Intel Pentium 4 660 & Pentium 4 3.73 Extreme Edition Review

Introduction:

Intel has always been known as being a pioneer in the computer industry. From developing new silicon processes to more recently spearheading supporting for PCI Express and DDR2, Intel has traditionally been at the forefront of new and emerging computer technologies. The two most notable times this hasn’t been the case was when AMD beat Intel to release a 1GHz CPU and when AMD introduced the Athlon 64, the world’s first 64-bit desktop CPU. However, as you may have noticed, useful 64-bit programs and even a reliable operating system have been hard to come by since the launch of the Athlon 64 back in 2004. Ever notice how most Athlon 64 processor reviews published in the last year don’t include 64-bit benchmarks? The truth is, the industry and the public as a whole have been reluctant to switch from 32-bit to 64-bit, with most developers waiting on a 64-bit version of Windows XP to officially launch before they put any serious effort into porting or starting to develop in 64-bit.

Like most of the industry, Intel was in no hurry to adopt 64-bit technology. The company did not see a significant demand for it, primarily because there hardly was any software that would take advantage of 64-bit technology on the desktop front. Intel had been waiting for Windows XP 64-bit Professional to finally come out, and with only a couple of month’s until it’s release, today Intel has finally launched it’s own brand of 64-bit ready CPU’s.

This new lineup of CPU’s comes in two flavors, the Pentium 4 600 series, and the Pentium 4 3.73EE. Along with their support for EM64T, Intel’s 64-bit extensions, these new CPU’s also include SpeedStep power saving technology, upgraded security features through Executable Disabled Bit, 2MB of L2 cache. So join us as we take a closer look at the Intel Pentium 4 660 and the Intel Pentium 4 3.73 Extreme Edition.

Roadmap

Intel is gearing up for the launch of their first dual-core
Smithfield processors in the second quarter with three models in place; 2.8,
3.0 and 3.2Ghz. They will be available at US$ 241, US$ 316 and US$ 530 with
model numbers 820, 830 and 840, respectively. The Extreme Edition of
Smithfield will include Hyper-Threading Technology providing the ability to
process four software threads simultaneously and probably a faster 1066Mhz
FSB while the mainstream version of dual core Smithfield will have 800Mhz
FSB but without HT. Two new chipsets, the 955X Express codenamed Glenwood
and 945G/P Express codenamed Lakeport will be available when the new chips
arrive.