Intel Pentium 4 630 3.0 GHz - JM80547PG0802MM / HH80547PG0802MM (BX80547PG3000F)

cpu 630

Dual core?

Old, reliable, yet misleading.

Not a dual core. It has a math co-processor and allows for limited hyper-threading technology. The 64-bit instruction set should not be confused with a 64-bit processor. This is a 32-bit processor and will not run 64-bit programs or operating systems. Diagnostics which show this to be dual-core are detecting the math co-processor. Likewise with the 64-bit instruction set, thanks to the experimental EM64T technology, which may show up as a 64-bit to the untrained eye. It's a good ol' reliable processor. Though it won't set records in benchmark testing, this processor will last a long time and will get the job done.

Hyper-Threading != Math Co-processor

The second "processor" detected by the operating system is due to the way the processor presents itself (via "Hyper-Threading) - *NOT* because it has a math co-processor (aka floating point unit or "FPU"). The last Intel x86 processor without an integrated FPU was the 80486SX (and the matching math co-processor was the 80487SX).

Intel's "Hyper-Threading" technology allows the CPU to be better utilized by emulating a second core so additional threads can be run concurrently. With the speed of modern CPU's, rarely is the CPU 100% utilized, so the second "virtual" core taps the unused power of the CPU. Does it make a difference? Depends - if an application is designed to take advantage of multi-threaded CPU's, then yes.

For example, the Intel Core i5-760 and Core i7-860 are essentially the same CPU - the main difference is that the i7-860 has Hyper-Threading enabled. In single-threaded benchmarks, they're essentially equal in speed. But, in multi-threaded benchmarks that can utilize all 8 threads of the i7-860 (4 physical cores + 4 HT "virtual" cores), the i7-860 bests the i5-760 by 10%-20% on average. See xbitlabs.com website for their review of the i5-760 (includes i7-860 as a comparison)


Anyways, just wanted to clarify Hyper-Threading. For more info on HT, visit Intel's website or see the article in Wikipedia.

- nn6o

I'm running the processor in a Dell e510 desktop and have upgraded from XP to Windows 7 64-bit. So it will indeed run a 64-bit OS.

i upgrade from xp to windows 7 32 bit. planning to experiment with windows 7 64 bit on another HDD. this processor is very efficient. it has one flaw. it runs hot when using cpu intensive applications. it has reached 72 degrees celsius on one occasion. a proper cpu cooler is needed.

Heat & x64

Two comments on previous posts:

1. Yes, the 500 and 600 series Pentium 4 processors were extremely power hungry and inefficient (and only exceeded by their dual-core equivalents, the Pentium D's). If you note the specs, they dissipated 53 watts at idle! The Pentium "D" processors dissipated 85w idle and more than 150w at full load! For reference, your average incandescent light-bulb is 75 to 100 watts - try to touch it. It was P4's "NetBurst" architecture that eventually killed the product - it couldn't scale past 3.8GHz without burning up in the process (or requiring extreme cooling methods). So, Intel went back to an older (and more efficient) Pentium-III design and came up with the "Core" series. Take a look at the Core Solo T2500 - TDP of 31 watts, 8w idle and max of 45w. Higher performance at lower power consumption. Intel finally learned from AMD.

2. EMT64 is Intel's name for it's 64-bit instruction set and the P4's datapath is 64-bits wide. This allows it to run 64-bit software. However, internally, the processor's ALU is 32-bits in size, so running a 64-bit instruction requires a minimum of 2 cycles to decode. This is why P4's and PD's are inefficient at running 64-bit OS and programs. BTW, when running diags, you might see the x64 compatibility listed as "AMD64" - it's because AMD actually was the first to add 64-bit extensions to the x86 processor. Intel basically followed the same method and called it EMT64.

Summary:
The P4 was a nice, but power hungry processor. If you really want to keep it running, Windows 7 32-bit works fine - just make sure you have at least 2GB RAM. Avoid running x64. Great for basic computing needs (Internet, e-mail, word processing, etc).

- nn6o