Intel Xeon MP 7041 Dual-Core socket: Socket 604

What the Xeon MP 7041 Dual-Core is

The Intel Xeon MP 7041 Dual-Core is the fastest bus variant of the Paxville MP multiprocessor line, from December 2005. Two NetBurst cores run at 3.0 GHz through a 15x multiplier on an 800 MT/s front side bus. Hyper-Threading is documented for all Paxville MP models, so the package presents 4 threads. The sSpec is SL8UD on stepping A0 with order number NE80560KG0804MH, on a 90 nm process in a 604-pin package for Socket 604.

Cache is 2 MB of L2 per core, 2x2 MB across the package, with no L3 on the die. Wikipedia records the 800 MT/s bus with the 15x multiplier for SL8UD, and Intel's November 2005 launch release describes the 7041 as 3.0 GHz with 2x2 MB of L2 on an 800 MHz bus. TechPowerUp confirms the frequency, the 15x ratio on a 200 MHz base clock, the 135 W envelope, and the December 2005 date. The per-core cache figure in some database prose reads 1 MB, but the Wikipedia table and the Intel release both give 2 MB per core, which is the value used here.

Against its sibling 7040, the 7041 keeps the same 3.0 GHz clocks, the same 2 MB per core cache, and the same 135 W envelope while moving the bus from 667 MT/s to 800 MT/s. That makes it the pick for boards and chipsets that support the faster bus, including the 800 MHz bus versions of the E8500 platform family that Intel said would follow in early 2006. The multiplier is locked, so the bus and board set the performance context.

Socket and motherboard compatibility

The processor fits Socket 604, the 604-pin mPGA604 zero insertion force socket. Its MP designation places it on boards with four sockets and beyond, the quad and octo topology Wikipedia records for Paxville MP. Dual-socket DP boards and their qualification lists are a separate matter despite the shared socket.

Intel launched the 7000 sequence for existing E8500 chipset platforms and announced 800 MHz bus platform versions for early 2006, which is the natural habitat for this 800 MT/s part. The board CPU list must name the 7041 or sSpec SL8UD, the BIOS must carry its microcode, and the board must explicitly support the 800 MT/s bus speed. A board qualified only for 667 MT/s Paxville MP parts cannot be assumed to accept this chip. The Socket vs chipset: what decides whether a CPU works guide explains the socket, chipset, and BIOS combination.

Before installing a used chip, verify the board list entry, the bus speed support, the BIOS revision, and chassis airflow for a 135 W multiprocessor population.

Memory, PCIe and cooling

Memory flows through the server board, and TechPowerUp records ECC support with a dual-channel board memory bus for this SKU. The memory type, speed grades, rank discipline, slot order, and capacity ceiling are board facts from the server maker memory list. Faster bus parts reward correctly populated, matched memory, so the manual population sequence deserves close attention on multiprocessor boards.

An 800 MT/s front side bus joins the package to the server chipset, and expansion slots descend from that chipset. There is no integrated graphics and no on-die PCIe controller. Slot versions, lane behavior, and console output are read from the board documentation, and administration normally runs through board management hardware.

Cooling uses the server maker heatsink specified for the exact board and chassis at the 135 W level, seated in the directed airflow the manual assumes. Fully populated multiprocessor chassis at this envelope leave no margin for substitute thermal parts.

Upgrade paths

The same-clock alternative on the slower bus is the Intel Xeon MP 7040 Dual-Core, which matches the 3.0 GHz frequency and 2 MB per core cache on a 667 MT/s bus for boards that do not support 800 MT/s. Slower same-socket steps are the Intel Xeon MP 7030 Dual-Core at 2.8 GHz and the Intel Xeon MP 7020 Dual-Core at 2.667 GHz. Each requires its own board listing and BIOS coverage.

The later same-socket generation is 65 nm Tulsa, for example the Intel Xeon 7140M, where the board vendor qualifies it. Leaving Socket 604 for any newer Xeon family means a new board, new memory, and a new thermal design.