Intel’s P4 2.4 GHz

The latest processor from Intel boasts of another 200 MHz compared to its predecessor, the P4 2.2 GHz. Based on the Northwood core, it has 8 KB and 512 KB of L1 and L2 cache respectively. It is based on a 0.13 micron manufacturing process, fits on Socket 478 and has approximately 55 million transistors.

We tested the processor on an Intel 850MD motherboard with 256 MB RD RAM, IBM Deskstar hard disk and a GeForce2 GTS. Your motherboard may require a BIOS update before it correctly identifies the processor during POST, as it did with us. Other contemporaries, which can be considered competition to this processor are its sibling, the 2.2 GHz, and two Athlon XPs, 1900+ and 2100+. The 2.4 GHz convincingly takes the performance crown from all these processors in almost all benchmarks. The only two benchmarks where the Athlon XP outperforms it are Serious Sam and MP3 encoding, and that too by a small margin.

The Bottom Line The Intel P4 2.4 GHz is the fastest processor currently in the market and comes at a price of Rs 35,000. 

Anuj Jain at PCQ Labs