us work on expensive 166MHz pentiums" as the popular saying goes lol!!
Doormat - Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - link
Hmmm.. I thought 2005 was going to be a bum year in PCs... dual cores everywhere!!! I wanted to upgrade in April but that might have to wait until June or July to see how it all shakes out. AMD and IBM need to get on that strained Si/SSE3/dual core A64, and get ramping 200MHz per quarter if Intel delivers on time..KristopherKubicki - Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - link
mikecel79: had a problem with that graph, its fixed now though.Kristopher