Information about Intel processors.
Guide to choose Intel Processors.
Intel processors have taken the lion’s share of the processor market in spite of competing products.
So for building or upgrading your PC, Intel CPU is not only a brand name. It’s a guarantee to find high-performance processors for
your particular requirements.
Intel market a range of processors capable to satisfy the usual factors you may consider before purchasing any
CPU.
Clock
speed
Intel offer different performance level of speed to make easy a range of choice at your convenience. From 1.8 GHz to 3.8 GHz you
can decide how fast the processor can process your data.
Front Side Bus
(FSB)
As another important performance indicator you should be looking at, FSB measured the speed transferred between the CPU and the
RAM memory. It operates as a memory hub or a channel and you can choose Intel processors with a variation of FSB from 400 GHZ to 1066
GHz.
Level-2 Cache or L2
Cache
L2 Cache is a temporary storage area your Intel processors use to store your frequently used data. So you can have a much more
quick access to your data without having recourse to your RAM.
By the way L2 Cache is an area of considerably fast memory. Intel CPU gives access to your PC at different L2 Cache capacity with
a range from 128 KB up to 2 MB. So the larger of the capacity of the L2 Cache, the better performance you get.
The Core
name
Intel uses core name to identify the purposes of each family, compare each and to
facilitate your choice. By example if you want to purchase a Pentium 4 many versions are available in terms of specifications such as Willamette,
Northwood or Prescott.
Of the more interest nowadays is the Pentium 4 and you’ll find it in different core names such as Willamette, Northwood, Prescott,
Gallatin or Smithfield.
The Socket
number
The sockets are providing by the motherboards which enable you to connect the CPU to the system. So when you see these Intel
processors sockets number such as 478, 423, 475…you automatically know what mainboard is able to attach it.
Just to give you an idea of what is available on the market, here is a table of some Intel processors. This table is by no means
exhaustive and it exist different versions and many variations you might evaluate.
|
Intel processors
characteristics
|
Socket
|
Core
|
Clock Speed
|
Front-Speed
Bus
|
L2 Cache
|
|
Celeron
|
478
|
Northwood
|
2.1 to 2.2 GHz
|
400 MHz
|
128 KB
|
|
Celeron
|
478
|
Prescott
|
2.4 to 2.8 GHz
|
533 MHz
|
256 KB
|
|
Celeron
|
478
|
Willamette
|
1.8 GHz
|
400 MHz
|
128 KB
|
|
Celeron
|
478
|
Prescott
|
2.9 to 3.2 GHz
|
533MHz
|
256
|
|
Pentium 4
|
423
|
Willamette
|
1.4 to 1.5 GHz
|
400 MHz
|
256 KB
|
|
Pentium 4
|
478
|
Willamette
|
1.5 to 2.0 GHz
|
400 MHz
|
256 KB
|
|
Pentium 4
|
478
|
Northwood
|
1.6 to 2.2 GHz
|
400 MHz
|
512 KB
|
|
Pentium 4
|
478
|
Northwood
|
2.6 to 2.8 GHz
|
800 MHz
|
512 KB
|
|
Pentium 4
|
478
|
Northwood
|
3.4 GHz
|
800 MHz
|
512 KB
|
|
Pentium 4
|
478
|
Gallatin
|
3.4 GHz
|
800 MHz
|
512 KB
|
|
Pentium 4
|
775
|
Smithfield
|
2.8 to 3.8 GHz
|
800 MHz
|
1 MB
|
|
Pentium 4
|
775
|
Prescott
|
3.8 to 3.8 GHz
|
1066 MHz
|
2 MB
|
Now you are in a much better
situation to compare each model and to make a good choice. However there are other factors you ought to consider as well. Some of the Intel
processors models are simple while others come with features and enhancements.
If you are so curious or are looking for much better technology, you can find much more details on the Intel processor
identification page.
|