Introduction

To kick off 2002 Intel has introduced the fastest processor on earth in terms of frequency, the Pentium 4 2.2 GHz. Every tech geek was waiting for Intel to release the long awaited “NorthWood” based Pentium 4 CPUs since it adds some welcomed enhancements to the P4 architecture as we will see in this review. A few months after reaching 2 GHz Intel breaks the speed barrier, thus setting the bar higher. The Pentium 4 2.2 GHz comes with exciting new enhancements like the 0.13µ engraving process and 512 KB of L2 cache memory that provide an unprecedented level of performance for day to day computing. Coinciding with the launch of the NorthWood CPUs is the massive availability of the i845 B0 stepping chipset which supports DDR memory: motherboards built around this new chipset are already leaders since the i845 B0 features the best price/performance ratio.  

2002 will definitely be Pentium 4’s year! With the i845, i845 B0 and i850 chipsets, Intel has got every card in hand to impose the Pentium 4 as the unavoidable reference computing platform to cover every need. This review is one of the most complete to date, with benchmarks comparing the performance of almost every Intel platform from the Celeron to the Tualatin 1.2 GHz and the Pentium 4 2.2 GHz using i845 (SDR), i845B0 (DDR),and i850 (Rambus) based motherboards.

Features

• Based upon Intel's leading 0.13 micron manufacturing process technology
• Intel NetBurst Micro Architecture which represents a real technological breakthrough with a total bandwidth of 3.2 GB/s clocked at 400 MHz for an average 3X speed improvement over current CPU architectures
• New SSE2 enhanced instructions perfect for a new class of applications with more than 144 second-generation Streaming SIMD (Single Instruction, Multiple Data) instructions
• Rapid Execution Engine with two ALUs (Arithmetic Logic Units) clocked at twice the core processor frequency delivering a data transfer rate of 48 GB/s
• Execution Trace Cache that stored decoded micro-ops in the order of program execution for increased performance,
• Advanced Transfer Cache: The Level 2 Advanced Transfer Cache (ATC) is 512 KB in size and delivers a higher data throughput channel between the Level 2 cache and the processor core
• An Advanced Dynamic Execution engine that is an out-of-order speculative execution engine that keeps the execution units executing instructions
• Enhanced floating point/multimedia
• Intel MMX compatible
• Revamped Pipeline now named Hyper-Pipelined Technology allowing more stages, faster processor execution times, and more instructions in the CPU core than ever before.

Benefits

• Enhance your broadband experience: As service providers continue to offer faster Internet connections, your processor will not only have to work harder, but smarter. With up to 2.00 GHz of raw power, the Pentium® 4 processor combined with broadband gives you incredible online performance. Plus, the Pentium 4 processor gives you the power you need to handle emerging Web technologies.

• Realistic Digital Imaging: Turn your personal computer into a video-editing studio with the Pentium® 4 processor. With its innovative Intel® NetBurst™ micro- architecture, the Pentium 4 processor has the power to smoothly run intensive multiple graphics programs simultaneously, and allows you to put the finishing touches on your digital video, 3D animation and digital photography with professional quality effects.

• Intense online gaming: The Pentium® 4 processor takes PC gaming to an amazing new level with its boost in performance and capability. Higher polygon counts and an improved floating point technology intensify 3D environments and creates lifelike movement. Sound quality is also greatly increased due to the redesigned Streaming SIMD Extensions 2.

• Advanced audio & video online: Every Pentium® 4 processor has features that enable accelerated video, speech and image processing. Talk to your fellow gamer in Russia. Speak for hours with distant relatives online. Capture the power of sight and sound with the Pentium 4 processor.

• Increase personal productivity: The Pentium® 4 processor allows you to run several complex multimedia applications simultaneously without interruption or decreased performance. This is due in part to our new set of multimedia instructions and improved floating point unit. You'll see significant improvements in the speed of this processor and the amount of work you can do at one time.