Asus mobo and 64-bit Pentium 4 CPUs

[Vesselin Peev]

Hello,

Regarding EM64T support on P4's (not Xeons):

I have searched thoroughly on ASUS's site, but couldn't find any
information about CPU support for the Pentium 4 series with the F
suffix that sport EM64T support. As some of you may know, such CPUs
have begun shipping, and a couple of new models, namely 3.2F and 3.4F
are starting to appear after the initial 3.6F model introduced in
August:

http://www.vr-zone.com/?i=1100&s=1 says:

"Intel has started delivering 64-bit-capable processors to server and
workstation OEMs, there is still no timetable for positioning the
64-bit chips in the desktop segment. The time is not yet ripe for
positioning the 64-bit version of the Prescott processor for the
desktop. Intel's aim is to ease the relatively high inventory levels
of its 32-bit processors before migrating the new chips to the desktop
segment. The 64-bit-capable Pentium 4 CPUs are available at 3.2F, 3.4F
and 3.6F GHz. Intel has inserted the letter "F" after clock speeds to
distinguish chips incorporating EM64T technology."

Now, I couldn't find any mention of support for those processors on
the ASUS site, only support for CPUs' up to P4 560.

My question: which is the cheapest ASUS mobo which would support those
very new desktop processors with EM64T support? If one invests in,
say, the relatively cheap ASUS P5GD1-VM motherboard, will there be a
BIOS update for this mobo, or this will be possible only for $200
mobos?

For certain reasons, I want an integrated chipset and a full-speed PCI
Express slot, and the P5GD1-VM fits that greatly. If one could throw
in EM64T support, that would be a real investment.

BTW, ASUS products are great. I'm typing this on a P4P800 comp that I
won't replace in the foreseeable future, and I'm extremely happy with
the performance and stability.

Thank you in advance for your reply. I'm really looking forward to it
.

Cheers,
Vesko

 

[Paul]

Hello,

Regarding EM64T support on P4's (not Xeons):

I have searched thoroughly on ASUS's site, but couldn't find any
information about CPU support for the Pentium 4 series with the F
suffix that sport EM64T support. As some of you may know, such CPUs
have begun shipping, and a couple of new models, namely 3.2F and 3.4F
are starting to appear after the initial 3.6F model introduced in
August:

http://www.vr-zone.com/?i=1100&s=1 says:

"Intel has started delivering 64-bit-capable processors to server and
workstation OEMs, there is still no timetable for positioning the
64-bit chips in the desktop segment. The time is not yet ripe for
positioning the 64-bit version of the Prescott processor for the
desktop. Intel's aim is to ease the relatively high inventory levels
of its 32-bit processors before migrating the new chips to the desktop
segment. The 64-bit-capable Pentium 4 CPUs are available at 3.2F, 3.4F
and 3.6F GHz. Intel has inserted the letter "F" after clock speeds to
distinguish chips incorporating EM64T technology."

Now, I couldn't find any mention of support for those processors on
the ASUS site, only support for CPUs' up to P4 560.

My question: which is the cheapest ASUS mobo which would support those
very new desktop processors with EM64T support? If one invests in,
say, the relatively cheap ASUS P5GD1-VM motherboard, will there be a
BIOS update for this mobo, or this will be possible only for $200
mobos?

For certain reasons, I want an integrated chipset and a full-speed PCI
Express slot, and the P5GD1-VM fits that greatly. If one could throw
in EM64T support, that would be a real investment.

BTW, ASUS products are great. I'm typing this on a P4P800 comp that I
won't replace in the foreseeable future, and I'm extremely happy with
the performance and stability.

Thank you in advance for your reply. I'm really looking forward to it
.

Cheers,
Vesko

By the looks of the Intel pricelist, first appeared Aug 1,2004.
http://www.intel.com/intel/finance/pricelist/

Considered a server chip, supported by 925X chipset (meaning it
will probably work in other chipsets as well, but Intel doesn't
want to say that).

http://www.intel.com/products/server/processors/server/pentium4/index.htm

The page above refers you to this processorfinder page, but the
part isn't listed here:

http://processorfinder.intel.com/scripts/list.asp?ProcFam=483

The datasheet is here:

ftp://download.intel.com/design/xeon/datashts/303128.pdf

Current and voltage are consistent with LGA775 3.4E, for 3.4F and
3.6F, so powering should be no different than a 3.4 Prescott for
LGA775. (119 amps at from 1.2 to 1.425V for Vcore.)

Using this page and looking for a P4 550 or 560, gives the list below:
http://www.asus.com.tw/support/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx

These boards are _potential_ candidates. They may need a different
BIOS, and sample processors have to be tested with the motherboards,
before they can be added to the cpusupport list. I would think
getting an updated BIOS, with new microcode, would be the rate
limiting step, as Asus already has to fix the SP2 mess first,
before any new processors go out the door.

"Potential Candidates" based on power considerations alone -
Motherboard Since PCB Since BIOS
P5AD2 Deluxe  
P5AD2 Premium  
P5GD1  
P5GD1-VM  
P5GD2  
P5GD2 Deluxe  
P5GD2 Premium  
P5GDC Deluxe  
P5GDC-V Deluxe  
P5P800

Don't buy one of these boards, expecting support, until it
appears in the cpusupport web page

HTH,
Paul

 

[Vesselin Peev]

Paul, thank you very, very much for the detailed info (voltages, etc.)
and especially the hints! While I was waiting for a reply, I managed
myself to dig out only that 925X supports it, but one of the sources
was a page on Intel.com,
http://www.intel.com/design/chipsets/925x/index.htm?iid=ipp_browse+chpsts_feature_925x&

The relevant sentence is:

"Additionally, for great workstation application flexibility, the
Intel 925X Express chipset is specifically designed to support Intel®
Extended Memory 64 Technology (Intel® EM64T)2 enabling 64-bit memory
addressability."

Hmmm. Interesting how it was specifically designed when it's all in
the CPU... Regarding differences between EM64T Prescotts' and
non-EM64T ones, I think there are just 8 additional registers in the
former.

Thanks very much again! At least there is hope that the 915's
(Grandsdale) *may* support it.

 

[Vesselin Peev]

It appeared on the CPU support page! All the boards you mention
support it, which is excellent. But ASUS only tested it 32-bit mode
(it's not too much of a hassle to boot 64-bit Linux, really).

Thanks very much once again for the hints, Paul. Our thinking was
correct
I'm going for the P5GD1-VM

Cheers,
Vesko