Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 Processor Review

Quad-Core Processors Arrive

It's only been a few months since Intel slaughtered AMD?s reign on enthusiast desktop processors by releasing the Core 2 Duo family of processors, but it seems that Intel wants to see AMD squirm a little more and is launching the world?s first quad-core processor. The Intel Core 2 Extreme Processor QX6700 is undoubtedly aimed at the power user and just like any other Intel Extreme processor will set you back $999, like Extreme Editions have always been. Intel will keep the current Intel Extreme X6800 ?Conroe? processor around and the two will coexist for a while as some may want the extra clock speed versus the extra cores. As time goes on having more cores will lead to better performance across the board, so dual-core processors are already looking ?dated? as applications taking advantage of four or more cores are starting to appear on the horizon.

Understanding how Intel came up with the Core 2 Quad processors is quite simple as Intel took two 'Conroe' cores from a Core 2 Duo processor and put them in a single 775-land multi-chip processor package (MCP) to provide much improved levels of perfromance of multi-media applications and multi-tasking usage models that take advantage of multiple cores. If we said that the majority of software applications on the market today takes full advantage of four or more cores it would be a lie, but the list of applications supporting four cores has been getting better as seen below.

Games Supporting 4+ Cores:

• THQ Supreme Commander
• Remedy Alan Wake
• Valve Half-Life 2: Episode 2
• Epic Unreal Engine 3
• Ubisoft Splinter Cell: Double Agent

Multimedia Applications Supporting 4+ Cores:

• Autodesk 3DSMAX 8 and 3DSMAX 9
• Adobe After Effects 7/8
• Adobe Premiere Pro 2/3.0
• Adobe Encore DVD 2.+
• Adobe Photoshop CS2
• Maxon Cinema 4D v10 (TBD)
• Pinnacle Studio dv 10
• Quicktime Pro 7.1
• XMPEG with DIVX 6.2
• DVD Shrink 3.2
• Pov Ray 3.7 Beta
• Sony Vegas 7.0
• Steinberg- Yamaha Cubase v4.5
• TMPGEnc 2.524

Since many of the games and applications that support four or more cores are unreleased it is hard to look at the true potential of the Intel QX6700 processor. Legit Reviews has actually benchmarked the QX6700 with Intel last month and by using many of the above applications found that it was very impressive and showed a significant increase in performance. Since many of these applications have been covered this review will cover the standard benchmarks that LR has run for years to show how this flagship processor does on a wide variety of applications to better form an opinion on quad-core processors.

Intel Moves Closer to 45nm Penryn Processor Production

Intel Shows Off 45nm Progress Thanks To High-K Metal Gate Transistors

When things are going good companies like to brag and tout their stuff and that is exactly what Intel is doing tonight. With the embargo lifted on Intel's new 'High-k + Metal Gate Transistor Breakthrough' we can now talk about how Intel is now able to ramp up 45nm production for processors that will be coming out later this year on the mobile, desktop and server families.

Intel is pleased that the 'law' Gordon E. Moore came up with in 1965 is still holding true 42 years later now that we have entered in 2007. Back in 1965 Moore saw that the number of transistors on an integrated circuit doubles every 24 months. For those that have not seen the April 19th, 1965 Electronics Magazine copy here is what was said:

"The complexity for minimum component costs has increased at a rate of roughly a factor of two per year ... Certainly over the short term this rate can be expected to continue, if not to increase. Over the longer term, the rate of increase is a bit more uncertain, although there is no reason to believe it will not remain nearly constant for at least 10 years. That means by 1975, the number of components per integrated circuit for minimum cost will be 65,000. I believe that such a large circuit can be built on a single wafer."

To keep up with Moore's Law Intel has had to keep shrinking the size of a processors core and has recently been able to produce processors on the 45nm process thanks to improvements in the way transistor gates have been made.

Compared to Intel's current 65nm process the 45nm process they moving over to is said to double the transistor density, while also improving leakage and performance levels. The performance and leakage improvements are due to the fact that Intel has now successfully developed a method to produce high-k + metal gate transistors.

Not much has changed over the years when it comes to transistors, but that is no longer true now that high-k + metal gate transistors have been shown to work in real life. Intel has had working high-k + metal gate transistors since 2003, but just recently has been able to implement the technology with the 45nm manufacturing process that will ramp up later this year. The 'new' parts of this transistor are the gate dielectric now consists of a 'high-k' material and the gate electrode itself is now made of metal. By converting SiO₂ gate dielectric to high-k it allows thickening the dielectric layer while also increasing the gate field effect resulting in increased “on”current, decreased “off”current and significantly decreased gate leakage.

By moving from polysilicon gate transistors to metal gate transistors Intel has been able to improve the drive current by greater than 20% and has significantly reduced leakage. After hearing of the news of the new transistor, Intel co-founder Gordon Moore made the following statement:

'The implementation of high-k and metal gate materials marks the biggest change in transistor technology since the introduction of polysilicon gate MOS transistors in the late 1960s'

Now that we have covered the technical aspect of the high-k + metal gate transistors that make 45nm processor a reality we can see what this means for consumers in the second half of this year.

Intel Penryn and Nehalem 45nm Processor Update

Intel Briefs The Press on Penryn and Nehalem Processors

Marking the next step in Intel’s “tick-tock” product strategy and cadence to deliver a new process technology with an enhanced microarchitecture or entirely new microarchitecture every year, Intel Corporation will begin producing its next-generation Penryn family of processors in the second half of this year. These new processors benefit from enhancements to the Intel Core™ microarchitecture and also Intel’s industry-leading 45nm Hi-k process technology with its hafnium-based high-k + metal gate transistor design, which results in higher performance and more energy-efficient processors.

Intel has more than 15 45nm Hi-k product designs in various stages of development, and will have two 45nm manufacturing fabs in production by the end of the year, with a total of four in production by the second half of 2008 that will deliver tens of millions of these processors. Below are many of the details of the Penryn processor family and a glimpse into some of the key features of Intel’s future generation of processors, codenamed Nehalem.

The 45nm next-generation Intel Core 2 quad-core processors will have 820 million transistors. Due to Intel's high-k metal transistor invention, think of 820 million more power efficient light bulbs going on and off at light-speeds. The dual-core version has a die size of 107mm², which is 25 percent smaller than Intel’s current 65nm products -- and quarter of the size of the average postage stamp -- and operate at the same or lower power than Intel’s current dual core processors.

Penryn processors include up to a 50 percent larger L2 cache with a higher degree of associativity to further improve the hit rate and maximize its utilization. Dual-core Penryn processors will feature up to a 6MB L2 cache and quad-core processors up to a 12MB L2 cache. Cache is a memory reservoir where frequently accessed data can be stored for more rapid access. Larger and faster cache sizes speed a computer’s performance and response time.

Six Penryn family processors, including dual and quad-core desktop processors and a dual core mobile processor are all under the Intel Core processor brand name as well as new dual and quad-core server processors under the Intel Xeon processor brand name. A processor for higher-end server multiprocessing systems is also under development. As previously noted, Intel already has a total of 15 45nm products scheduled.

All of these features and cache are jam packed into the single piece of silicon that makes up the processor. Above is the die photo oh Penryn for those that would like to see what it looks like. Intel has a number of these processors already up and running and just today showed the media a technology demo that included games on a Windows XP Professional platform using Penryn.

Intel Penryn 3.33GHz Processor Benchmarks

Intel Releases Wolfdale & Yorkfield Benchmark Numbers

With the Beijing 2007 Intel Developer Forum in full swing the amount of information that is coming out on Penryn is nothing short of amazing. Intel has even gone as far as showing performance numbers and has had systems up and running with these 45nm processors this week in Beijing, China. Legit Reviews has recently covered the upcoming Penryn and Nehalem 45nm processors, so be sure to read up on our previous coverage to better understand the changes that are coming.

To quickly sum up Penryn for the desktop market, there will be two versions. One will be a quad-core varient with 12MB L2 cache and the other will be a dual-core part with just 6MB L2 cache, since it is missing a core.

Current Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad processors have 16-way associativity, but on Penryn this number has been increased to 24-way associativity, which improves the access paths to the larger L2 cache. Other than the performance improvements that are taking place in the cache the Penryn processors have a new SSE4 instruction that can be used on various media, gaming, and graphic applications. Now that we have a quick background on the processors lets skip on to the performance numbers!

With CPU-Z 1.38 loaded on the Intel test system we can see what a quad-core Yorkfield 45nm processor shows up as in the test system!

$185 Gaming CPU's: AMD 5600+ Versus Intel E6300

AMD Versus Intel at the $185 Price Point

The price war between AMD and Intel is raging more so now than it ever has and while that is bad news for them it happens to be great news for the consumer. Desktop processors prices have been slashed and the latest processors from AMD and Intel are now running on matured platforms with chipsets that have finally been debugged. With lower prices and solid platforms consumers will find that building a new gaming rig on a tight budget has never been easier than now.

With AMD's most recent price cuts they reduced prices on all of their series, but the sharpest cuts came on processors for AMD's desktop lineup. The most powerful processor in the X2 lineup, the X2 6000+, now costs $241, down 48 percent from $464 last month. The next most powerful chip, the X2 5600+, is now 42 percent cheaper at just $188. The prices of other desktop chips were cut between 20 and 40 percent. With these drastic price cuts the consumer is the winner as AMD revenues will continue to decrease as the price war continues.

Since many can't afford the highest price processors on the market we have focused on the sub $200 processors from AMD and Intel for an article that shows gaming performance between the two processors. To keep under the $200 budget we went with the $185 Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E6300 and the $184 AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor 5600+. Both of these processors are under $200 and are within just a dollar of each other, so when it comes to pricing alone it's an apple to apple comparison. Price is the only reason that these processors are being compared to each other, so please remember that this article is about the bang for your buck.

To keep the comparison as fair as possible each processor needs to be tested on a similiar platform. We loaded up each test system with the same 4GB of Corsair DOMINATOR PC2-10000C5 memory modules, XFX GeForce 8800GTX video card, 250GB Western Digital hard drives, Corsair 620HX power supply and Windows XP Professional. Since we are comparing gaming performance six popular game titles were loaded onto each system and 3DMark06 was included for good measure.

Intel Shows Off 8-Core 45nm Penryn Benchmarks

Intel Deals Another Blow - Is It Deadly?

This morning at Computex, Intel held a very small and private tech session that was aimed at showing off what a pair of their upcoming 45nm Penryn processors could do in their famed V8 test system that we first showed you back at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year. Just a couple months ago at the Beijing Intel Developers Forum, Intel let the media benchmark a single 3.33GHz Penryn processor and we found it to be a monster. It seems that Intel was trying to bury the hatchet firmly in AMD's back and they might have succeeded in their mission this morning.

It was all smiles from Intel Senior Performance Analyst Francois Piednoel as he just finished running benchmarks with the V8 system which was running a pair of 3.00GHz Penryn processors that offered a combined total cache size of 24MB (12MB per processor).

With all eight 3GHz cores ready for action and 16,358MB of FB-DIMM memory installed in the motherboard the Vista Ultimate 64-bit test system was ready for benchmarking!

One of the highlights of the benchmarking was Cinebench release 10, where the Intel V8 test system scored 22,936 at 3.0GHz. Let's take a look and see how that compares to some other Intel processors.

The V8 Penryn test system at 3GHz scaled nicely against the dual-core and quad-core 3.33GHz Penryn processors as well at the Core 2 Extreme QX6800 quad-core processor. AMD wouldn't comment on the record on what their upcoming Barcelona processor would score, but people in the know said that AMD is getting ~16,000 with a pair of their Barcelona processors on Cinebench 10. If this proves to be true and you keep in mind that the 45nm Penryn V8 system is underclocked right now and scoring ~23,000 on the same benchmark it means things could get interesting really soon.

At the end of the day it was all smiles from Matt Dunford (Performance Benchmarking Manager), Mahmoud Khroashadi (Performance Benchmarking) and Francois Piednoel (Senior Performance Analyst) as they all believe that the performance race between Penryn and Barcelona is already over before it's even started.

I guess it's all how you see things, but right now Intel firmly believes that they are driving away from the competition. Who knows if they are right or if they just have a good marketing team. Either way you look at it Intel has raised the bar and it's now up to AMD to fire back if they can!

Intel Launches The Core 2 Extreme Mobile Processor X7800

Extreme Mobile Processors Arrive

Just minutes ago Intel announced their first ever mobile extreme part, the Core 2 Extreme X7800 mobile processor. The Core 2 Extreme X7800 mobile processor doesn't contain any new microarchitecture as it is still based off the Merom core, but it is fully unlocked for improved overclocking and performance. For those that have followed the Intel extreme desktop parts, this will be familiar to you as those are also unlocked parts that allow consumers to select the multiplier at which the processor operates.

The Intel Core 2 Extreme X7800 mobile processor operates at 2.6 GHz, with 4 MB of shared L2 Advanced Smart Cache, and an 800 MHz Front Side Bus (FSB). All the usual Intel technologies such as VT, EIST, EM64T and XD/NX bit are supported, but it should be noted that Intel has removed support for Intel Dynamic Acceleration (IDA) on the Extreme series. With the extra overclocking headroom head room that the adjustable multiplier brings to the table this one missing feature shouldn't sway consumers from Intel's new Extreme mobile processor family. Legit Reviews contacted Intel for an official comment about IDA and was given this statement:

The Intel® Core™2 Extreme mobile processor has unlocked bus ratios, which offers added technical flexibility for experienced enthusiasts who desire more capability to customize the system – even beyond the specification limits. Intel is investigating the option of adding Intel Dynamic Acceleration to future Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme mobile processors.

There is, however, dynamic FSB switching support on the Intel Core 2 Extreme X7800 mobile processor. Since this is a mobile processor it has additional power management features to enable it to go down to C4 and DC4 state that desktop processors are not capable of reaching. DeepC4 state can be reached on mobile processors after the L2 cache has been shrunk to 0 and the CPU enters C4 state, the CPU voltage may be further reduced. Moreover, since no data has been cached, the data cache does not need to be awakened for snoops and the notebook will consume less power, therefore prolonging battery life. Speaking of battery life the higher clock speed on the X7800 increases the power envelope by 9W that of the T7700. The X7800 is based off same Merom core as the top-of-the-line Core 2 Duo T7700 with the only difference being a 200MHz boost in clock frequency and the unlocked multipliers.

The Intel Core 2 Extreme X7800 mobile processor is available to OEMs now at a cost of $851. Intel public relations has stated that these notebook systems will appear on the market within the next two weeks if all goes to plan. Our sources in the industry informed LR that all is on track to meet the launch times with HP Orion by end of July and then Asus and Dell models soon after. While the Intel Core 2 Extreme X7800 isn't right for everyone it does bring a new option to the table for enthusiasts and gamers around the world. Intel has for a number of years now been helping the notebook market grow and this is just another example of how Intel is offering options in a market that has been having a hard time appealing to overclockers and gamers. With companies like ASUS offering notebooks that have improved cooling for overclocking the launch of the X7800 couldn't have been timed better!

Intel 1333FSB Processors Arrive - QX6850 and E6750

Intel Increases The Bus Speed and Lowers Prices

At the beginning of this week, Intel officially introduced their flagship Core 2 Extreme QX6850 quad-core processor to go along with the recently announced Core 2 Duo E6550, E6750 and E6850 series processors. While all these processors have different model numbers, they do have one thing in common, a new faster 1333MHz Front Side Bus (FSB) for improved performance that has replaced the old 1066MHz FSB. For overclockers this is nothing new as reaching a FSB of 1333MHz could easily be reached with the right hardware, but now with the introduction of the Intel P35 'Bearlake" chipset and upcoming X38 chipsets, a FSB of 1333MHz is now supported without 'overclocking' the system components. Other than Intel chipsets, third party chipset designers like NVIDIA also support these new 1333MHz FSB processors, giving consumers a multitude of boards to pick from when building a new system.

For our dedicated readers that came looking for our launch article a few days ago and didn't find it, please note that we were waiting on something to be sent to us before running all of our benchmarks. For these new 1333MHz processors we wanted to run them on the ASUS P5K3 Deluxe motherboard with latest and greatest DDR3 memory. Just this past week Kingston Technology announced a new HyperX kit that operates at 1333MHz with 5-7-5-15 timings and since none of the four brands of DDR3 have reviewed offer timings tighter than CL7 timings we made the move to wait. By chosing to wait, it delayed the article by several days, but by doing so improved the system's performance by a significant amount (greater than five percent in a number of cases).

Now that we are armed with the latest memory, chipsets and motherboard BIOS revisions, Legit Reviews will be covering both the new Core 2 Extreme QX6850 quad-core processor and the Core 2 Duo E6750 dual-core processor. Both offer the new 1333MHz FSB and are monsters when it comes to performance and overclocking as you are about to find out.

Looking at the QX6850 and the E6750 the look identical, but don't let the looks deceive you. The Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850 is a quad-core processor, running at 3.0 GHz with 8MB of L2 cache and features a Thermal Design Power (TDP) of 130W. The Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 is a dual-core processor, running at 2.66GHz with 4MB of L2 cache and features a TDP of 65-75W. Other than those key differences, both processors are nearly identical as they are built with the same 65nm manufacturing process and contain Intel Core 2 microarchitecture.

If you are already wondering when these bad boys will be available, Intel has informed Legit Reviews that all of their 1333 MHz FSB parts should be available at your favorite retailer in roughly two weeks or so. As previously mentioned, LR will just be covering the Core 2 Extreme QX6850 and the Core 2 Duo E6750 in this article, but Intel is also launching two other processors today: The Core 2 Duo E6850 and Core 2 Duo E6550. This means that Intel now has four 1333MHz FSB parts on the market today that range in price from just $163 all the way up to the multiplier unlocked Core 2 Extreme QX6850 for $999.

Processor	Cores	Frequency	Front-side Bus	L2 Cache	Price
Core 2 Extreme QX6850	4	3.0 GHz	1333 MHz	8 MB	$999
Core 2 Quad Q6700	4	2.66 GHz	1066 MHz	8 MB	$530
Core 2 Duo E6850	2	3.0 GHz	1333 MHz	4 MB	$266
Core 2 Duo E6750	2	2.66 GHz	1333 MHz	4 MB	$183
Core 2 Duo E6550	2	2.33 GHz	1333 MHz	4 MB	$163

These new prices are by far the most exciting part of this product launch as last week Newegg was selling the Core 2 Duo E6700 for $318 and now Core 2 Duo E6850 can be had $183 and has a faster Front Side Bus. With this product launch Intel has been able to improve performance and reduce prices at the same time. It's not every day you pay less and get more, but this is obviously one of them and it happened just before the back to school shopping season. Thank the on-going price war between AMD and Intel for this one!

Let's take a look at these new processors and see how they stack up against recent releases from AMD and Intel, but before you go on be sure to catch up on our more recent processor reviews.

• Intel Unleashes Conroe: X6800 and E6700 Reviewed (Conroe Launch Article)
• Core 2 Extreme QX6700 Processor Benchmarking at Intel (Private Benchmarking with Intel)
• Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 Processor Review (Kentsfield Launch Article)
• Intel Moves Closer to 45nm Penryn Processor Production (45nm Technology Information)
• Intel Penryn and Nehalem Update (Updates on Penryn and Nehalem)
• AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Processor Review (AMD's Latest Desktop Processor Review)
• Intel Penryn 3.33GHz Processor Benchmarks at Intel (Private Benchmarking with Intel)

Intel Beats AMD to Lead-Free Processors

Six Years In The Making - Lead Free Processors

With next weeks launch of Intel's 45nm family of microprocessors they will have official removed 100 percent of the lead (Pb) across its entire 45nm series of microprocessors. This is a huge milestone and it has taken Intel six years to strip the lead from the manufacturing process on their microprocessors! With the world so focused on 'going green' the move to a lead-free product could not have come at a better time.

Current 90nm and 65nm Intel desktop processors are 95% lead free and have been so for a few years now, but have had lead in the C4 bumps. Now that Intel has moved to 45nm Hi-k metal gate process technology they can transition to new lead-free materials on the bumps. This means that lead-tin solder is a thing of the past as tin-silver-copper solder can now do the job.

If you're not familiar with what a 'bump' is and where the change is taking place, it's under the integrated heat spreader (IHS) between the die and the substrate. Each and every flip-chip bump is now lead-free.

Now that the flip-chip bump solder points that used to contain lead have been replaced with a copper column and lead-free solder the processors are more environmentally friendly, but this does come at a cost. The melting point of lead-tin is 183C, whereas the melting point of lead-free solders is greater than 220C. This means increased stress on the flip-chip package and more power consumption since the convection ovens need their baking temperatures increased. To manage the increased stress and survive the higher process temperatures, Intel reengineered many parts of the processor. At the same time, the new solder alloy dramatically increases the current carrying capability of the electrical connection. Copper is a better conductor than the previously used lead/tin solder and it can connect to massive metal layers inside the die, so it's actually better in this aspect. In the end using a little more energy to remove lead and having a better electrical connection, seems like the better choice for the environment.

The next time you buy or upgrade a computer system choosing a lead-free part is more than likely not a key feature that influences buying decisions, but if it is, you are now a better informed consumer. It should be pointed out that although 45nm processors are now 100% lead-free, Intel chipsets are not. Upcoming 65nm Intel Express chipsets will transition to being 100% lead-free in 2008, so we will still have to wait a bit for a 100% lead-free motherboard. Kudos to Intel for being the first to have a lead-free processor, but don't stop! Keep going green across the board!

Legit Bottom Line: The new lead-free bumps is a step in the right direction; they can carry more current and enable higher performance microprocessors, is more reliable, and is better for the environment since it is 100 percent lead-free.

Intel Core 2 Extreme Processor QX9650

Intel Launches 45nm Desktop Processors - QX9650 Leads The Way

It has been a long time in the making, but the Intel Core 2 Extreme Processor QX9650 has finally arrived! The Intel QX9650 has been talked about for many months, so it shouldn't be anything new to you, but the embargo on the performance numbers has finally lifted. If you want to purchase one of these you'll still have to wait till the official launch date of November 12th, 2007. Intel hasn't said a word about pricing, but we are hopeful that it will launch at the same price as the Intel QX6850, which was $999.

The Intel QX9650 has a 3.0 GHz core frequency, a 12MB chunk of L2 cache, was built on the 45nm process and features a new SSE4 instruction set. Since the clock frequency hasn't changed the significant differences is the extra 4MB of cache and the fact it was done on the 45nm process. It is the world’s first 45nm, high-K metal gate lead-free desktop processor. If you are already a bit lost please feel free to go back and reference some of our previous articles on Intel's 45nm processors. It's interesting to see that Intel previewed us a 45nm Yorkfield at 3.33GHz in April of 2007 and now six months later they are releasing the same part at just 3.00GHz. That might just go to show how much overclocking potential one of these processors might have.

• Intel Moves Closer to 45nm Penryn Processor Production
• Intel Penryn and Nehalem 45nm Processor Update
• Intel Penryn 3.33GHz Processor Benchmarks
• Intel Shows Off 8-Core 45nm Penryn Benchmarks
• Intel V8 Skulltrail Yorkfield System Preview
• Intel Beats AMD to Lead-Free Processors

Built on the state-of-the-art Intel 45nm manufacturing process, this quad-core Intel Core 2 Extreme processor is designed to deliver outstanding capabilities on both today’s and tomorrow’s workloads. Intel is using the element Hafnium and other materials to “reinvent” parts of the now 60-year old transistor, meaning this launch is a big step forward for processor design technology. This is also the first mass production 45nm desktop processor that Intel has brought to market and boy is it small. With a die size of just 214mm² and 820 million transistors it is smaller than both a penny and it's predecessor the QX6850, as it had a die size of 286mm² with 582 million transistors. The TDP rating (Thermal Design Power) for the chip hasn't changed even though the L2 cache size has increased. The Intel QX9650 processor will have a TDP of 130W, which means cooling requirements have not changed. All you need to upgrade to one of these new 45nm processors is make sure you have (or get) a motherboard and chipset capable of supporting the newer 45nm processors, which means Intel P35 Express and Intel X38 Express based desktop motherboards.

Intel Core 2 Extreme Processor QX9650 Specifications:

• 3.0 GHz, 1333 FSB, quad-core
• 45nm high-K metal gate transistor technology
• 12MB L2 cache
• SSE4 instructions
• 820M transistors
• Total Die Size - 214mm²
• LGA775 socket, 130W TDP, “C-step”
• Overspeed protection removed
• Supported by either Intel P35 or Intel X38 chipsets
• MSRP - $999

The view of the Integrated Heat Spreader (IHS) hasn't changed with the Intel QX9650, but if you flip it over and look at the LGA775 socket side some differences can be noted between recent cores. In fact we will be testing the very three processors pictured above (Intel QX6950, QX850 and E6750) along with the AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ to see how the new Intel Core 2 Extreme Processor QX9650 processor does against other high-end offerings from AMD and Intel on Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit.

Intel Core 2 Extreme Processor QX9770 Review

Intel Shows Off QX9770 - 1600MHz FSB Yorkfield!

Just a few weeks ago Intel released the Intel Core 2 Extreme Processor QX9650, which is the first 45nm Yorkfield Extreme Edition processor from Intel. Intel must be having great yields with the Yorkfield as the QX9770 will be part of the Q1 2008 high-end desktop processor lineup and is officially supported by the Intel X48 Express chipset that is not even out yet. The Intel QX9770 is the first 1600MHz desktop processor from Intel as the previous 45nm processors operated at 1333MHz. Some current Intel X38 Express motherboards boards on the market support 1600MHz FSB, so Intel sampled the QX9770 a bit early. If you want to purchase one of these you'll still have to wait till the official launch date in 2008, so sit back and enjoy this performance preview of what is to come next year.

The Intel QX9770 has a 3.2 GHz core frequency (an increase of 200MHz), a 12MB chunk of L2 cache, and was built on the 45nm process and features a new SSE4 instruction set. Since the Intel QX9770 is really nothing more than a speed bump on the FSB and multiplier, please reference our review on the QX9650 for a more detailed background.

• Intel Moves Closer to 45nm Penryn Processor Production
• Intel Penryn and Nehalem 45nm Processor Update
• Intel Penryn 3.33GHz Processor Benchmarks
• Intel Shows Off 8-Core 45nm Penryn Benchmarks
• Intel V8 Skulltrail Yorkfield System Preview
• Intel Beats AMD to Lead-Free Processors
• Intel Core 2 Extreme Processor QX9650 Review

With a die size of just 214mm² and 820 million transistors, it is smaller than its predecessor the QX6850, as it had a die size of 286mm² with 582 million transistors. The TDP rating (Thermal Design Power) for the chip has changed though as it does use more power. The Intel QX9650 processor has a TDP of 130W and the Intel QX9770 is 136W, which means cooling requirements have changed just a bit. Other than the TDP change, the price is also going to be higher than traditional Extreme processors. Intel hasn't said how much higher it will be, but we will find out next year when they are launched.

Intel Core 2 Extreme Processor QX9770 Specifications:

• 3.2GHz, 1600 FSB, quad-core
• 45nm high-K metal gate transistor technology
• 12MB L2 cache
• SSE4 instructions
• 820M transistors
• Total Die Size - 214mm²
• LGA775 socket, 136W TDP, “C-step”
• Overspeed protection removed
• Supported by Intel P35, Intel X38 or Intel X48 chipsets
• MSRP - unknown at press time

The view of the Integrated Heat Spreader (IHS) hasn't changed with the Intel QX9770, but if you flip it over and look at the LGA775 socket side some differences can be noted between recent cores. In fact, we will be testing the very three processors pictured above (Intel QX6950/QX9770, QX6850 and E6750) along with the AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ to see how the new Intel Core 2 Extreme Processor QX9770 processor does against other high-end offerings from AMD and Intel on Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit.

Intel SkullTrail Preview - Dual Core 2 Extreme QX9775 Processors

Skulltrail Enthusiast Platforms Arrive

When AMD launched the QuadFX system it got Intel pondering the thought of a high-end desktop PC platform based on workstation-class chips. Intel responded just two months later and showed off the V8 test system with eight cores of processing power! Six months later Intel had two Xeon X5365 processors and the Intel S5000XVN workstation motherboard that made up the V8 system in our hands and the benchmarks showed Intel had nothing to worry about from QuadFX. Sadly, AMD ended the QuadFX program not even a year after it was launched, but that didn't stop Intel from releasing another V8 system with the code name - Skulltrail. Legit Reviews first spotted Skulltrail at the Intel Developer Forum last fall and found out that this board would support both ATI Crossfire and NVIDIA SLI video card technology, which is neat to say the least. It was originally said to support Triple-SLI and maybe even Quad-SLI since the motherboard supports four x16 PCI Express lanes, but that seems to have changed in recent months. In the days leading up to the launch of Skulltrail this statement was sent out by NVIDIA:

There are rumors that 3-way SLI on Skulltrail could be enabled with a driver from NVIDIA. Just wanted to inform you that Skulltrail motherboards use two NVIDIA nForce 100 SLI MCPs. The nForce 100 SLI chip allows a maximum of two GeForce graphics cards to work together, enabling SLI between two GeForce GPUs such as the GeForce 8800 GTX, and enables Quad SLI on dual-GPU graphics boards such as the GeForce 7950 GX2. The nForce 100 SLI MCP will NOT support 3-way SLI. This cannot change even with a driver/bios update.

Seems just two card SLI is available on Skulltrail, but that is great compared to not being able to run SLI at all. Without further ado, lets take a look at Skulltrail and get to it!

The Intel Skulltrail platform consists of the Intel D5400XS motherboard that supports two LGA771 based processors at 1066/1333/1600 bus speeds, for up to 8-core processing. The Skulltrail configuration that we are looking at today consists of a pair of Core 2 Extreme QX9775 processors. The Intel D5400XS supports both Core 2 and Xeon LGA771 processors, so if you are worried about the budget alternate CPU's are available at various price points. The Intel D5400XS is basically a workstation board and as such uses the EATX format, so a larger chassis will be needed. The D5400XS uses up to four slots of FB-DIMM dual-channel memory at either DDR2 667MHz or 800MHz speeds. This might be the last time we see FB-DIMM's on the high-end enthusiast platforms as rumor has it that Intel might be going to DDR3 memory. Notice that the MCH is passive cooled, but the pair of NVIDIA nForce 100 chipsets and south bridge are actively cooled.

Other board features are what one would expect on a high-end enthusiast motherboard and include 4 PCI Express x16 (1.1) slots, 2 PCI slots, Intel High Definition Audio, Intel Matrix Storage Technology (RAID 0,1,5,10), Intel PRO 10/100/1000 LAN, 10 USB 2.0 ports, 8 SATA 3.0 Gb/s ports (including 2 eSATA), and a Parallel ATA (2 devices) connector. As mentioned previously the PCI Express lanes support both SLI and CrossFire technology. Since the NVIDIA nForce 100 chips are being used PCI Express 2.0 support is out the door, so PCI Express 1.1 will have to do.

Intel recommends a kilowatt or better PSU for a system with 4GB of memory, two GPUs, and two CPUs. If you want to run four GPUs and 8GB of memory, they recommend a PSU rated for over 1400W! Legit Reviews has a few PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 1kW-SR power supplies laying around and was able to make do with one and had no problems with 4GB of memory and a pair of GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB video cards running SLI. Remember Intel D5400XS motherboard has dual eight-pin aux power connectors in addition to the 24-pin ATX connectors, so you'll need a power supply that has the right connections.

Before we move on we have to show the LGA771 socket and the unlocked Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9775 processors we will be using for testing. Clocked at 3.2GHz, these 45nm processors with dual 1600MHz front-side buses are sure to perform great. They are based on the LGA771 Xeon (Harpertown) architecture even though they have a feature list that is nearly identical to the Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770. Intel informed us that this setup will offer a total of 25.6GB/s of bandwidth, so this is hands down the most powerfull system that we have ever looked at. The processors are also part of the reason for the high power supply requirements as these 3.2 GHz quad-core processors with dual 6MB chuncks of L2 cache have a TDP rating of 150W. This TDP is just a little bit higher than the 136W TDP of the QX9770, but otherwise, they are virtually equivalent processors. It will be interesting to see what cooling solutions enthusiasts come up with for this platform!

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Processor Review - 45nm Wolfdale

Intel Dual-Core Processors Go 45nm - Wolfdale

When AMD released the quad-core Phenom processor series last November, Phenom shocked the industry with low performance numbers and clock frequencies. If that was not enough, AMD then had to deal with the TLB erratum number 298 that presented a BIOS workaround that fixes the issue for a large performance loss. Even during this bad news, other headlines from November to February revolved around video cards, as both NVIDIA and ATI launched new series that both marked significant improvements over previous generations. With all the media focus going to the new video cards and how bad Phenom is doing, almost no one noticed the refresh of their Core 2 Duo processor lineup. The old 65nm Conroe dual-core processor that we have all come to know and love has been replaced by a new 45nm Wolfdale dual-core processor! The Intel Wolfdale based processors have the same technology benefits that LR has already talked about in previous articles, so if you don't know about High-k + metal gate transistors or Intel's lead-free technology you have some catching up to do.

With a die size of just 107mm² and 410 million transistors, it is smaller than its predecessor, the Conroe, as it had a die size of 143mm² with 291 million transistors. The above pictures are not to scale, but they show what the layout of the dies look like. Most of the 119 million new transistors are for the larger 6MB L2 cache on the Wolfdale as the Conroe had just 4MB. Other transistors are dedicated to the new SSE4 instruction set and the super shuffle engine. The TDP rating (Thermal Design Power) for the chip impressively stays the same, though, at just 65W. For comparison, the fastest single desktop processor that Intel has to offer right now is the quad-core Intel QX9770, which has a TDP rating of 136W. All of the Intel dual-core Wolfdale series processors are rated at 65W TDP and have 6MB of L2 Cache.

Processor	Cores	Frequency	L2 Cache	Bus Speed	Multiplier	1ku Price	Street Price
E8500	2	3.16GHz	6MB	1333MHz	9.5	$266	$285
E8400	2	3.00GHz	6MB	1333MHz	9	$183	$207
E8200	2	2.66GHz	6MB	1333MHz	8	$163	$172
E8190	2	2.66GHz	6MB	1333MHz	8	$163	N/A

Intel currently offers four Wolfdale processors and, as you can see from the table above, half multipliers are back in action as the Intel E8500 has a multiplier of 9.5. Of the four dual-core Wolfdale processors you might be wondering what the difference between the E8200 and the E8190 is as they have the same basic features. Basically, the E8190 lacks Virtualization and Trusted Execution Technology. Many people don't even know what virtualization is, so one can expect prices on the E8190 to eventually be less than that of the E8200. It should also be pointed out that some rumors are going around that Intel will have a Core 2 Duo E8300 with an 8.5x multiplier and an E8600 with a 10x multiplier coming out later this year.

Today, we will be testing out the Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 processor against six other processors, but keep an eye on the $269.99 Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Processor and $259.99 AMD Phenom 9600 Black Edition Processor as these processors are in the same price range.

Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Processor Review

The $133 Wolfdale Arrives - Core 2 Duo E7200

The Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 processor isn't even out yet, but it is by far one of the most talked about processors in 2008 and with a rumored price of $133 it is no wonder as to why. This means that the E7200 will be priced lower than what you can purchase an Intel Core 2 Duo E4700 for today as it will set you back for $149.99. The E7200 at 2.53GHz is 70MHz slower than the E4700 that currently works at 2.6GHz, but don't worry as the E7200 has 1066MHz FSB, which is faster than the E4700 that has just an 800MHz FSB. The Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 has a 3MB chunk of L2 cache that should perform better than the 2MB L2 cache found on the E4700. The faster Front Side Bus (FSB) and increased density on the L2 cache should make up for the lower clock speed and make the entry level Core 2 Duo very competitive.

As much as the enthusiast community has been talking about the Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 processor, Intel has been pretty silent about the upcoming processor. This is strange seeing how the launch of it is coming up in the weeks ahead (rumored to be on May 11th, 2008). After the Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 processor arrived here at LR, we had some questions for Intel about the pricing and power ratings and Intel had this to say:

Oh, for pricing, we are not giving that out yet as launch is still just slated for “Q2” and it isn’t launched yet. I will say however it will fit into our mainstream dual core 65W TDP. - Intel PR

With Intel not sharing any information other than providing us with a processor let's take a look at what we have and run some numbers! The rest of the information will come out when the launch date gets closer.

With the latest version of CPU-Z 1.44.2, we can see our dual-core 'Wolfdale' processor is correctly identified at 2.53 GHz with a 1066MHz FSB and 3MB L2 cache. This is a 45nm processor with the Q-spec code of QAFS. The Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 should be a great overclocker as it has a 9.5 multiplier (266MHz FSB x 9.5 multiplier = 2,527MHz). If you increase the FSB to 333MHz that will make the CPU 3.16GHz and if it could do 400MHz that would make it 3.80GHz! We will try to reach these higher clock frequencies in our overclocking section.

Moving over to the cache tab in CPU-Z the 3MB of L2 cache can be seen. With a larger L2 cache size the Core 2 Duo 7xxx series should be able to perform better than the Core 2 Duo 4xxx series.

Flipping the Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 processor over, some differences can be noted between the various 45nm processors by Intel.

Intel Core 2 Quad 9300 Processor Review

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 - Budget Phenom Slayer

For those that haven't been keeping up with all the new processor launches the Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 processor is the newest 45nm quad-core 'Yorkfield' processor. It is also the entry level 45nm quad-core processor, which means it has the lowest price tag! At $285.99 plus shipping on PriceGrabber the Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 is still fairly pricey, but you get what you pay for and it should run circles around the $235 AMD Phenom 9850 quad-core processor. The Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 Processor has been getting a ton of attention these days as retailers are offering it in some pretty killer bundles. Microcenter for example has the Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q9300 (OEM) processor and a 2GB (2x1GB) OCZ Gold DDR2-800 memory kit being offered together for $250. If these deals are looking tempting, but you are unsure about the processor and how it stacks up against others on the market you are in luck as we are going to run the Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 against seven other processors to see how it does.

With the latest version of CPU-Z 1.44.2, we can see our quad-core 'Yorkfield' processor is correctly identified at 2.50 GHz with a 1333MHz FSB and 6MB L2 cache.Our processor is an M1 stepping and has a TDP of 95W, which is the same as the Q6600 that it replaces. The Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 should be a pretty good overclocker, but it only has a 7.5 multiplier (333MHz FSB x 7.5 multiplier = 2.5GHz). With a somewhat low multiplier the FSB will have to be increased beyond 450MHz to break the 3.5GHz mark. This eliminates the use of many low end motherboards as to hit FSB speeds above 450MHz it will really tax the platform. If you increase the FSB to 400MHz that will make the CPU 3.0GHz, which should be easy to reach! We will try to reach these higher clock frequencies in our overclocking section as many enthusiasts will be buying this processor just to overclock it.

Moving over to the cache tab in CPU-Z the 6MB of L2 cache can be seen.

Flipping the Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 processor over, some differences can be noted between the various 45nm processors by Intel.

Intel Core 2 Extreme Mobile X9000 on the Dell M1730

Dell Offers Users The Ultimate Mobile Processor - Intel X9000

It has been a long time since I've written about notebooks since I've been busy looking at desktop hardware, but I finally had the time to dedicate to one very nice notebook. What I have here today is the Dell XPS M1730 gaming notebook, which is hands down the fastest notebook I have ever laid my hands on. The Dell XPS M1730 has been around since October 2007, so I won't bore you with a review on a notebook that is now over half a year old. What we are looking at today is the new 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme X9000 processor that you have the option to purchase when you pick up one of beasts. When the Dell M1730 first came out it was offered with an Intel Core 2 Extreme X7900 at 2.8GHz. What is the difference then you ask? The Intel Core 2 Extreme X7900 is built with a 65nm process and has an L2 cache size of 4MB, while the recently released Intel Core 2 Extreme X9000 uses a newer 45nm process technology and has an L2 cache size of 6MB. What stands out the most about the transition though is the power savings. The X7900 has a TDP of 44W, while the new X9000 has a TDP of just 35W. Intel has managed to add cache and manage an impressive power reduction thanks to the die shrink. This processor is hands down Intel's fastest notebook CPU for the performance enthusiast, gaming, and multimedia markets. If you crave speed and don't mind Desktop Replacement (DTR) sized notebooks then you are in luck.

The Dell XPS M1730 is the perfect system to test the out the Intel Core 2 Extreme X9000 processor as it has all the latest technology stuffed under the hood. The Dell XPS M1730 offers support of the highest-end components available today, Intel Core 2 Extreme processors, Nvidia GeForce 8800M GTX SLI graphics, the first mobile PhysX processor, and two SATA hard drives. Our test system (pictured above) came with a pair of NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTX graphics cards in SLI, a pair of 250GB Seagate Momentus 7200.3 ST9250421ASG hard drives in RAID, 4GB (only 3GB available) of DDR2 667MHz memory and of course the Intel Core 2 Extreme Mobile X9000 Processor.

Before we jump into the testing, I wanted to show how cool the keyboard illumination looks when computing in the dark. This is ideal for gamers that like to play with the lights off. The Dell XPS M1730 laptop also incorporates a built-in Logitech GamePanel LCD display above the keyboard; four buttons beneath the LCD let you navigate menus to toggle between system status, in-game statistics, and other vital information on the 0.8-inch-high screen. My Dell XPS 1710 is starting to look a little dated!