PCSTATS     
[X]   Directory of
Guides & Reviews

Beginners Guides
Motherboards by Brand
Weekly Newsletter
Archived Newsletters

Intel Pentium 4 540 (3.2E) Socket LGA 775 Processor Review
Intel Pentium 4 540 (3.2E) Socket LGA 775 Processor Review - PCSTATS
The Pentium 4 3.2E LGA775 (Land Grid Array) Socket 775 processor is based on the same 0.09 micron manufacturing process as its Socket 478 Prescott cousin.
 85% Rating:   
Filed under: CPU / Processors Published:  Author: 
External Mfg. Website: Intel May 11 2005   C. Sun  
Home > Reviews > CPU / Processors > Intel Pentium 4 540

Overclocking and conclusion

The first time we attempted to overclock the Pentium 4 540, we ran into some significant troubles. To be specific, as soon as we tried to raise the FSB speed over 216MHz, the motherboard refused to work. At this point, there were no new BIOS revisions available and we were forced to halt our overclocking experiment. The subsequent release of a newer BIOS for the board removed this apparently pre-set obstacle and we were able to properly experiment with overclocking the 540 chip.

Using the default voltage settings and raising the FSB slowly, we were able to achieve a FSB speed of 234MHz before we experienced stability problems. Raising the CPU voltage to 1.5V solved this, and we continued on to a final stable speed of 252MHz. Not bad at all. With the multipliers, this worked out to a FSB speed of 1008MHz!

The Socket 775 Intel Pentium 4 3.2E '540' that we tested in this review is based on the same 0.09 micron Prescott core that's found in Socket 478 Pentium 4 E processors. The top of the processor looks similar to the older Socket 478 Pentium 4, as Intel still uses a large copper Integrated Heatspreader (IHS) to protect the core from physical damage.

The bottom is quite different though, as it's nearly flat save for the few resistors just under the core. This makes the new Pentium 4 processor a lot tougher and less prone to damage than its predecessors, which is good news. The bad news is, of course, that motherboards just got a lot more fragile.

Overall performance of the Socket 775 Pentium 4 3.2E is good. It's a bit slower than AMD's offerings in office-based applications and gaming, but at a lower price point. As we have seen since, the Socket 775 platform is good for overclocking provided you obtain the latest BIOS updates for your motherboard. The original boards that we tested with had difficulty exceeding a FSB speed of 216MHz, but this limitation has since been bypassed.

As far as the 915P and 925X chipsets go, subsequent tests have served to differentiate the two platforms slightly, opening up a 3-5% performance advantage for the 'higher-end' 925X. Uses would be just as well served by either platform, though DDR-2 is certainly the way to go now that prices are coming down. The Socket 775 Pentium 4 540 we reviewed currently goes for about US$218, which is a decent price for this high-end 32-bit processor.

Find out about this and many other reviews by joining the Weekly PCstats.com Newsletter today!

Related Articles

Here are a few other articles that you might enjoy as well...

1. Intel Pentium 4 3.2E GHz Prescott Processor Review
2. Intel Pentium 4 3.2GHz Extreme Edition Processor Review
3. Intel Pentium 4 3.2GHz-C 800MHz FSB Processor Review
4. Intel Pentium 4 3.0GHz 800MHZ FSB Processor Review
5. AMD Athlon64 3200+ 32/64-bit Processor Review

< Previous Page © 2023 PCSTATS.com CPU / Processors Reviews...»

 

Contents of Article: Intel Pentium 4 540
 Pg 1.  Intel Pentium 4 540 (3.2E) Socket LGA 775 Processor Review
 Pg 2.  CPU Features
 Pg 3.  Model Numbers
 Pg 4.  Intel's chipsets for Socket 775: 915P/G and 925X
 Pg 5.  The 915G/P chipset
 Pg 6.  The 925X chipset
 Pg 7.  Test setup and SysMark 2004
 Pg 8.  Benchmarks: Winstone 2002, Super Pi
 Pg 9.  Benchmarks: Sandra 2004, POVray
 Pg 10.  Benchmarks: ScienceMark, CINEBENCH 2000
 Pg 11.  Benchmarks: PCMark04, 3DMark2001
 Pg 12.  Benchmarks: 3DMark05, AquaMark3
 Pg 13.  Benchmarks: Comanche 4, UT2003
 Pg 14.  Benchmarks: UT2004, Doom3
 Pg 15.  — Overclocking and conclusion

 
Hardware Sections 


 
PCSTATS Network Features Information About Us Contact
FrostyTech
PCSTATS Newsletter
Tech Glossary
Technology WebSite Listings
News Archives
(Review RSS Feed)
Site Map
PCstats Wallpaper
About Us
Privacy Policy
Advertise on PCSTATS

How's Our Driving?
© Copyright 1999-2023 www.pcstats.com All rights reserved. Privacy policy and Terms of Use.