The processor serial number serves as an electronic serial number for the processor and, by extension, its system or user. Seventy new instructions for dramatically faster processing and improved imaging, 3D streaming audio and video, Web access, speech recognition, new user interfaces, and other graphics and sound-rich applications. Architectural features of the Pentium III processor include: The SECC2 package covers only one side of the chip and allows for better heatsink attachment and less overall weight. Pentium III processors were first made available in Intel's SECC2 form factor, which replaced the more expensive older SEC packaging. Because of privacy concerns when the processor was released, you can disable this feature in the system BIOS on most systems that use the Pentium III or Celeron III processors. The PIII also can be used in dual-processing systems with up to 64GB of physical memory.Ī self-reportable processor serial number gives security, authentication, and system management applications a powerful new tool for identifying individual systems. The Pentium III also incorporates advanced features such as a 32KB L1 cache and either half-core speed 512KB L2 cache or full-core speed on-die 256KB or 512KB L2 with cacheability for up to 4GB of addressable memory space. The Pentium III also became available in speeds from 450MHz through 1.4GHz, as well as server versions with larger or faster cache called Xeon. Motherboards made before the Tualatin-core versions of the Pentium III generally do not support this processor because of logical pinout changes. The latest version of the Pentium III (codenamed Tualatin) uses a 0.13-micron process and has 44 million transistors. In late 1999, Intel shifted to a 0.18-micron process die (codenamed Coppermine) and added 256KB of on-die L2 cache, which brought the transistor count to 28.1 million. Originally based on Intel's advanced 0.25-micron CMOS process technology, the PIII core started out with more than 9.5 million transistors. SSE consists of 70 new instructions that dramatically enhance the performance and possibilities of advanced imaging, 3D, streaming audio, video, and speech-recognition applications. It is essentially the same core as a Pentium II with the addition of SSE instructions and integrated on-die L2 cache in the later versions. The Pentium III processor, was first released in February 1999 and introduced several new features to the P6 family.