Fifth generation of x86 family, Intel Pentium microprocessor
was the first x86 superscalar CPU. The processor included two
pipelined integer units which could execute up to two integer
instructions per CPU cycle. Redesigned Floating Point Unit
considerably improved performance of floating-point operations and
could execute up to 1 FP instruction per CPU cycle. Other enhancements to
Pentium core included:
- To improve data transfer rates the size of data bus was increased to
64 bits.
- At first Pentium processors featured separate 8 KB code and 8 KB data
caches. The size of both data and code L1 caches was doubled in
Pentium processors with MMX technology.
- Intel Pentium CPU used branch prediction to improve effectiveness
of pipeline architecture. Branch prediction was enhanced in Pentium
MMX processors.
- Many desktop Pentiums could work in dual-processor systems.
- To reduce CPU power consumption the core voltage was reduced on all
Pentium MMX, and many mobile and embedded Pentium processors.
Intel manufactured desktop, mobile and embedded versions of Pentium
microprocessors. Distinguishing between different versions of
Pentiums is not always easy because desktop, mobile and/or embedded Pentiums
often used the same part numbers. In some cases Pentium processors
with the same part and S-spec numbers were offered as desktop and embedded, or
mobile and embedded microprocessors.
Later versions of Pentium processors - Pentium MMX - included 57 new
instructions. These instructions could be used to speed up processing
of multimedia and communication applications. Like the Pentium
processors, the Penium MMX CPUs were also produced in three different
versions - desktop, mobile and embedded processors.
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Intel A80501-66 Intel A80502-75
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| At a glance |
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Type: 32-bit microprocessor L1 cache size (KB): 8 - 16 | |
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