Intel Pentium III 500E socket: Socket 370

What the Pentium III 500E is

The Intel Pentium III 500E is a 500 MHz single-core desktop processor from October 1999. It runs one P6 Coppermine core at 500 MHz with no turbo, so 1 core gives 1 thread. Cache is 256 KB of full-speed Advanced Transfer Cache with 32 KB of L1 on a 180 nm process. Power is rated at 13.2 W in a Socket 370 FC-PGA package on a 100 MHz front side bus with a 5x multiplier at 1.6 V.

The E suffix marks the 180 nm Coppermine die with on-die cache against Katmai parts with off-die cache, which is why E-models lead older parts at matching clocks. A Slot 1 cartridge shares the 500E name for slot boards. This page covers the socketed package as primary. The chip supports MMX and SSE.

Entry Coppermine clocks with a tiny envelope suit first Socket 370 towers with SDRAM. The 5x integer ratio is clean for 100 MHz boards. That is why the 500E shipped in entry Coppermine desktops.

Socket and motherboard compatibility

The 500E fits Socket 370 entry desktops with Coppermine support. It needs a 370-pin board with a 100 MHz bus and a BIOS that lists Pentium III 500E. The Socket vs chipset: what decides whether a CPU works guide covers pairing rules.

Entry SDRAM towers are the natural match. Boards listing the 500E accept the chip with a 13.2 W cooler. Slot 1 boards take the cartridge twin.

Memory, PCIe and cooling

Memory is SDRAM through the board chipset, matched to the board sockets. The CPU has no memory controller. Entry boards commonly run PC100 pairs.

A 100 MHz front side bus ties the CPU to the chipset, while AGP and PCI hang off the chipset. No PCIe lanes originate on the die. Cooling uses the Socket 370 lug clip with a 13.2 W cooler.

Upgrade paths

On the same socket, a Pentium III 550E on the same support list adds 50 MHz at 14.5 W. A Celeron 500 with 128 KB cache is a cooler budget option.

A move to Tualatin needs a Tualatin-ready board. The Socket 370 page lists the range, with Slot 1 for cartridges.