Intel Pentium 4-M 2.60 socket: Socket 478

What the Pentium 4-M 2.60 is

The Intel Pentium 4-M 2.60 is a 2.6 GHz single-core mobile processor from June 2003. It runs one NetBurst Northwood core at 2.6 GHz with no turbo, so 1 core gives 1 thread. Cache is 512 KB of L2 on a 130 nm process. The package is Socket 478 for notebooks. This page omits a TDP rating because no opened source states power for the 2.60 P4-M bin.

The 2.60 P4-M tops the Pentium 4-M Northwood line with a 400 MT/s front side bus and a 26x multiplier and SpeedStep control. Intel sold it in June 2003 as the fastest SpeedStep notebook chip before Dothan Pentium M parts took thin designs. The chip supports MMX, SSE and SSE2. Mobile Pentium 4 2.60 parts at the same 2.6 GHz offer 66.1 W operation without SpeedStep savings for desktop-replacement bodies, so power handling separates the bins at identical frequency.

Top P4-M clocks with SpeedStep suited flagship mainstream notebooks. The 2.6 GHz core with 512 KB gave desktop-like responsiveness with battery savings at idle. That is why the 2.60 cost more than slower P4-M parts despite sharing cache.

Socket and motherboard compatibility

The Pentium 4-M 2.60 fits Socket 478 notebooks with P4-M support. It needs a notebook Socket 478 board. The Socket vs chipset: what decides whether a CPU works guide covers pairing rules.

Flagship mainstream notebooks are the natural match. Maker lists decide fit.

Memory, PCIe and cooling

Memory is DDR through the board chipset with notebook slots. The CPU has no controller.

A 400 MT/s bus ties the CPU to the chipset, while graphics hangs off the chipset. No PCIe lanes originate on the die. Cooling is the notebook heat pipe with SpeedStep control.

Upgrade paths

On Socket 478 the 2.60 tops P4-M Northwood, so same socket upgrades stop here. Mobile Pentium 4 2.60 offers a desktop-replacement alternative at higher power. Pentium M Dothan parts on Socket 479 offer lower power paths. The 2.60 removes with the socket mechanism, so swaps need no solder work.