The Pentium 4 Northwood
Even though a pure core speed jump is always welcome for performance aficionados, the Pentium 4 Northwood core is a bit more compelling. This new Pentium 4 core represents an Intel victory in being the first to hit the 0.13-micron target with a performance processor. There are other processors using the 0.13-micron die, such as the Pentium III and Celeron CPUs using the Tualatin core, but nothing on the same desktop level as the Pentium 4 Northwood. The equivalent AMD Athlon Thoroughbred core is not yet available, but should be early in 2002.
This transition from the 0.18-micron die of the older Pentium 4 processors to 0.13-micron is important for a number of reasons. First off, this should lower production costs and enhance overall efficiencies. This factor may not translate into lower CPU prices right away, but once production really ramps up and AMD joins Intel at the 0.13-micron summit, there is at least the potential of lower prices for end users.
In terms of overall performance, the smaller die size doesn't really translate into specific advantages, as the Pentium 4 pipeline remains mostly unchanged. This doesn't cover overclocking potential, and that the initial release of a smaller or enhanced Intel core (such as with the Celeron 566 and Pentium III 500/550E) can translate into a whole lot of overclocking headroom. On that same note, the Pentium 4-2.2 and 2.0A processors have a lower 1.5V voltage requirement (from 1.75V or 1.7V), and run a lot cooler as a result.
In addition to this, Intel has made one really significant change to the overall core design. This has been achieved by increasing the Pentium 4's L2 cache from the standard 256K to the 512K found on the newest 0.13-micron Pentium 4 CPUs. This cache doubling technique brings with it some serious performance benefits, especially with truly demanding applications like databases or server duties. The larger L2 cache has an impact with all basic games and applications, but its overall performance benefit is a bit tougher to quantify using just benchmarks.
The two initial Pentium 4 models are quite different both in naming convention and overall positioning. The Pentium 4-2.2 GHz is obviously the next in a long-line of high-end Intel processors, while the Pentium 4-2.0A is more of a repositioned product, possibly designed to give the Athlon XP 2000+ a bit harder time. The Pentium 4 "A" designation is similar to similar product launches like the Celeron 533A or Pentium III 500E variants. What this means is we'll likely be seeing a bit of confusion, as those looking for a Pentium 4-2.0A will have to wade through the older models and be doubly certain before ordering sight unseen. This will likely work its way down the Pentium 4 line, as the Intel sPec webpage also lists 1.6A and 1.8A versions as well.
We first saw the mPGA 478-pin design with the Pentium 4-2.0 GHz, and this is only available CPU format for the Pentium 2.0A and 2.2 GHz. Those with older 423-pin motherboards knew they were on a one way road to obsolescence anyway, but we even had some initial doubts about the 473-pin format sticking around for very long. To say that Intel accelerates the obsolescence of their platforms would be a gross understatement.
For the first time in a long while, these new Intel processors will actually run on existing systems. No longer is "upgrade" a four-letter word where the Pentium 4 is concerned, and this is some of the best news we've heard in a long time. Those with mPGA 478-pin motherboards should easily be able to upgrade to the newer Pentium 4 models, with perhaps only a BIOS update needed for some products. In fact, we tested out three just such motherboards and even though these were released before the Northwood debut, each worked seamlessly with the new 0.13-micron Pentium 4.
