Intel Xeon 3.2 socket: Socket 604

What the Xeon 3.2 is

The Intel Xeon 3.2 is a single-core dual-socket server processor from February 2005. Its one NetBurst core runs at 3.2 GHz through a 16x multiplier on an 800 MT/s front side bus, and Hyper-Threading exposes the core as 2 threads. Tray sSpecs include SL7ZE and SL8ZP under order number RK80546KG0882MM, while boxed E-suffix parts shipped under sSpecs such as SL8P5. The die is 90 nm and the package is the 604-pin type for Socket 604.

The cache layout matches the rest of the Irwindale line: 2 MB of on-die L2 with no L3 on the die. Parts data for RK80546KG0882MM confirms the 3.2 GHz frequency, the 800 MHz bus, the 2 MB cache, Socket 604, the N0 stepping, and a listed voltage range of 1.25 V to 1.388 V.

On power, the per-SKU sources agree at 110 W. Both the SL7ZE sSpec data and the RK80546KG0882MM parts data give a thermal design power of 110 W, and Wikipedia's Irwindale table shows 110 W for the 2.8 GHz row while leaving the 3.2 GHz cell blank. Aggregate lists that print 135 W for this bin are not followed here. As with every server part of this era, the board CPU list remains the final word on the supported envelope.

Socket and motherboard compatibility

Socket 604 is the home for this chip: the 604-pin mPGA604 zero insertion force socket used across the NetBurst Xeon DP and MP families. The DP designation matters for board choice. This processor is qualified for boards with up to two sockets, which is the dual-processor topology Wikipedia records for Irwindale and which Intel's 2 MB Xeon datasheet confirms. Four socket and larger boards belong to the MP population.

Qualification runs through the board vendor. The CPU list must name the installed sSpec, the BIOS must carry its microcode, and the voltage regulation must cover the 1.25 V to 1.388 V range at 110 W. Tray and boxed suffixes sometimes appear on separate qualification lines, so an SL7ZE approval should not be assumed to cover an SL8P5 without checking. The Socket vs chipset: what decides whether a CPU works guide describes how socket, chipset generation, and BIOS revision combine.

A practical check before installing a used chip takes minutes. Read the sSpec from the package, find it on the board CPU list, confirm the BIOS revision, and confirm the chassis airflow matches a dual 110 W layout in the board manual.

Memory, PCIe and cooling

The board owns memory on this platform, and no opened source pins the memory type to this exact SKU, so the board manual is the authority. Population order, rank rules, speed grades, and the capacity ceiling all vary by board and chipset. Intel's DP datasheet for the 2 MB family notes board designs addressing up to 64 GB, but what a specific chassis accepts is a board fact.

An 800 MT/s front side bus links the processor to the server chipset, and all expansion slots descend from that chipset. There is no on-die PCIe controller and no integrated graphics, so slot versions, lane counts, and console behavior are read from the board documentation. Throughput estimates should start from the bus rate and the chipset diagram.

Thermal parts are vendor specific. A 110 W dual-socket population needs the server maker heatsinks specified for the exact board and chassis, with the directed airflow those boards assume. Keep existing heatsinks across a bin swap only when the board manual rates them for the new bin at full load.

Upgrade paths

Inside Irwindale the step up is the Intel Xeon 3.6 at 3.6 GHz, with the same 2 MB L2 and 800 MT/s bus on boards that list it. The Intel Xeon 3.4 at 3.4 GHz is the intermediate stop, and the Intel Xeon 3.0 at 3.0 GHz is the step down for cooler or cheaper populations. All three keep the same socket, so the swap is a BIOS and thermals question rather than a platform change.

For more threads per socket, the dual-core Paxville DP Intel Xeon 2.8 fits the same socket on boards whose BIOS lists it. Anything past Socket 604 needs a new board, new memory, and a new thermal plan.