Barton's Here: Athlon XP 3000+ vs. P4 3.06 GHz
Say No To Thermal Death
About a year and a half ago, THG's article, Hot Spot: How Modern Processors Cope With Heat Emergencies , kicked up quite a furor in the industry. A first for us, the test was accompanied by a video for downloading. It showed the violent reaction of an AMD Athlon with a Palomino core - and a thermal diode - when the CPU cooler failed during ongoing operations.
AMD found itself in the hot seat, while the THG crew met with engineers from the manufacturers (AMD and Siemens) numerous times. A few weeks later, AMD presented a circuit logic that abruptly shuts off the power supply once the die temperature exceeds some 85 degrees Celsius.
For protection to be perfect, the CPU temperature measured by the thermal diode is checked in very short intervals to ensure that the power supply is cut off fast enough. Now all motherboard manufacturers have a new AMD Thermal Guide.
With hotter CPUs, and more components draining bigger power supplies, you just have to say no to thermal death, and make it a priority to keep your system cool, overclock freak or everyday power user.
| Manufacturer | AMD | AMD | AMD | AMD | AMD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | Athlon XPw/Barton Core | Athlon XPw/Thoroughbred "B" Core | Athlon XPw/Thoroughbred Core "A" Core | Athlon XPw/Palomino Core | Athlonw/Thunderbird Core |
| Introduction | March 10, 2003 | Q3, 2002 | Q2, 2002 | Q4, 1999 | Q4, 1999 |
| Clock Frequencies | 2.16 - 2.xx GHz | 1.86 - 2.66 GHz | 1.46 - 1.80 GHz | 1.2 - 1.80 GHz | 0.65 - 1.40 GHz |
| Manufacturing Process | 0.13 µm | 0.13 µm | 0.13 µm | 0.18 µm | 0.18 µm |
| Die size | 101 mm² | 84 mm² | 80 mm² | 128 mm² | 128 mm² |
| Number of Gates | 54.3 Million | 37.5 Million | 37.5 Million | 37.5 Million | 37.5 Million |
| Platform | Socket 462 | Socket 462 | Socket 462 | Socket 462 | Socket 462 |
| CPU Bus Clock (Front Side Bus) | 166 MHz/ 333 MHz DDR | 133/166 MHz266/333 MHz DDR | 133 MHz/ 266 MHz DDR | 133 MHz/ 266 MHz DDR | 100/133 MHz266 MHz DDR |
| L1 Execution Cache Size | 64 kB | 64 kB | 64 kB | 64 kB | 64 kB |
| Execution Pre Decode? | no | no | no | no | no |
| L1 Data Cache Size | 64 kB | 64 kB | 64 kB | 64 kB | 64 kB |
| Hardware Data Prefetch | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| L1 Cache Clock | core clock | core clock | core clock | core clock | core clock |
| L1 Data Cache Bus Width | 64 bit | 64 bit | 64 bit | 64 bit | 64 bit |
| L2 Cache Size | 512 kB | 256 kB | 256 kB | 256 kB | 256 kB |
| L2 Cache Clock | core clock | core clock | core clock | core clock | core clock |
| L2 Cache Addressable Range | 64 GB | 64 GB | 64 GB | 64 GB | 64 GB |
| Processor Data Bus Width | 64 bit | 64 bit | 64 bit | 64 bit | 64 bit |
| Chipsets | VIA KT333 to KT400 | VIA KT333 to KT400 | VIA KT133A to KT400 | VIA KT133 to KT400 | VIA KT133 to KT400 |
| SiS 735 and SiS 745 | SiS 735 and SiS 745 | SiS 735 and SiS 745 | SiS 735 and SiS 745 | SiS 735 and SiS 745 | |
| Row 20 - Cell 0 | Row 20 - Cell 1 | ALi Magik 1 | ALi Magik 1 | ALi Magik 1 | |
| Nvidia nForce, nForce 2 | Nvidia nForce, nForce 2 | Nvidia nForce, nForce 2 | Nvidia nForce, nForce 2 | Nvidia nForce, nForce 2 | |
| AMD 750 and 760 | AMD 750 and 760 | AMD 750 and 760 | AMD 750 and 760 | AMD 750 and 760 | |
| Memory Support | |||||
| Type of Memory | DDR-SDRAM | SDRAM, DDR-SDRAM | SDRAM, DDR-SDRAM | SDRAM, DDR-SDRAM | SDRAM, DDR-SDRAM |
| Memory Clock | 133/ 166/ 200 MHz | 100/ 133/ 166/ 200 MHz | 100/ 133/ 166/ 200 MHz | 100/ 133/ 166 MHz | 100/ 133/ 166 MHz |
| Instruction Extensions | |||||
| MMX | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Enhanced 3DNow! | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| 3DNow! Professional | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| SSE | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| SSE2 | no | no | no | no | no |
| Electrical Specifications | |||||
| SMP-Support | no ('not officially endorsed or supported') | no ('not officially endorsed or supported') | no ('not officially endorsed or supported') | no ('not officially endorsed or supported') | no ('not officially endorsed or supported') |
| Core Voltage | 1.65 Volt | 1.65 Volt | 1.65 Volt | 1.75 Volt | 1.75 Volt |
| Thermal Protection (Thermal Diode) | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Integrated Thermal Protection Logic | no, requires logic on motherboard | no, requires logic on motherboard | no, requires logic on motherboard | no, requires logic on motherboard | no, requires logic on motherboard |
Stay On the Cutting Edge: Get the Tom's Hardware Newsletter
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Current page: Say No To Thermal Death
Prev Page The Test Board: Up Close & Personal Next Page Test Setup And Details