Intel Pentium M 735 socket: Socket 479

What the Pentium M 735 is

The Intel Pentium M 735 is a 1.7 GHz single-core mobile processor from May 2004. It runs one P6 variant Dothan core at 1.7 GHz with no turbo, so 1 core gives 1 thread. Cache is 2 MB of L2 on a 90 nm process. Power is rated at 21 W in a Socket 479 package with a 400 MT/s front side bus and a 17x multiplier at 0.988 V to 1.34 V.

The 735 tops the early Dothan 400 MT/s stack at 294 dollars in May 2004, above the 241 dollars 725 and the 209 dollars 715 with the same cache and power. Intel kept power flat across the three ratings by binning voltage, so only the multiplier rises. The chip supports MMX, SSE and SSE2 with Enhanced SpeedStep. A 735A shares clocks as an OEM variant, so either suffix may appear in board lists.

Flat power across three ratings simplified thin notebook design. A chassis qualified for the 715 at 21 W normally accepts the 735 with the same heat pipe, since power and bus stay level while only frequency rises. That drop-in path made the 735 a common speed lift for Centrino notebooks.

Socket and motherboard compatibility

The Pentium M 735 fits Socket 479 thin notebooks with a 400 MT/s bus and Dothan support. It needs a mobile 479-pin board, not a Socket 478 desktop board. The Socket vs chipset: what decides whether a CPU works guide covers pairing rules.

Thin Centrino notebooks are the natural match. Boards listing Dothan 400 MT/s parts accept the 735 with a 21 W cooler. Socket 478 mobiles need desktop-replacement bodies instead.

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 21 W notebook heat pipe with quiet operation. SpeedStep cuts clocks on battery for longer life.

Upgrade paths

On Socket 479 the steps are the Pentium M 745 at 1.8 GHz and the 755 at 2 GHz with the same 400 MT/s bus and power. The 725 and 715 offer slower clocks where listed. Beyond Socket 479 a move to Socket M needs a new notebook. The 735 removes with the socket mechanism, so swaps need no solder work.