Tests of low-end AMD Athlon 64 X2 for Socket AM2
Intel Pentium D 915
Intel's processors arrived at our test lab in boxed versions
in order to relieve us from search of a suitable cooler (is that really
difficult, isn't it?) and make the results, especially those for
overclocking, to the average statistical.
It makes no sense swelling on the package bundle because it
hasn't been changed for quite along time - the standard cooler has
remained standard, but the processor...
Intel uses a much simpler notation for its processors
– all the major specifications are written on the
heat-spreading lid. The processor runs at 2.8 GHz clock speed, offers 4
MB L2 cache size (2 MB per each core), and uses the 800 MHz system bus.
PCG 05A – is the power supply mode for the processor the
motherboard is to support (13 A of direct current, with the peak
current being 16.5 A within at least 10 ms).
For more details of the processor and the mode of operation
for the memory can be found from the CPU-Z utility.
As was found out, CPU-Z of version 1.36 was not able to
correctly recognize the processor Intel Pentium D 915. To clear away
the doubts regarding the processor being tested, we use the sSpec of
the processor – SL9DA and move on to www.processorfinder.intel.com.
The manufacturer's web site tells that it is indeed the Intel
Pentium D 915 and provides all of its in-depth details; as we can see -
the Intel Virtualization Technology is not supported.
Having got the idea of the processor, we tried to overclock it
– it is anyway one of the most interesting moments. At first,
we were impressed by the result - the system was able to boot up at
3790 MHz.
But as our first tests revealed, the nominal cooling system
was unable to cool the processor whose clock speed was raised by one
more gigahertz – the temperature of the core was going up
beyond 66°C, followed by the Thermal Throttling. While looking
for the clock speed at which the processor would be running stably, we
had to push the overclocking down by as much as 300 MHz. The resultant
clock speed of the "successfully" overclocked Intel Pentium D 915
amounted to 3500 MHz, but using a more powerful cooling system you
could easily raise the overclocking capability of the processor.
As major contenders for Intel Pentium D 915 we took a couple
more processors that appeared this summer. The first one is Intel
Pentium D 945 that offers the same set of specifications and
technologies but running at 3.4 GHz which after overclocking proved
feasible for Intel Pentium D 915 as well.
The second one, Intel Core 2 Duo E6300, a younger
representative of the family that caused upheaval in the industry.
Prior to the tests, we bring in the revised tables with the
specifications of Intel Pentium D lines.
Intel Pentium D 9xx LGA775
|
|
CPU clock speed, GHz
|
FSB, MHz
|
L2, K
|
Process technology
|
Intel Virtualization Technology
|
EM64T
|
Execute Disable Bit
|
Enhanced Intel Speedstep
Technology
|
|
Pentium D 960
|
3,6
|
800
|
2x2048
|
65 nm
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
|
Pentium D 950
|
3.4
|
800
|
2x2048
|
65 nm
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes (except stepping B1)
|
|
Pentium D 945
|
3.4
|
800
|
2x2048
|
65 nm
|
None
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
|
Pentium D 940
|
3,2
|
800
|
2x2048
|
65 nm
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
None
|
|
Pentium D 930
|
3,0
|
800
|
2x2048
|
65 nm
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
None
|
|
Pentium D 925
|
3,0
|
800
|
2x2048
|
65 nm
|
None
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
|
Pentium D 920
|
2,8
|
800
|
2x2048
|
65 nm
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
None
|
|
Pentium D 915
|
2,8
|
800
|
2x2048
|
65 nm
|
None
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Intel Pentium D 8xx LGA775
|
|
CPU clock speed, GHz
|
FSB, MHz
|
L2, K
|
Process technology
|
Intel Virtualization Technology
|
EM64T
|
Execute Disable Bit
|
Enhanced Intel Speedstep
Technology
|
|
Pentium D 840
|
3,2
|
800
|
2x1024
|
90 nm
|
None
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
|
Pentium D 830
|
3,0
|
800
|
2x1024
|
90 nm
|
None
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
|
Pentium D 820
|
2,8
|
800
|
2x1024
|
90 nm
|
None
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
None
|
|
Pentium D 805
|
2,66
|
533
|
2x1024
|
90 nm
|
None
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
 |
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