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Intel's Pentium 4 3.4GHz Extreme Edition & Pentium 4 560 June 22, 2004 Chris Crazipper Angelini |
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Summary: Over the weekend Intel launched a slew of new products: a handful of new processors all based on a new 775-pin interface, and two new chipset families (915 and 925), that support PCI Express, DDR2 memory, enhanced RAID and SATA storage, and a new 7-channel audio standard. In today's article Chris gives the low down on all these new technologies, and evaluates the performance of Intel's newest processors and the 925X platform. See what's changed and how it will affect the PC industry by reading this article!
 Introduction | Page:: ( 1 / 13 ) |
Undaunted, Intel completed development of its 90nm lithography process and unveiled the 3.2GHz Prescott core early in February. It didn’t do well, but promises of even higher clock frequencies and excellent scaling characteristics kept us anticipating better benchmark results in future iterations of the architecture.
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Now, after months of waiting for Alderwood and Grantsdale, the two chipsets expected to enable PCI Express connectivity, Intel is introducing its latest platforms, complementary processors, and a slew of new technologies that augment a number of important subsystems.
Intel 925X
The principle component of the new 925X chipset is Intel’s 82925X memory controller hub, which facilitates communication between processor, system memory, graphics, and peripheral subsystems. At least for now, the 925X still supports an 800MHz front-side bus and corresponding Pentium 4 processors. Purportedly, 1,066MHz bus speeds will emerge later this year.
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Most notably, the 925X features a 16-lane PCI Express interface for graphics, offering up to 8GB per second, full-duplex of bandwidth. PCI Express isn’t backwards-compatible with AGP, so in moving to the 925X platform, Intel is necessitating compliant graphics hardware. If you remember back to when AGP first debuted, it didn’t make any groundbreaking advances with regard to performance, but the interface’s gradual evolution improved dedicated bandwidth to graphics controllers. Similarly, PCI Express shouldn’t be expected to immediately enhance gaming. It will make its mark architecturally, though, and to accelerate the process, Intel has removed AGP support from its 925X chipset.
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| More 925X: DDR2 and the new ICH | Page:: ( 2 / 13 ) |
DDR2 Memory
The second important development is DDR2 memory support, exclusive in the case of Intel’s 925X. Motherboards based on either of the two 915 chipsets may support either conventional DDR or the new DDR2 modules.
What are the benefits of a new memory standard, you ask, especially if the front-side bus speed remains unchanged? That’s a good question, and to be frank, DDR2, even at 533MHz with 4.3GB per second of bandwidth, won’t make a perceptible difference in most applications. The most likely beneficiary at this point would probably be the integrated graphics core included with Intel’s 915G chipset.
DDR2 employs on-die termination, lower operating voltages, and a different signaling scheme in its endeavor to achieve better performance. As a result, it runs at faster frequencies – 533 and 400MHz today, hitting 667 and 800MHz in the future.
Unfortunately, a couple of caveats accompany the clock speed improvements associated with DDR2. The first is higher latencies – our 533MHz modules are rated at CAS4, an obvious detriment to usable throughput. Moreover, they are not backwards compatible with the standard 184-pin DDR slot, again necessitating a hardware purchase.
Intel is making special concessions to improve memory performance on the 925X. Although the actual implementation is somewhat obscure (Intel’s 925X presentation cites minimized latencies through memory access optimizations and maintenance commands), we’re looking at an equivalent to the PAT (performance acceleration technology) used on the familiar 875P chipset. Purportedly, Intel also learned a lesson from the motherboard manufacturers that used PAT on their 865 boards, and has taken steps to make sure 915P boards don’t emerge with the memory optimization technology.
ICH6
Amidst VIA’s V-Link, SiS’ MuTIOL, and NVIDIA’s single-chip nForce3, Intel’s 266MB per second hub interconnect was looking fairly outmoded, especially as fresh south bridge technologies gobble up additional bandwidth. Intel is finally responding with its DMI interface, which boasts 2GB per second, full duplex, to satiate the technologies introduced with its latest ICH6.
| More ICH6 and LGA 775 | Page:: ( 3 / 13 ) |
The first is of particular interest to budding audio enthusiasts, or anyone else with an affinity for high-definition sound. Traditionally, onboard audio is regarded indifferently; it doesn’t sound good or bad, and it often doesn’t support recognized standards. Intel’s High Definition Audio is different, though. It facilitates up to eight channels of surround sound, each sampled at 192kHz with 24-bit precision. And although it doesn’t include Dolby Digital encoding, like NVIDIA’s lauded SoundStorm APU, High Definition Audio is robust enough to support Dolby Digital EX, DTS, and the THX specifications, given the necessary decoding software.
Another integrated feature, which hasn’t received much attention for some reason, is the inclusion of wireless networking support in the ICH6-W and ICH6-RW south bridges (there are a total of four implementations of the ICH6). Not only does the wireless feature enable client support, but it also enables access point functionality and compliance with the 802.11b and g specifications, with a top speed of 54Mbps. Unfortunately, according to Daniel Snyder, Intel’s PR manager, there are three components necessary to expose the feature, including a compliant chipset, software, and a PCI add-in board. The add-in card is currently in development, and should emerge in the last half of 2004.
The ICH6 also emphasizes storage, apparent in the chip’s expanded Serial ATA support. Offering four channels (and only one parallel ATA interface), Intel is almost requiring the adoption of Serial ATA hard drives, simultaneously encouraging the transition for optical drives with ATAPI support. ICH6-R and ICH6-RW feature RAID 0 striping and RAID 1 mirroring support, too. A software adaptation, which Intel calls its Matrix RAID technology, allows for both types of RAID across two drives.
In augmenting its Serial ATA support, Intel also made a couple of improvements to the technology in the form of hot plugging support and native command queuing, which employs hard drives with similar support to attain better throughput by scheduling instructions for more efficient execution.
LGA775
Intel’s press release claims that LGA775, the socket interface accompanying its 925X core logic, provides headroom for future technologies and improves the motherboard’s electrical characteristics. It’s roughly the same size as the Socket 478 interface that it replaces, but pin density is obviously significantly higher. However, there aren’t actually any pins on the LGA775 processor. Rather, the chips themselves sport contact points, which touch pins on the motherboards themselves. A retention clamp secures the junction, simultaneously ensuring electrical integrity and relaxing the pressure applied by cooling devices.
| More LGA775, Pricing, and Power | Page:: ( 4 / 13 ) |
More LGA775
Reportedly, the pins on LGA775 motherboards are particularly fragile. The mechanism feels quite hardy, though, so long as you don’t apply undue tension to it. Granted, I wasn’t about to test the connection to its breaking point, but after several insertions and removals, none of the board’s pins were bent or broken.
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Because the cooling solution no longer needs to secure the processor, Intel devised a much simpler way of attaching it. In fact, the reference heatsink can be installed without any tools at all; it simply plugs in at each of four holes around the LGA775 interface. It needs to dissipate about 115W of power (indeed, more than that for future Pentium 4 processors), and is consequentially larger.
Pricing
In addition to the 925X core logic, Intel is exploiting the occasion to debut its new Pentium 4 model system. There are currently six LGA775 processors; the 3.4GHz Pentium 4 Extreme Edition ($999) retains its name, while the other five “Prescott” chips bear monikers within the new 5-series. A new 3.6GHz chip ($637) is known as the Intel Pentium 4 560, the 3.4GHz ($417) is renamed the 550, a 3.2GHz ($278) is being offered under the 540 name, and so on, down to 2.8GHz ($178) Pentium 4 520.
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Keep in mind also that you’ll need DDR2 memory and a new graphics card if you opt for a 925X motherboard. More likely than not, a new power supply will be necessary, and if you haven’t yet adopted Serial ATA, a new hard drive as well.
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Power
Though others have expressed some success in using new 925X motherboards with conventional power supplies, Intel’s 925XCV reference board includes a 24-pin ATX header, along with the standard four-pin auxiliary connector for delivering power. Further, high-end PCI Express graphics cards (ATI X800 XT and NVIDIA’s 6-series) will require a new six-pin connector to supplement power drawn from the PCI Express slot. A majority of board vendors will undoubtedly include an adapter to convert two of the familiar four-pin connectors into a single six-pin plug, but given the Pentium 4’s increasing power requirements, the draw of modern graphics cards, and say, a RAID array, it’d be wise to upgrade anyway.
| System Setup | Page:: ( 5 / 13 ) |
System Setup
Intel Pentium 4 3.4GHz Extreme Edition (800MHz bus, LGA775)
Intel Pentium 4 3.6GHz (90nm, LGA775)
AMD Athlon 64 FX-53 (939)
AMD Athlon 64 3800+ (939)
Intel 925XCV 925X Motherboard
MSI 6702E Socket 939 K8T800 Pro Motherboard
1GB Micron 4-4-4 PC4300 DDR2 Memory (2x512MB)
1GB Corsair 2-3-2-6 PC3200 DDR Memory (2x512MB)
ATI RADEON X800 XT Platinum Edition 256MB AGP
ATI RADEON X800 XT 256MB PCI Express
CATALYST 4.6
250GB Maxtor MaXLine III RAID 0 Array (16MB cache)
Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 1
DirectX 9.0b
Desktop resolution 1024x768, 32-bit color, 85Hz refresh
Evaluating gaming performance is hard enough, all variables being equal. Some tests aren’t consistent, while others can be skewed through software optimizations. When you start adding different hardware components, things really get tricky. For the purpose of this piece, the difference between DDR2 and DDR memory is applicable, as is PCI Express versus AGP. The performance variability between Intel’s Pentium 4 and AMD’s Athlon 64 is also relevant.
Variation attributable to different hard drives is not permissible, however, nor is a difference in video cards. We addressed this by testing with ATI’s X800 XT PCI Express and the X800 XT Platinum Edition. The former operates at 500/500MHz, while the latter was down-clocked to 500/500MHz using a beta copy of Powerstrip. Thus, the difference between Intel and AMD platforms is entirely due to the performance characteristics of DDR2 memory, core logic, the latest processors, and whatever limited variation introduced by PCI Express graphics.
Note that both ATI and NVIDIA had PCI Express graphics cards on hand for evaluation, NVIDIA with its GeForce 6800 GT and ATI with X600 XT and X800 XT boards. Due to unavailability of the 6800 GT in AGP trim, we were precluded from testing with that card. Note also that ATI’s X600 XT does not require the six-pin power plug needed on the higher-end cards.
Benchmarks
PC Magazine Business Winstone 2004
PC Magazine Content Creation Winstone 2004
SiSoft Sandra 2004
Novalogic Comanche 4
Square Enix Final Fantasy XI Benchmark 2
Epic Unreal Tournament 2004
id Software Quake III v.1.32
Crytek Far Cry 1.1
| PC Magazine Benchmarks | Page:: ( 6 / 13 ) |
Content Creation Winstone 2004 and Business Winstone 2004
Notes
Content Creation Winstone 2004 demonstrates the Athlon 64 FX-53 and Athlon 64 3800 performing similarly. Both, incidentally, outperform even the new LGA775 3.4GHz Extreme Edition by a sizeable percentage. The new 3.6GHz Pentium 4 560 trails AMD’s Athlon 64 FX-53 by about 13 percentage points, while the Athlon 64 3800+ leads the Extreme Edition by nearly nine percent.
| SiSoft Sandra 2004 | Page:: ( 7 / 13 ) |
SiSoft Sandra 2004
Notes
Intel dominates the arithmetic and multimedia components of SiSoft Sandra 2004. The tides turn somewhat in the memory bandwidth test, but in all fairness, DDR2 improves the Pentium 4’s score in relation to past reviews.
| Comanche 4 | Page:: ( 8 / 13 ) |
Novalogic Comanche 4 Demo
Notes
We’re doing something a little different today – rather than run exclusively low-resolution tests, we wanted to mix in a more realistic gaming resolution. At 800x600, it’s easy to see the profound impact of processor performance. Comanche 4 is notorious for demonstrating particular sensitivity to CPUs, and it does so once again here. AMD’s S939 Athlon 64 FX-53 bags another win, followed by the Pentium 4 Extreme Edition, and then the Athlon 64 3800+. For some reason or another, the LGA775 Pentium 4 560 performs dismally compared to the others (and in multiple runs of the test).
At 1600x1200 the difference is less pronounced between the Extreme Edition and AMD’s Athlon 64 FX competitors. Meanwhile, the Pentium 4 560 continues lagging behind.
| Unreal Tournament 2004 | Page:: ( 9 / 13 ) |
Epic Unreal Tournament 2004
Notes
At 800x600, the Athlon 64 FX-53 shows its alacrity in gaming environments, besting both Intel processors. The Athlon 64 3800+ does as well, though the Pentium 4 Extreme Edition isn’t far behind. Once again, the 3.6GHz chip doesn’t do well at all, trailing the Athlon 64 3800+ by an incredible 30 percent.
Things even out to some degree at 1600x1200, though the Athlon 64 family still dominates the benchmark. The difference between the Athlon 64 3800+ and Intel’s Pentium 4 560 shrinks to 15 percent.
| Final Fantasy XI | Page:: ( 10 / 13 ) |
Square Enix Final Fantasy XI Benchmark 2
Notes
The Final Fantasy test runs in a preset time frame, outputting the number of frames successfully rendered. Once again, the Athlon 64 processors dominate.
| Quake III | Page:: ( 11 / 13 ) |
id Software Quake III v.1.32 demo ‘four’
Notes
The 3.4GHz Pentium 4 recovers in Quake III, beating both variants of the Athlon 64, by about three percent in the case of the Athlon 64 FX-53. At 1600x1200, the Pentium 4 is still on top, though the difference at 350+ frames per second is purely statistical.
| Far Cry | Page:: ( 12 / 13 ) |
Crytek Far Cry v.1.1
Notes
As with many of the other tests, Far Cry favors the Athlon 64 at low resolutions, but by 1600x1200 is sufficiently taxed by graphics limitations as to not demonstrate significant variation in processing capabilities. This is the trend we’d most expect to see as modern games emerge, as opposed to Comanche 4, which really didn’t bode well for the 90nm Pentium 4 family, in particular.
| Final Words | Page:: ( 13 / 13 ) |
Performance, at least at first glance, isn’t overwhelmingly compelling in a gaming environment. The Pentium 4 is known to do particularly well in applications that make prodigious use of the software optimizations encouraged by Intel, including media encoding and editing programs. However, games seemingly prefer the Athlon 64. Then again, the most glaring differences are apparent at low resolutions. As we’ve said before, as games stretch into higher resolutions, and especially with extra graphical goodies enabled, they apply more pressure to graphics controllers, equalizing processor performance somewhat.
The initial pricing figures cited by Intel’s press release are fairly close to what we’d expect given the asking price of AMD’s latest releases, with the exception of the 3.4GHz Extreme Edition. Anyone with $1,000 for a processor would be better off looking at AMD’s Athlon 64 FX-53, which isn’t affordable by any means, but more so than Intel’s flagship offering. The 3.6GHz Pentium 4 560, at $637, is less expensive than the Athlon 64 3800+. For some reason it doesn’t do well in a number of games, though. And unfortunately, there won’t be any 130nm Pentium 4 processors based on the Northwood core to give the LGA775 interface a little more prowess in the gaming scene.
Availability is a bit of a sore subject for Intel, believe it or not. At one point, AMD was the one taking the gaff for “paper launching” processors and delivering them months later. And although Intel will insist that 90nm Pentium 4 processors were available to OEMs and system integrators from day one, they were essentially unavailable to the do-it-yourself market for months afterward. Proliferation of 925X will be an ongoing process too, it seems. An Intel representative claimed that the hardware will be available initially, with most allocation going to the OEM crowd. However, he also commented that availability will be better than the first 90nm launch. We’ll be keeping an eye on the online resellers, just to be sure.
In all fairness, Intel isn’t the only one responsible for making the 925X platform viable. DDR2 memory, while available, bears a hefty price premium for the rather limited benefit it delivers. PCI Express graphics cards should also be fairly limited in nature. While ATI claims to have thousands of boards sampling to the entire industry, allocation will be going first to integrators and later to the do-it-yourself market, which is currently non-existent anyway. NVIDIA’s plan of action remains to be seen; we’ll probably be seeing last-generation GPUs offered in PCI Express trim before 6-series cards are offered.
First impressions are important, but they aren’t everything. While we’re a bit underwhelmed with picture Intel’s 925X paints for us today (especially considering all of the hardware you need to get there), there is a method to the madness. As the Pentium 4 gains momentum, building on the electrical characteristics of the LGA775 interface, the platform’s true purpose will hopefully be realized. Further, the evolution of DDR2 should improve performance. And as we approach the end of 2004, expect to see the prevalence of AGP to fade, limiting your upgrade choice to PCI Express exclusively in the years to come. Intel’s Matrix RAID technology is certainly useful, especially with a hard drive capable of Native Command Queuing, and the introduction of high-definition audio is certainly impressive. Once Intel exposes the ICH6-W’s wireless capabilities, the chipset’s utility will increase accordingly.
SIDEBAR: Performance aside, what do you think of the new 925X chipset and its accompanying LGA775 processors? Let us know!