BIOS-Updates for new Intel CPU functions (XD, TM2, EM64T & EIST)

Intel introduce four functions to their CPU line, they are:

• Thermal monitoring 2 (TM2)
• Enhanced Intel Speedstep Technology (EIST)
• Intel Extended Memory 64 Technology (EM64T)
• Execute Disable Bit (XD)

Note: all these functions are supported by Intels new 6x0 series Pentium 4 CPUs and the Pentium 4 Extreme Edition 3.73 GHz, which have been introduced on 21. Febr. 2005.

LGA775-Processor	Core	Cache	FSB	EIST	EM64T	XD
Intel Pentium 4 6x0	Prescott	2048 kB (L2)	800 MHz	Yes	Yes	Yes
Intel Pentium 4 5xxJ	Prescott	1024 kB (L2)	800 MHz			Yes
Intel Pentium 4 5xx	Prescott	1024 kB (L2)	533 MHz
Intel Celeron-D 3xxJ	Prescott	256 kB (L2)	800 MHz			Yes
Intel Pentium 4 Extreme	Prescott	2048 kB (L2)	1066 MHz	Yes	Yes	Yes
Intel Pentium 4 Extreme	Northwood	2048 kB (L3)	1066 MHz
Intel Pentium 4 Extreme	Northwood	2048 kB (L3)	800 MHz

Owners of the following Shuttle XPC barebone products need to obtain the bios listed or later to get all the functions support.

XPC Barebone Model	BIOS Version
SB77G5	FB77S00F
SB81P	FB81S029
SB83G5	FB83S01I
SB86i	FB86IS12
SB95P	FB95S00W
SB95PV2	FB95S20H
SS58G2	FS58S00S

BIOS Download: http://global.shuttle.com/download/download.asp

Types of CPU Thermal monitoring (throttling):

• TM1: "Thermal Monitoring 1" throttling
  is a feature of Pentium 4, P4 Xeon, Celeron ("Northwood" or "Prescott" cores), and Pentium M CPUs. TM1 throttling does not reduce the CPU clock speed - it inserts idle cycles into the instruction pipeline to reduce the processing load on the CPU, which in turn lowers the CPU temperature.
• TM2: "Thermal Monitoring 2" throttling
  is a superset of TM1 and is used on LGA-775 versions of the Pentium 4 and Celeron processors and also on the Pentium M series of processors. TM2 reduces processor temperature by lowering the CPU clock multiplier, and thereby the processor core speed.

Intel Extended Memory 64 Technology (EM64T)

EM64T allowing platforms to access larger amounts of memory. Processors with Intel® EM64T will support 64-bit extended operating systems from Microsoft, Red Hat and SuSE. Processors running in legacy mode ( where a 32-bit application is running under a 32-bit operating system) remain fully compatible with today's existing 32-bit applications and operating systems.

Learn more: http://www.intel.com/technology/64bitextensions/faq.htm
Note: Intels EM64T is nearly the same as AMDs AMD64 (x86-64) technology

Enhanced Intel Speedstep Technology (EIST)

Enhanced Intel Speedstep Technology (EIST) allows the system to dynamically adjust processor voltage and core frequency, which results in decreased power consumption, which results in decreased heat production, which in turn allows improved acoustics because fans do not need to spin as quickly. Systems supporting EIST require a compatible BIOS, a compatible operating system, and a compatible Intel processor.

Execute Disable Bit (XD)

Intel's Execute Disable Bit functionality (XD) can prevent certain classes of malicious "buffer overflow" attacks when combined with a supporting operating system. It allows the processor to classify areas in memory by where application code can execute and where it cannot. When a malicious worm attempts to insert code in the buffer, the processor disables code execution, preventing damage or worm propagation.

Execute Disable Bit currently requires one of the following operating systems to support it:

• Microsoft Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1
• Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2
• SUSE Linux 9.2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 Update 3

Learn more: http://www.intel.com/business/bss/infrastructure/security/xdbit.htm

Other names for XD-Bit:

Source	Short	Long
Intel	XD-Bit, EDB	Execute Disable Bit
AMD	NX-Bit, EVP	non-execute, Enhanced Virus Protection
Microsoft	EDB	Execute Disable Bit
Linux	DEP	Data Execution Prevention