The only VIA chipset altered for the Tualatin is the Apollo Pro 133A, which the manufacturer now marks with a "T" suffix. It can be clearly distinguished from its predecessors on the VT82C694T Northbridge.

Core Voltage Reduced

Changing the process technology from 0.18 to 0.13 microns not only reduces the surface of the die, it also makes it easier to decrease the Vcore core voltage. While the fastest Coppermine with 1.00 GHz needs 1.75V, the Pentium III-S 1.26 GHz (Tualatin) manages with 1.45V. That is how Intel lowers not only the power consumption but also the heat developing in the chip.

Pentium III - Now With Three Different Cores

While only one Coppermine version was produced for the old Pentium III, Intel approaches the Tualatin in a different way: It is available with a 256 or 512 kB L2 cache. It works at full processor speed with all models.