Intel delivers Pentium 4 with a smaller die
Intel had already announced it at the presentation of the Pentium 4 2.4 GHz, now the first Pentium 4 processors are being delivered with a shrunk die. The size of the die has been reduced from 145 mm² to 131 mm².
The new processor cores are manufactured on the new 300mm wafers, which of course means that a higher number of dies is possible per wafer than with the old 200 mm wafers and the larger dies. Of course, this also has a positive effect on the manufacturing costs per processor, and since these processors are already designed for higher frequencies, the overclocking potential also increases. All Pentium 4 processors from 1.8 to 2.53 GHz are affected by the die shrink, but Intel has created a way to distinguish the processors with a shrunk die from the older models. Although the stepping remains unchanged at B0, the arrangement of the components on the underside of the processors and the new S-Spec can be used to determine which model you have in front of you, as you can see from the list:
- Pentium 4 1.8A - SL66Q
- Pentium 4 2.0A - SL66R
- Pentium 4 2.20 - SL66S
- Pentium 4 2.26 - SL6D6
- Pentium 4 2.40 - SL66T
- Pentium 4 2.40B - SL6D7
- Pentium 4 2.53 - SL6D8
By the way, the upcoming C0 stepping of the Pentium 4 core will only appear in this 131 mm² size.
