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- Is the AMD Athlon XP processor 3000+ for desktop PCs based on the core formerly codenamed ¡°Barton¡±?
- What's a processor?
- What do I need to know about processors?
- Vocabulary?
- Intel Older Chips
- Celeron?
- Pentium II
- Pentium III
- K6/K6-2/K6-3
- Athlon
- Possible hazards of overclocking
- Is the AMD Athlon XP processor 3000+ for desktop PCs based on the core formerly codenamed ¡°Barton¡±?
Yes. The new processor features 640KB of total on-chip cache, an increase of nearly 70 percent, which leads the industry for desktop PC processors. More cache allows additional information to be stored closer to the processor, helping to speed up the retrieval of information that benefits applications such as those used in editing video, creating digital media effects and encoding music, as well as typical office productivity and gaming applications.
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- What's a processor?
If you know the basics, skip this part, but I want to make sure all bases are covered. The processor is the mind of your computer. It does your computation, it rallies the "soldiers" as it were, your video card, your peripherals, your sound... The speed and architecture of your processor basically defines how your machine is going to run. It's a chip inside your machine, plugged into your motherboard.
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- What do I need to know about processors?
The most important thing to think of is: what do I want my machine to do? The biggest mistake many people make is spending too much money on a machine, because they think faster is always better. Well, it is, but is it always worth it? If you want to surf the web, or do spreadsheets and word processing, you'll be perfectly happy with a "middle of the road" processor, around 400 to 500 mhz or less. If you play lots of 3D games or other demanding applications, and have the money to spare, then go all out.
One important thing to remember is that the top of the line processors are ALWAYS overpriced. After a top of the line processor is released, it usually drops $100 a week in price for about a month.
That being said, if you're buying a processor, there are two things to consider. If you are upgrading an existing system, you have to buy a new processor that fits your current architecture. Processors come in "slot" and "socket" architecture, and their bus speed also determines which motherboard they can go in. If this lingo confuses you, never fear, there's a vocabulary section below.
If you are building a new system, you simply need to make sure that the motherboard and processor you purchase are compatible.
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- Vocabulary?
Mhz- Megahertz. One hertz means one processor cycle per second, so 500mhz means 500,000,000 processor cycles per second. It's simply a measurement of speed.
Bus Speed- The bus is the part of the processor that talks to the motherboard. The most important part of the bus for our purposes is the speed. This determines how fast the motherboard is able to speak to the processor, in mhz. Each cycle, information is sent between the processor and the motherboard. You'll want to make sure that the motherboard you buy accepts the bus speed of your processor. The bus speeds that I will reference in this FAQ are only FSB, or Front Side Bus speeds. This is the speed that the processor talks to the motherboard. Sometimes people also talk about the speed that the processor talks to the cache, but I reference that as cache speed.
Slot/Socket Architecture- Your processor is shaped like a flat square. If this square is laid flat while plugged into the motherboard, it's a Socket style chip. Pins come out of the bottom and plug into a square socket on the motherboard. If it stands perpendicular to the motherboard, it's a Slot style chip. The bus interface is on the side, and you plug it into a slot on the motherboard.
L1/L2 Cache- Your computer is kind of like a human, in that it has long term and short term memory. Your short term memory is your RAM. While a processor is crunching numbers, it needs to store things in temporary memory, like RAM. The problem is that RAM is (relatively speaking) terribly slow. L1 and L2 cache refer to smaller chunks of very fast memory used by the processor that is either mounted very close to, or (more recently) directly on the processor itself. Most of the time people talk about L2 cache, as it varies the most. Half speed cache means it runs at half the speed of the processor, and full speed means it runs as fast as the processor. On die means that the cache is on the same piece of silicon as the processor, and is faster than off die cache. L1 and L2 simply stand for Level 1 and Level 2 cache. L1 cache is ALWAYS on the chip, L2 cache is sometimes on the chip, sometimes on the motherboard.
____ Core- Each time a new processor design comes out, it is given a name. Lots of times this code name is used to discuss the processor, because it will span several different processors. For example, the Dechutes core by Intel was used on both the Pentium II and the Celeron.
.xx micron- Processors are etched into wafers of silicon, and the smaller linewidth they can achieve inside the processor, the smaller it will be. Smaller generally means it takes less power, and goes faster. The micron linewidth is often listed with processors.
PPGA - Another name for Celeron's socket 370 interface. Stands for Plastic Pin Grid Array.
FSB - Front Side Bus. Simply referring to the bus speed of the chip.
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- Intel Older Chips?
Intel made the 8086,286,386 and 486 before making the Pentium family of chips. These aren't particularly interesting except in a historical context. The Pentium isn't being made anymore, and the Pentium II was just taken out of production at the end of 1999. However, a vast number of people are still using these chips, and they are still quite useful, and available for sale.
The Pentium processor came in speeds of 60mhz to 200mhz. They upgraded Pentium to Pentium MMX, and released processors from 133mhz to 233mhz. The original Pentiums running at 60Mhz and 66Mhz used a Socket 4, and then Pentiums 75Mhz through 133Mhz used Socket 5. You really won't find these around too much anymore. The Pentiums and Pentium MMX 150Mhz and above use the now standard Socket 7. Socket 7 is also what you use for Cyrix, AMD, and other non Intel processors up to 233mhz. Intel stopped making Pentium chips at 233Mhz, and that is the highest processor speed that the Socket 7 supports. There is a newer standard called Super7, which supports the non-Intel processors that are being made. So all AMD K6/K6-2, Cyrix, etc. chips that are >233Mhz use the Super7, which is just a Socket 7 that can take higher speed processors.
Intel also released the Pentium Pro around this time, which was for more industrial use. It was released in speeds of 133mhz to 200mhz, came with L2 caches from 256k to 1meg. Astonishingly, Pentium Pros still sell for more than most Celeron and even Pentium III's, because there is a demand by people who bought dual PPro motherboards, and now want to fill the second slot, but the chip is no longer produced. They required a new bus, the Socket 8. An interesting fact is that the Socket 8 has the same pins as the Slot 1, so you can plug Pentium Pros into Slot 1 motherboards with a special adapter. Intel has a pattern of releasing chips in "standard" and "industrial" versions. In the Pentium II and III family, the industrial version is the Pentium Xeon.
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- Celeron?
The Celeron is an interesting, and widely misunderstood processor. First, it was basically a PII with no L2 cache. This is the "Dechutes" core. Dechutes was released in 266mhz and 300mhz versions, both running at 66mhz on Slot 1 architecture, and at .25 micron process technology. This lack of L2 cache is what caused the Celeron to have a bad name, and to be considered 'cheap'.
In mid 98, Intel released the Mendocino core Celeron, or the Celeron A. This processor has a 128k on-die full speed L2 cache, which makes it run just about exactly as well as a PII processor at 66mhz FSB with 512k external L2 cache. These are released in 300A(to distinguish from the Dechutes model), 333, 350, 400, 433, 466, 500, and 533 mhz models. These processors are also at .25 microns. The Mendocino Celerons are available both in Slot 1 and the newer Socket 370 format. (Not compatible with the Socket 7 architecture, because it has an on die L2 cache).
Intel is now releasing the Coppermine-128 core Celerons. This core is only .18 microns as opposed to .25 of Mendocino. It's named Coppermine-128 because of the 128k on-die full speed cache. Every Celeron released after 533 is going to be Coppermine-128. Strangely, they will continue at 66mhz bus speed.
One thing to note about the Celerons is that they are great for overclocking, but there is no thermal plate or cover on the processor, so you must cool well if you are planning on doing this. Many people have had success with taking a Celeron 300A, putting it on a board with 100mhz FSB, and thereby increasing the processor speed to 450Mhz. But, before overclocking you should be aware of the many possible hazards of increasing the clock speed of your CPU or system bus. This FAQ isn't responsible to any damage due to overclocking. Please see the following overclocking section for more detail about overclocking.
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- Pentium II
The first PII's of interest are those of the Klamath core. (233,266,300mhz) This was what was originally released, and are still available, but were quickly outdated by the newer Dechutes core. The Klamath core is based on .35 micron process technology, and runs at 2.2 Volts, which makes it hotter than the smaller Dechutes core. Like all of the PII family, it has an external half speed 512k L2 cache. The Klamath core runs at 66Mhz FSB, on the Slot 1 architecture.
Intel later released the Dechutes core Pentium II. (300,333,350,400,450mhz) The Dechutes core is of a smaller, .25 micron process technology, and runs at 2 Volts. It also has a 512k external L2 cache, and runs on the Slot 1 architecture. Pentium II processors at 350, 400, and 450Mhz run at 100Mhz FSB instead of 66Mhz, like the earlier PII's. The last PII made was the 450, after which the PIII was released.
The Pentium II Xeon was mostly for high end workstations. It has an external full speed L2 cache available in 512k, 1Mb, and 2Mb sizes, and is available in speeds of 400Mhz and 450Mhz. It uses the same Dechutes core as the PII and the Celeron. It also has some added features like an on core thermal diode that will shut down if the core overheats. The Xeon can also run in greater than dual processor mode(IE Quad processor), while the PII does not. The Xeons run on the Intel Slot 2 100mhz FSB architecture, and are not compatible with Slot 1.
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- Pentium III
Pentium III was first released with the Katmai core. (500-600mhz) This was an improvement on the Pentium II, but very similar. Still .25 microns, but with an external 512k L2 cache.
Later, the Coppermine core was released. This was a major improvement on the Pentium III. The core was shrunken to .18 microns, and a full speed 256k L2 cache was added. All of the Pentium IIIs from 600mhz on are Coppermine.
The Pentium III is by far the most confusing chip that Intel has released, and it's probably best if I give a rundown of how the chips were released.
NOTE: This is the most important thing to know about the Pentium III. There are two variables involved.
The first is the FSB speed. It is either 100mhz or 133mhz. This speed is almost always listed with the processor, but if it isn't, then you can tell by a B after the speed of the chip. For example, PIII 600B means that the chip has 133mhz FSB. Intel has further confused the issue by generally only putting a B after a chip speed if the chip is released in both 100mhz and 133mhz speeds. This is not exclusive of the second variable, E, described below.
The second is bus interface. It is either FC-PGA or Slot 1. FC-PGA stands for Flip Chip Pin Grid Array, and is a socket interface for the Pentium III. This is almost always listed with the processor, but if it isn't, you can tell by the E after the chip speed. For example, PIII 550E means that the chip is FC-PGA, and not Slot 1. This is not exclusive. IE, you can have a PIII 550EB that is FC-PGA at 133mhz. You need to be sure to purchase a motherboard and processor that are compatible, because you can't plug a FC-PGA processor into a Slot 1 motherboard, and vice versa. (Although adapters are available).
The reason why Intel flip flops between formats is because the Slot 1 supports off chip L2 cache, but is more expensive, and the FC-PGA and Socket 370 are cheaper, but do not support off chip L2 caches. It looks like in the long run that the Slot 1 architecture is doomed for every format but the Xeon, but only time will tell.
For a quick reference, here are the processors released under each bus speed.
100mhz FSB - 500, 550, 600, 650, 700, 750, 800, 850
133mhz FSB - 533, 600, 667, 733, 800, 866, 933, 1000
Again, remember if the chip is released under both bus speeds, look for the B to tell if it is 133mhz, and look for an E to tell if it is FC-PGA.
Pentium III Xeons were released in two types: Cascades and Tanner cores. These still require Slot 2 architecture, and are not compatible with Slot 1. Any Pentium III Xeon with more than 256k of L2 cache is a Tanner core. These have 100mhz FSB speeds, and have L2 cache that is full speed and available in sizes of 512k, 1Meg and 2Megs. Any Xeon with a FSB of 133mhz is a Cascades core. These all have 256k on-die L2 cache. The Cascades models hit the market well before the Tanner ones do, because it takes longer for them to engineer L2 cache that is full speed for the Tanner models. At this time, the only Tanner models available are below 600mhz.
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- K6/K6-2/K6-3
The first notable family of chips that AMD released was the K6. It was released in speeds of 166-300, with bus speeds of 66 and 100mhz. The 66mhz chips ran on Socket 7 motherboards and the 100mhz ones ran on Super 7 motherboards. L2 cache was handled by the motherboard. None of the K6 chips had L2 cache on the chip, Socket and Super 7 chips always use L2 motherboard caches.
K6-2 chips were produced in speeds from 300mhz up to 550mhz, and again with bus speeds of 66mhz and 100mhz. Again, these chips were made to run on Socket and Super 7 motherboards, and the L2 cache was located on the motherboard itself.
K6-3 chips were an improvement over the K6-2 in that they were equipped with a 256k on-die full speed cache. They were only offered in speeds of 400 and 450, however. The interesting part about these chips is that they still use the Socket 7 motherboards, but the L2 cache on the motherboard is used as a L3 (level 3) cache, since there is L2 cache on the chip itself. The K6-3 were manufactured using a .25 micron technology. They work on any motherboard that supports their voltage, which is 2.3-2.5 volts, and the BIOS has to recognize K6-3.
One last thing to note about the K6 family of processors is that they introduced 3dNow! technology, which is a set of instructions built into the processor that enhance 3D performance, and offered improved performance in 3D applications.
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- Classic Athlon
AMD later released the K7, or Athlon processor. This was a major leap for them. AMD ditched the Socket 7 interface in favor of a new interface that they dubbed "Slot A". The Slot A FSB runs at 200mhz. They also have a 512k L2 cache. Older AMD Slot A processors have external cache usually running anywhere from .33 of the processor speed to .4 of the processor speed. They also released Thunderbird Slot A processors which had on-die cache on in their core. The Slot A Athlon is/was available in speeds from 500mhz up to 1000mhz, (1 Ghz). Athlon uses Enhanced 3DNow! instructions as opposed to the older 3Dnow! set.
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- Possible hazards of overclocking
Before overclocking you should be aware of the many possible hazards of increasing the clock speed of your CPU or system bus.
- Frying Your Processor
Through overheating or improper jumper placement, there is a danger that you may short out or melt your processor beyond repair.
- Frying Your Motherboard
This component may also be shorted our or partially melted due to overheating or improper jumper placement.
- Frying Expansion Bus / Cards
When you change your system bus speed, your AGP, PCI, and ISA bus speeds also change. This, although extremely rarely, may result in the damage of your expansion cards. This issue will be detailed later.
For more information about overclocking please refer to CPU our overclocking forum on the Helpdesk.
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