Intel Pentium 4 6xx and 3.73EE: Favoring Features Over Performance

Final Words

So what conclusions do we draw from all this?

The 600 series is more about feature set than performance. Decreasing the cache miss rate and increasing the cache latency isn't exactly the best path to follow in the consumer market. Most PC workloads don't push enough threads or large enough data to really take advantage of the larger cache. We can see the potential improvement in the 43% increase under Maya, and looking back at the Irwindale benchmarks, it's obvious that strapping 2MBs of higher latency cache onto NetBurst has its place. But that won't be the draw of the 600 series on the desktop.

The introduction of EIST and EM64T on the desktop (from the mobile and server space respectively), is a point in the 600 series' favor. Dropping very powerful processors into SFF boxes is more of a possibility with the better heat management features. Of course, the faster the chip, the larger the differences in power as all of the processor models drop to the same frequency and voltage. As for EM64T, we still don't have a 64bit OS from Microsoft. We are on a release candidate, so hopefully we will see a shipping product soon.

The value of these new processors isn't terribly greater than that of the 500 series. If 32bit performance is your only worry, than the 600 processors are not the place to look until the 3.8GHz model becomes available. For those who are interested in the new technology from Intel, it may do to wait and see if prices on the new parts fall after being on the market for some time. Intel wants both of these lines to coexist, but, without a 64bit Windows, there just isn't enough to sell the 600 series over the 500 series yet.

The new 600 series isn't as much of a step forward in performance as it is a step sideways for Intel. As the 600 series core will be the one on which dual core chips are based, it does make sense for Intel to introduce power saving features and a larger cache. Our advice is to look at your favorite application and pick the part that offers the performance you need at the best price. For those who need EIST and EM64T now, even though there is a price premium, performance under the 600 series is generally on par with (or better than) the 500 series.

And if you feel like paying for Intel's 65nm fab plants, feel free to buy the new Pentium 4 3.73GHz Extreme Edition, but if you want the same performance and still want an Intel CPU, the Pentium 4 660 will do just as well. 

With dual core coming this year, performance where it is, and street prices showing up higher than we would like to see them, we have trouble recommending the Pentium 4 600 series to anyone who doesn't need it.