Intel Pentium 4 6XX Sequence and 3.73GHz Extreme Edition Processors

Our first tests were targeted at characterizing these new P4 chips in our open-air bench test setup. Again, the Pentium 6XX Sequence processors are EIST or Speedstep capable, but our Pentium 4 Extreme Edition 3.73GHz chip will run flat-out all the time, whether under load or not.  Let's have a look.

Pentium 4 660 and 3.73GHz Extreme Edition Vital Signs SpeedStep - Don't Leave Home Without It

First up is the Pentium 4 660 at 3.6GHz with SpeedStep technology at its disposal.

Pentium 4 660 (3.6GHz) - Speed and Temperature
No load and load testing

As we can see clearly here, SpeedStep is working and working well. While at idle, the P4 660 drops down to a modest 2.8GHz, and our test temps are clocking in at around 42^oC with HSF fan speeds at 1785 RPM; very nice indeed. In our load test setup, we invoked an instance of a Folding At Home Client, which has a good tendency to bring a high-end CPU like this right up to its max stock core temp.  In this scenario the fan speed spooled up a bit to 2163 RPM and the core speed skyrocketed to 72^oC with the CPU core running at its full 3.6GHz clock speed. Again, Folding with 100% available CPU cycles is sort of a worst-case scenario, but regardless, these new P4 chips run significantly hotter than the 1MB cache original Prescott design, which we've noted historically run fully loaded at or around 60-65^oC. So in the final analysis, we're looking at another 5 - 10^oC core temp increase at full clock speed and load.  However, SpeedStep brings a welcome relief with its dynamic core voltage and clock speed throttling capabilities. In any case, if you're a big user of the Folding At Home client, it's probably best to turn down CPU utilization in the application control panel. Otherwise, SpeedStep enabled or not, the P4 6XX sequence family of processors is still going to push a large amount of heat inside your chassis.

Pentium 4 3.73GHz Extreme Edition - Speed and Temperature
No load and load testing

The new Pentium 4 Extreme Edition at 3.73GHz, again with out SpeedStep capability, idles at around 56^oC with stock cooling in our open-air testbed. When loaded up with our Folding client, we see similar high-end temps at 73^oC.  All of these tests above were conducted with a stock Intel heatsink and fan combo and a fresh application of thermal grease. HSF manufacturers will likely be coming up with a few elaborate designs to better cool Intel's HOT new flagship CPUs.

Test System Specifications Top-End CPUs Square Off