CPU Specifications

Celeron 433 Specifications
Manufacturer	Intel Corp.
Clock Speed	433Mhz
Multiplier	6.5
FSB Speed	66Mhz
Processor Package	Plastic Pin Grid Array
Cache Speed	433Mhz (full CPU speed)
Overclock Protection	Multiplier lock

The Same Celeron

The Celeron 433 hasn't changed much since the introduction of the 300A and 333. You've got the same core design, the same 128KB L2 cache, and same 66Mhz FSB. If you remember, the Pentium II moved to 100Mhz FSB at 350Mhz. The reasoning for this is pretty simple: Since the L1 and L2 are located on the processor die itself (a system known as backside cache), there is little benefit to increasing the bus speed - older generation CPUs had L2 cache located on the system bus, and hence its speed was limited by how fast that bus could communicate with the CPU.

So what about bus and core speed?

However little difference 100Mhz makes in terms of backside cache, main system memory is still located on the system bus, and so the 50% increase from 66Mhz actually does make some difference. This will be amplified when Intel's 133Mhz Camino chipset is introduced later in the year. Besides adding another 33Mhz to the mix, Camino will also feature support for high-bandwidth Direct RAMBUS memory, which should help reduce yet another system performance bottleneck.

How does this affect the Celeron line of processors? Well, for the most part, Intel's got a numbers game to play, convincing buyers that the Celeron is inferior to the P2 not just because the L2 cache is ¼ the size, but also that the system bus runs at a much lower speed. A CPU such as a 400Mhz Celeron, which runs at a multiplier of 6.0 x 66Mhz, can, if Intel so desires, be modified to run at 4.0 x 100Mhz, and Intel's roadmap has Celeron ramping up to 100Mhz FSB, but not for quite a while, unless AMD's K6-3 starts selling like hotcakes.

SEPP no more?

Another issue further segregating the P2 and Celeron lines involves form factor. The 433Mhz Celeron should be the first Celeron processor made almost exclusively in PPGA (Plastic Pin Grid Array) format. Intel is starting to phase out the slot-1 SEPP Celeron, and the SEPP 433 will only be available in limited quantities, if at all. This may mean that future Celeron owners will only be able to run their chips on anemic Socket-370 motherboards, or be forced to buy a Socket to Slot Converter in order to use a high-end P2 motherboard.