Intel Pentium 4 2.4 socket: Socket 478

What the Pentium 4 2.4 is

The Intel Pentium 4 2.4 is a 2.40 GHz single-core desktop processor from April 2002. It runs one NetBurst Northwood core at 2.40 GHz with no Hyper-Threading on this rating, so 1 core gives 1 thread. Cache is 512 KB of L2 on a 130 nm process. Power is rated at 59.8 W in a Socket 478 package with part numbers SL67Z and SL6D7 on a 533 MT/s front side bus with an 18x multiplier. Two cpu_list rows repeat the 2.4 GHz Northwood rating with 110 W in April 2002 and 92 W in May 2002, while the table gives 59.8 W in April 2002, and the table value is used here with one page covering both rows since the slug matches.

The 2.4B carries the B suffix for 533 MT/s Northwood parts, separating it from 2.40A Prescott parts at 89 W and 2.40C HT parts at 66.2 W with different buses and threads. Intel sold the 2.4B in April 2002 as a mainstream DDR tower chip. The chip supports MMX, SSE and SSE2.

Conflicting power figures in the list reflect later Prescott heat mistakenly copied to Northwood rows. The 59.8 W table value with a 130 nm die and 512 KB cache fits the Northwood power curve, while 92 W and 110 W match Prescott and Gallatin bins at higher clocks. That is why the table value is preferred here with the discrepancy noted.

Socket and motherboard compatibility

The Pentium 4 2.4 Northwood fits Socket 478 desktops with a 533 MT/s bus and Northwood support. It needs a 478-pin board. The Socket vs chipset: what decides whether a CPU works guide covers pairing rules.

Mainstream DDR towers are the natural match. Intel 845PE boards accept the chip with a 59.8 W cooler.

Memory, PCIe and cooling

Memory is DDR through the board chipset. The board sets speed and capacity.

A 533 MT/s bus ties the CPU to the chipset, while AGP handles graphics. No PCIe lanes originate on the die. Cooling uses the Socket 478 bracket with a 59.8 W heatsink.

Upgrade paths

On Socket 478 the steps are Pentium 4 2.53 and 2.66 Northwood parts. Celeron 2.40 offers value with less cache. Beyond Socket 478 a move to LGA 775 needs a new board. The 2.4 lifts with the lever, so swaps need no solder work.