Intel Pentium III Xeon 500 1MB socket: Slot 2

What the Pentium III Xeon 500 1MB is

The Intel Pentium III Xeon 500 1MB is a 500 MHz single-core server processor from March 1999. It runs one P6 Tanner core at 500 MHz with no Hyper-Threading, so 1 core gives 1 thread. Cache is 1 MB of L2 at full CPU speed with 32 KB of L1 on a 250 nm process. Power is rated at 44 W in a Slot 2 SECC cartridge on a 100 MT/s front side bus with a 5x multiplier at 2.0 V.

The 1 MB option doubles the 512 KB base cache at moderate extra power, which is why the 500 1MB suited quad servers with growing databases. Intel launched the 500 1MB on March 17, 1999 at $1980. The chip supports MMX, SSE and four-way SMP.

Entry Tanner clocks with a large cache suit Slot 2 quad servers with registered memory. The 5x integer ratio is clean for 100 MT/s boards. That is why the 500 1MB shipped in enterprise boxes.

Socket and motherboard compatibility

The 500 1MB fits Slot 2 enterprise servers with Tanner support. It needs a 330-lead SC330 board with a 100 MT/s bus and a BIOS that lists the 1MB Xeon 500. The Socket vs chipset: what decides whether a CPU works guide covers pairing rules.

Enterprise quad servers are the natural match. Boards listing the 1MB string accept up to four cartridges with 44 W heatsinks each.

Memory, PCIe and cooling

Memory is registered SDRAM through the server chipset, matched to the board sockets. The cartridge has no memory controller. Enterprise boards commonly run ECC pairs.

A 100 MT/s front side bus ties each cartridge to the chipset, while PCI hangs off the chipset. No PCIe lanes originate on the cartridge. Cooling uses SECC heatsinks on the retention cage.

Upgrade paths

On the same slot, a move to a Pentium III Xeon 500 2MB such as Intel Pentium III Xeon 500 2MB doubles cache to 2 MB at 36.2 W when the support list names it. A plain Xeon 500 such as Intel Pentium III Xeon 500 halves cache to 512 KB at 36 W.

A move to Cascades Xeon adds 133 MT/s paths. The Slot 2 page lists the Tanner to Cascades range. Note: the queue row lists 45 W; this page uses the verified 44 W.