Intel Pentium 4 c/ Tecnología HT - Procesador 3.0GHz

This processor is powerful. And if...

Puntos Fuertes: Price versus computing power. Hyperthreading is great. 1 MB of L2 cache really shows up with some of my more intensive applications.

Puntos Débiles: This CPU runs hot—really hot.

This processor is powerful. And if you want to save on household utility bills, you can heat at least one room with it. I’m not joking at all here—it runs that hot. I recommend this processor, only if you are willing to go the extra steps to ensure better CPU cooling. This CPU’s normal operating temperature was near 60-62°C in a PC with: a 4-fan Aluminum Coolermaster Praetorian case, all...
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This processor is powerful. And if you want to save on household utility bills, you can heat at least one room with it. I’m not joking at all here—it runs that hot.

I recommend this processor, only if you are willing to go the extra steps to ensure better CPU cooling.

This CPU’s normal operating temperature was near 60-62°C in a PC with: a 4-fan Aluminum Coolermaster Praetorian case, all round system cables, wrapped, and stowed for maximum “wind tunnel” system airflow; no system load; a video card that runs cool; HDDs that run very cool; no overclocking; and on a cool Spring day (60°F ambient room temperature). This was with the stock Intel heat sink and fan.

I have my own torture “circuit course” I use to: break in new processors; find out what temperatures they run at, and see how they perform under immense loads. My torture test runs all of the following simultaneously:
-Prime 95’s Torture Test (a very math intensive prime number calculator).
-Windows Media Player, playing Internet radio, while displaying a complex animation.
-Run one command prompt for each hard drive partition on my system. Each command prompt continuously loops through the command: “Dir /S X: > X:output.txt” on each hard drive partition, forcing all hard drives to constantly seek, read, and write.
-Play Internet Spades or Reversi to see how the system responds to user input under this load.

The good news is that the Prescott 3.0E GHz handles all of this madness at once, with flying colors. It lagged a little with all the torturous HDD activity, but I could actually keep up with the online card game without people leaving because I was “the weakest link.” All the while, I’m jamming to Internet music. The lag was expected, because any processor will lag during this type of torture. What’s important to note, is how much of a lag it is. Prescott performed so well, that my music never stopped or skipped, and that only my mouse responsiveness suffered a couple of times—hardly a problem. (This was with Hyperthreading enabled.) The bad news is that the core CPU temperature measured a whopping 72°C with this torture testing. This CPU’s safety range ends at 80°C.

I called Intel back then (this was 3 months ago), because I was very concerned about temperature problems, especially during the hotter and more humid summer months (no central AC here). Intel told me not to worry; and said if the system wasn't slowing or showing noticeable signs of instability, that all was well. They also said that some motherboard sensors don’t correctly report Prescott’s CPU temperature. Okay Intel, whatever. (When I can practically blow dry my hair with my case fan, I think the temperature sensor is accurate.) It's a good thing I'm not an overclocker. Intel also said that, for Prescott based systems, they specifically recommend chassis with side intake fans that have a tube going from the side fan straight to the CPU to funnel colder air from outside of the chassis directly to the CPU fan. That's all fine and good, except that not many chassis come this way stock, and I had already bought mine. I’ll get around to modding it eventually.

I ordered some cooling upgrades. I replaced the stock Intel heat sink and fan with the Coolermaster Jet 4. I also used the Coolermaster Shin Etsu thermal compound. I replaced Coolermaster’s stock blowhole fan in the Praetorian Case with ThermalTake’s 3-function, Smart Case (75 CFM) Fan Blue Led 80mm x 80mm x25mm (A2016).

Today's weather is cool for summer—74°F ambient room temperature. Currently, my 3.0E MHz Prescott is running at 54°C with no load (down from 60-62°C). Under load, it’s still hovering near 69-70° C (down from 72°C).

The Prescott CPU runs hot. Intel says it can handle it, and not to worry. So far, mine has taken it well with no noticeable, adverse side effects. However, I’m concerned about how long this processor will last under this heat. Sure this CPU may take the heat now, but its useful life (and that of the surrounding PC components) WILL be shortened by continuous heat exposure. Good thing this CPU has a 3-year warranty (I also bought an extra year from my online retailer.)

My hardware hasn’t failed yet, and I've never had a system lockup that wasn't the result of some software bug. And it is a blazingly fast CPU. But again, I only recommend this CPU if you are willing to upgrade your system cooling.

Por kenalcock - Jul 8, 2004

This is a great processor. I am...

Puntos Fuertes: Very fast CPU

Puntos Débiles: noisy fan

This is a great processor. I am running very fast, I have 1 GB ram and this processor. The fan is noisy. Prepare to buy another fan and heatsink!

Por kenanr - Jul 17, 2004

Wow, this proc is great!...

Puntos Fuertes: Overall I liked it, I have not used the overclocking due to existing single channel Memory. It is a new technology and it is not more expensive than Northwood.

Puntos Débiles: It's considerable hot while running compared to Northwood.

Wow, this proc is great! Everything runs so much smoothly and games run fantastic! The heatsink was little bit difficult to install and I needed to order the replacement from Intel after I broke the first one. Runs about 45-50 degrees celcius, probably will get a little cooler as time goes on. Great product! Used with ATI Radeon 9800 Pro Graphic card.!!! Great buy!

Por skvaish - Jun 23, 2004

It is easy to install. I have no...

Puntos Fuertes: It is fast and stable.

Puntos Débiles: Noisy fan and hot especially when playing game.

It is easy to install. I have no complain with this great CPU though its fan makes a little noisy. Great performance with Battlefield Vietnam. Enjoy the good chip. Asus P4P800 Deluxe with 1 GB Kingston DDR400 dual channel mode and ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB.

Por buyonline0303 - Jul 26, 2004

I bought this processor to replace...

Puntos Fuertes: nice and fast. can run very well even at high temperatures.

Puntos Débiles: Can run a tad hot, however, as a general rule they run 10 degrees hotter than northwoods due to new features, but as said...it can take it

I bought this processor to replace an athlon 2000+, together with a new case, and harddrives etc... with the intel stock fan i was getting idle temperatures of around 60 degrees and load temperatures of 65-70. 5 months later, the fan kicked it, and my load temperatures would go past 75.. bought a Coolermaster hyper48. Idle now at 45 degrees and load at around 55-58. It shouuld be noted at no time...
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I bought this processor to replace an athlon 2000+, together with a new case, and harddrives etc...

with the intel stock fan i was getting idle temperatures of around 60 degrees and load temperatures of 65-70. 5 months later, the fan kicked it, and my load temperatures would go past 75.. bought a Coolermaster hyper48. Idle now at 45 degrees and load at around 55-58. It shouuld be noted at no time did performance get worse...these babies are specifically designed to take the heat, so dont worry.

Por Neilz0r - Jan 3, 2005