I have to set this thread straight, even though it's old
Pentium 4 Extreme Editions are characterized by their larger cache, and faster data bus. There are two major types of Extreme Edition: Gallatin and Prescott (sometimes called Nocona).
Gallatin is the Xeon core equivalent of the Northwood Pentium 4. Gallatin benefits from Northwood’s shorter and more efficient 20-stage pipeline, and lower L2 Cache latency. They are, in the opinion of most technicians, the most superior Pentium 4 architecture to date. The only problem with the Northwood core is the 512kB L2 Cache limit. To get around this, the 2MB cache is level 3; bolted behind the L2.
Gallatin Processors include:
- Pentium 4 Extreme Edition 3.2 GHz (socket 478, 800 MHz FSB, 2MB L3 Cache, discontinued)
- Pentium 4 Extreme Edition 3.4 GHz (socket 478, 800 MHz FSB, 2MB L3 Cache, discontinued)
- Pentium 4 Extreme Edition 3.4 GHz (socket 775, 800 MHz FSB, 2MB L3 Cache, produced only in small samples, very rare)
- Pentium 4 Extreme Edition 3.46 GHz (socket 775, 1066 MHz FSB, 2MB L3 Cache, in production)
Prescott core Extreme Editions don’t deviate much from the standard Prescott core Pentium 4 (characterized with 1MB L2 Cache). These processors are generally less efficient due to a larger depth pipeline of 31 stages. Their only advantage is the ability to handle larger size L2 Caches.
Prescott/Nocona Processors include:
Prescott/Nocona Processors include
- Pentium 4 Extreme Edition 3.4 GHz (socket 775, 800 MHz FSB, 2MB L2 Cache, in production. This is basically the same processor as the Pentium 4 650)
- Pentium 4 Extreme Edition 3.73 GHz (socket 775, 1066 MHz FSB, 2MB L2 Cache, in production)
Generally speaking, the Pentium 4 Extreme Edition 3.46 GHz is the best Pentium 4 processor you can buy, usually beating the Pentium 670 and often beating the Pentium 4 Extreme Edition 3.73 GHz in most situations. They are all WAY over priced.
To add to the confusion however, Intel now has a Pentium Extreme Edition 840 (without the 4). This is a Dual Core 3.2 GHz Processor with Hyperthreading.