Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
station/server processor, which has used L3 cache since November 2002. The Pentium
4EE has 512KB of L2 cache and 2MB of L3 cache, which increases the transistor count
to 178 million transistors and makes the die significantly larger than the standard Pentium
4. Because of the large die based on the 130-nanometer process, this chip was-expensive
to produce, and the extremely high selling price reflects that. The Extreme Edition was
targeted toward the gaming market, where people are willing to spend extra money for
additional performance. The additional cache doesn't help standard business applications
as well as it helps power-hungry 3D games.
In 2004, revised versions of the Pentium 4 Extreme Edition were introduced. These pro-
cessors are based on the 90-nanometer (0.09-micron) Pentium 4 Prescott core but with
a larger 2MB L2 cache in place of the 512KB L2 cache design used by the standard
Prescott-corePentium4.Pentium4ExtremeEditionprocessorsbasedonthePrescottcore
do not have L3 cache.
The Pentium 4 Extreme Edition was produced in both Socket 478 and Socket T form
factors,withclockspeedsrangingfrom3.2GHzto3.4GHz(Socket478)andfrom3.4GHz
to 3.73GHz (Socket T).
Pentium 4 Power Supply and Cooling Issues
Comparedtoolderprocessors,thePentium4requiresalotofelectricalpower.Becauseof
this,startinginFebruary2000,IntelchangedtheATXmotherboardandpowersupplyspe-
cifications to support a CPU voltage regulator module powered from 12V instead of 3.3V
or 5V, as with previous designs. By using the 12V power, more 3.3V and 5V power is
availabletoruntherestofthesystem,andtheoverallcurrentdrawisgreatlyreducedwith
the higher voltage as a source. PC power supplies normally generate more than enough
12V power, but the previous ATX motherboard and power supply designs originally al-
lotted only one pin for 12V power (each pin is rated for only 6 amps), so additional 12V
lines were necessary to carry this power to the motherboard.
ThefixappearsintheformofaCPUpowerconnectorcalledtheATX12Vconnector.Any
motherboard having the ATX12V connector requires that you supply power to it. If you
are using an older ATX power supply that lacks the proper ATX12V connector, several
companies sell adapters that convert a standard Molex-type peripheral power connector
to the ATX12V connector. Typically, a 300-watt (the minimum recommended) or larger
power supply has more than adequate levels of 12V power for both the drives and the
ATX12V connector.
If your power supply is less than the 300-watt minimum recommended, you may need to
purchase a replacement supply.
See
“
Motherboard Power Connectors
,”
p.
857
(
Chapter 18
, “
Power Supplies
”
).
