64-bit Pentium 4 "F", 2MB Prescotts and 925XE Updates

A few days ago we reported on dual core LGA775 processors but we held back on some other information until we could get better sources for confirmation. Before we get to the real juice this week, here are a couple tidbits to soak up and put things in perspective.

First, it looks like we are going to see our first 1066FSB processor for third week in October. The 2MB L3, 3.4GHz Pentium 4 Extreme Edition will be quickly followed by a 3.73GHz 2MB Prescott based CPU with XD stack protection before the end of the year. Intel's enterprise division labels 2MB L2 Prescott processors as "Iriwindale" cores, and it is probably safe to say that the 3.73GHz P4EE is little more than an overclocked Iriwindale anyway. The 925XE chipset, which will launch as the only chipset capable of 1066FSB, should at least paper launch by the second week of October.

Of course the larger news here is the under the table announcement of EM64T Prescott "F" CPUs. These Pentium 4s are not labeled as 5xx or 7xx series CPUs, but rather relying on the old MHz naming again. As you can see below, the 3.60F Pentium 4 already has been penciled in Intel's Q3'04 timeslot. Unusually, back in April we noticed Intel was going to ship workstation Pentium 4s with EM64T capabilities (along with 5xx product nomenclature), but we constantly overlooked it as it was but a footnote in an 80 page document. Perhaps more interesting is Intel's decision to bypass its Model Number name scheme for workstation Pentium 4s in favor of the MHz Model again.

All Pentium 4 "F" processors have the E-0 stepping which makes them capable of the execute disable (XD) bit. The new "F" series Pentium 4s are already shipping in discreet channels.

Don't be surprised if 64-bit enabled Cranford (Nocona with 8MB L3 cache) shows up by Q1 of 2005 as well. The Copper River successor, "Mukilteo", has also been scheduled for Q3'05 and has been labeled as a Pentium 4 workstation CPU; it appears NetBurst is still here to stay for a while.