Evolution of Intel Processors Part 2

Pentium

Pentium processor is the main lead taken by Intel. It uses an address bus of 64 bit width. Speed of the system bus can be 60 or 66 MHz. Pentium processors have 4GB of addressable memory and can get up to 64MB virtual memory. Provides 5 times better performance than the performance of the 33 MHz 486DX processor. In addition,Pentium processors have 16KB L1 cache.These processors were commonly used in desktop machines.

Pentium Pro

Pentium Pro processors were introduced November 1, 1995, and has been the initiator for Pentium II and III processors. These processors were primarily used in server systems and then adapted in standalone PCs. Uses 5.5 million transistors. Consists of 512 KB or 256 KB integrated L2 cache, and uses 60 or 66 MHz system bus.

Pentium II

Introduced on May 7, 1997 as advancement of Pentium Pro processor. Similar to Pentium Pro, and has MMX. It also exhibits improved 16-bit performance. There are 7.5 million transistors used. In most of the versions, L1 cache is 32 KB and also contains external L2 cache with 512 KB, ½ speed. The only Pentium II that did not have the L2 cache at ½ speed of the core was the Pentium II 450 PE.

Pentium III

Pentium III processors were introduced on February 26, 1999 as an improvement to Pentium II. This has increased the number of transistors to 9.5 million, and uses 512 KB ½ speed L2 cache. The system bus speed can be 100 MHz or 133 MHz.

Pentium 4

Introduced on November 20, 2000, and still continues with further improved versions. L2 cache was 256 KB Advanced Transfer Cache (Integrated). System bus speed has been increased to 400 MHz, and the number of transistors has become 42 million. Pentium 4 processors are used in desktop computers and entry-level workstations.

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