Intel Pentium M 745 socket: Socket 479

What the Pentium M 745 is

The Intel Pentium M 745 is a 1.8 GHz single-core mobile processor from May 2004. It runs one P6 variant Dothan core at 1.8 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 an 18x multiplier at 1.276 V to 1.34 V.

The 745 steps above the 1.7 GHz 735 with the same 2 MB cache and 21 W envelope, selling at 423 dollars in May 2004. Intel kept power flat by binning voltage, so only the multiplier rises. The chip supports MMX, SSE and SSE2 with Enhanced SpeedStep. A 745A shares clocks as an OEM variant, so either suffix may appear in board lists.

Flat power across Dothan ratings simplified thin designs. A chassis qualified for the 715 at 21 W normally accepts the 745 with the same heat pipe, since power and bus stay level. That drop-in path made the 745 a common speed lift for Centrino notebooks.

Socket and motherboard compatibility

The Pentium M 745 fits Socket 479 thin notebooks with a 400 MT/s bus and Dothan support. It needs a mobile 479-pin 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 745 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 fans. SpeedStep extends battery life.

Upgrade paths

On Socket 479 the steps are the Pentium M 755 at 2 GHz and the 765 at 2.1 GHz with the same bus and power. The 735 and 725 offer slower clocks where listed. Beyond Socket 479 a move to Socket M needs a new notebook. The 745 removes with the socket mechanism, so swaps need no solder work.