RADIFIED
Guide to the
Intel Northwood Pentium 4 CPU

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In case you dropped in from an external link, this page is continued from Page 2 of the Radified [Guide for the Intel Northwood Pentium 4 CPU].

Intel is planning to raise the FSB (Front Side Bus) to 533MHz (quad-pumped 133). The scheduled release date for FSB-533 chipsets is (reportedly) set for May 6th (this date keeps getting pushed back), at which time Rambus modules will run at 1066MHz (referred to as PC1066 .. does your head hurt yet?) Notice that there is still a factor of *2* between FSB clock-rate and the speed/frequency of RDRAM modules.

People who are serious about performance seem more excited about the prospect of 533-FSB than the (overclockability of the) Northwood CPU itself. If you can hold off until May, the performance available at that time should make the wait worthwhile, altho many people are overclocking and running at these speeds now.

Xbit posted info into three mobos that will support 533-FSB . based on the 850E, 845E and the SIS 645DX. Notice that the RDRAM-supporting board only offers *two* RIMM slots. I would rather have four. Prices of CPUs designed to run at 533-FSB are posted here (Xbit). I will likely get a chip labeled for 400-FSB and run it at 533 (overclock). I can see my next system already...

I also read that latency of PC1066 modules will be cut by 30% (lower is better/faster), making it roughly the same as DDR RAM .. which would be yet another reason to wait for 533-FSB. After the recent price increases of DDR RAM, latency (a measure of 'delay') is the only remaining performance advantage that DDR RAM holds over RDRAM.

Rambus is demonstrating 1200MHz RDRAM module on 23jan2002. Yahoo posted info here about the event. Note that a real-life demonstration is far more impressive than mere theory presented on paper ('vaporware'). Other incentives to wait until Spring would be:

  • i850E chipset
  • i845E chipset (Brookdale)
  • 8X AGP
  • USB 2.0
  • ATA/133
Many enthusiasts feel that the chipset is the single most important system component, cuz it determines (limits) which components you can (and can't) use. The chipset determines which CPU you can use .. not the other way around.

Most PC manufacturers tend to classify (primarily) their systems by the CPU it contains. This practice is misleading, if you agree that the CPU is not the system's single most important component. Choosing your chipset first, before you select a CPU, if often a wise strategy.

For this reason, I'm considering waiting until spring, even tho the Northwood will be here January. But you can also end up waiting forever. I heard that Intel will designate CPUs designed for the 533MHz FSB by replacing the letter 'A' with the letter 'B'.

Don't expect Intel to be very talkative about (marketing) the move to a 533MHz bus speed, as this would give people a reason *not* to purchase the original-release Northwood P4 (based on 400MHz FSB), and wait for spring.

Word on the street is that Intel will release two new CPUs (2.26 and 2.4GHz) in the mid-April to end-of-May time frame that will be the first designed to run on the new 533-FSB chipsets.
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I'm reluctant to address the volatile Intel vs AMD issue, but after receiving lots of mail asking questions like, "What's wrong with AMD?" I'll briefly present my views.

There's nothing wrong with AMD CPUs, especially for the average user. I'm all for AMD. I even recently purchased some of their stock (I'm sad to say). The competition helps keep Intel honest, and I readily admit that AMD chips provide better value than Intel's. But value is not my #1 consideration.

I found that, when you try to cram a lot different hardware and software into a system, the potential for compatibility glitches grows proportionately with the installation of each additional component & application.

Personally, I'm far more interested in stability .. than saving a hundred bucks. The headaches aren't worth it (for me).

Without engaging a debate about merits of relative platform stability, I'll simply reference a recent article posted at Tom's Hardware (dated 31oct2001). The article is titled AMD vs Intel. It begins here.

I call your attention to the Conclusion, posted here. Three paragraphs from the end, it says this <copy-n-paste>:

Another factor is the stability and product quality of a system: while all Athlon processors suffered from occasional instability in our tests, the Pentium 4 platform ran without a glitch.

Reasons for this behavior might not lie in the processor itself, but rather in the motherboard design and the chipset used. Future driver updates might not just improve performance but also stability of a platform. </paste>.

While you're there at Tom's, you might as well mosey on up two paragraphs and read where he says <copy-n-paste>:

But one thing should be made clear here - since Intel introduced its 0.13-micron processor, the Northwood Pentium 4, it can turn the MHz dial up higher than AMD can.

High clock speeds are a real burr under AMD's saddle, as has been shown by the developments of the past several months. While Intel has already cleared the 2000 MHz hurdle, AMD has barely scraped over the 1533 MHz one from 1400 MHz. </paste>

If these comments come from a guy who's known to be pro-AMD, what might that tell you about relative platform stability?


Update 04nov2001: I should've known that I'd get a mailbox full of responses to my comments regarding AMD vs Intel. (This is why I was reluctant to address the issue.) For example, one reader writes to say <copy-n-paste>:

This quote: "High clock speeds are a real burr under AMD's saddle, as has been shown by the developments of the past several months. While Intel has already cleared the 2000 MHz hurdle, AMD has barely scraped over the 1533 MHz one from 1400 MHz." .. is of dubious value, because MHz is not everything.

CPU power depends on both MHz *and* instructions-per-cycle, and a few other things. Apple refers to this as the Megahertz Myth. </paste>

This reader references an article posted here, titled Pentium 4: In Depth. I skimmed thru it, but it's too long & too technical for me to read in its entirety. It's blatantly pro-AMD & anti-P4. Here's a quote from the second paragraph:

"Despite a huge pavilion at COMDEX Las Vegas in November 2000 to launch the product, countless annoying blue guy commercials on television, and system prices that launched in the $3500 to $4000 price range, the Pentium 4 has failed miserably to to outperform existing Pentium III and AMD Athlon system."

Articles like this are not surprising, since there is obviously much at $take. <sarcasm> The subtle way in which the author uses the words annoying & miserably </sarcasm> tells me that he is not even trying to appear unbiased.

Note that this article addresses the original Pentium 4, and not the Northwood. Note also that the quote referenced comes from Tom, not me. Finally, note that I never claimed that AMD CPUs represent a poor purchase decision (they don't, especially for the average user).

I agree that the current .18-micron incarnation of the P4 has its shortcomings, especially compared to the bang-for-your-back of Athlon-based system. I merely said that P4-based systems appear to offer superior stability, and that stability is my prime consideration.

Update 27jul2002 - Nathan Pollak writes to say:

Rad, I read the article at emulators, and the author is clearly promoting the P4 with the release of the newest chips. See May 6 2002, ROUND 4. He provided a fair critique of what both Intel and AMD have/have_not done in the past two years. Just thought you might want to update your page to reflect this. PS - Nice site.

If a particular system has problems, it doesn't matter what kind of deal I may've gotten on it, or how well it performs. Again, I have no qualms about paying extra for a system if it buys me stability. (I speak for no one but myself.)


It's not like I haven't been frustrated with many of Intel's decisions. Their product roadmap has left me scratching my head on numerous occasions, making it downright difficult to purchase their products .. even when I *wanted* to!

Ideal configurations appear once in a blue moon. The last time the MHz planets were in alignment was when the P3-700 (cB0 stepping) & Asus CUSL2 arrived on the hardware scene. Hopefully the Northwood Pentium 4 will again find the MHz planets aligned. My fingers are crossed.

The next die-size drop will be to .09-micron (90 nanometers), but those chips won't aren't scheduled to until early 2003.


An article from ZDNet, titled Look P4 you leap, posted here says:

"As soon as Northwood shows up .. its small design architecture an larger cache will obsolete the Willamette chips faster than Malathion kills mosquitoes.

The future is a Northwood Pentium 4 with DDR SDRAM and that's where you're money is invested wisely for the long run. RDRAM systems, if they still exist after Intel's current contract with Rambus expires, will do better with MPEG content and video .."

Benchmarks for the Northwood P4 are posted here (GamePC). I like that they used off-the-shelf chips, and not hand-picked engineering samples. These chips yield results similar to what we might expect.

EETimes posted an article here claiming that motherboards with Intel's DDR chipset will ship this December, altho the article mentions nothing specific about supporting the Northwood P4.

More Northwood P4 info can be found here (A1 Electronics) & here (InQuest). CPU prices can be compared here (Sharkey's). A P4 FAQ is posted here (Asus).

DigiLife posted a single-page review of the Northwood here. Note that, for comparative purposes, DigiLife overclocked the Williamette, and underclocked the Northwood.

Here's another review from the folks at TargetPC, where they were able to overclock the Northwood to slightly better than 2.5GHz. Anand posted his version here, where he compares more different varieties of CPUs than anyone else.

My favorite Northwood P4 benchmark review is from Kyle over at [H]ard|OCP. He includes an overclocked (2.0GHz) Northwood P4 in the mix, running at 2.5GHz. This is closest to the setup that I'd use for myself. See here.

It's clear from these reviews that the average user is unlikely to notice any real-world difference between these CPUs. That leaves two factors as the deciding criteria from which to base your decisions:

  1. Lowest price -> AMD
  2. Maximum compatibility & stability -> Intel

I'll be watching closely to see how things go with Intel's DDR-enabled chipset, and will keep this page updated with pertinent info. If all goes well, we might have a new motherboard user's guide in a few months.


See Intel's support page for its socket-478 P4 processors for info about CPU packaging, heatsink/fan requirements, chassis/case & power supply requirements, retention mechanism installation, & other topics related to the 478-pin Pentium 4 CPU.

Intel's gives instructions for assembling the P4 heat sink & fan in a 1.7MB PDF file. If you want to know exactly what you receive when you purchase a retail boxed Intel Pentium 4 CPU, see here.

See Intel's official press release for the 2.2GHz Northwood P4 for more info. I find it rather curious that nowhere on the page do you find the word Northwood mentioned. Intel's Pentium 4 home page is posted here.


Before closing, I'd like to say that you'll find no advertising on this site. I therefore have no rea$on to parallax my views. I try to present things as I see them, and provide ample references to support my positions.

I'm interested only in what's best for me. I couldn't care less about what anyone else might prefer to put in their system. This is an admittedly selfish position. Yet ironically, you might feel the same.

My first researched-CPU was the (now legendary) C300a, which offered (at the time) $600 performance (P2-450), when clocked to 464MHz, which they all did quite effortlessly .. yet cost only $125.

I built two systems (one for myself & another for the wife). The money we saved paid for our SCSI sub-systems (SCSI controller & a single 10Krpm SCSI boot drive), which made a huge difference in real-world system performance.

I got a similar bargain with my current CPU (P3-700 @938MHz). So there are good deals available if you do your homework.


I'd also like to mention <shameless plug> a few other Radified guides that you might find helpful. For example:

The Referrals page contains a sample of the sites recommending this & other Radified guides. The Kudos page contains a sample of flattering comments from the Radified mailbox.

The end. Need more info? See here (107-page PDF) or search Google for: [Northwood Pentium]