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. clickhere

Intel's Mighty Dual Xeon Beast - V8 Platform Preview

Two Xeon X5365 CPU's and Eight Cores!

Just over one week into 2007 Intel kicked off the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas by showcasing a demo machine that was to be known as 'V8'. It was a system that was prepared by Intel just to show the media that consumers could go build a dual-socket platform with Intel retail products just like what AMD was doing on their QuadFX system. The only difference between the two dual-socket 'workstations' was the fact that Intel used two quad-core processors and AMD only had two dual-core processors. This proved to be a crushing blow for AMD in a sense as they didn't have anything to return fire with.

That was half a year ago and it seems that AMD still doesn't have a quad-core processor on the market. For now, one can purchase two quad-core Intel Xeon X5365 processors (3.0GHz) and the Intel S5000XVN Workstation Board to create their own 'V8' system. The heart of the platform is the Intel 5000X-series chipset that powers the S5000XVN workstation board that utilizes FB-DIMM memory modules. clickhere

Intel E8600 Core 2 Duo Processor Review

A Brief Introduction

Intel Wolfdale color-enhanced die-shot.

Processors come in various revisions as the manufacturers test and modify the circuits that comprise the finished product. The previous Wolfdale stepping, C0, was introduced with all previous versions of the E8xxx, E7xxx, and Q9xxx series processors. If you need a quick refresher on what was introduced with the original 45nm processors, check out Nate's Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Processor Review.

The differences between the C0 and E0 steppings aren't much on paper. There is a new function called the Power Status Indicator that will let motherboards drop their VRM down from a multi-phase circuit to a single-phase circuit to save power when at idle. There were also two additional instructions added to the instruction set, XSAVE and XRSTOR, neither of which are world changing. This stepping also features a step towards being green with the introduction of a halide-free package, just another step towards being cleaner like the move to lead-free processors. So, since the processors are electrically, mechanically, and thermally identical to the C0 stepping, why do they deserve a brief review? Simply, it's all about that need for speed and the E8600 delivers. clickhere

Intel ATOM 230 versus VIA Nano L2100 - Battle of the Mini-ITX Platforms

The Battle of Mini-ITX Platforms

The Intel Atom and VIA Nano processors have been making a ton of noise in the market place as they are inexpensive, energy efficient and fit into sleek and sexy devices that consumers are looking for today. The day the VIA Nano processor was announced I was actually at Centaur Technologies down in Austin, Texas meeting with Gleen Henry where I got to see some Nano processors being produced right before my eyes. I had to wait nearly a month to get a VIA reference board in my hands with a VIA Nano processor, but it has been worth the wait. Since I have already covered the basics and introduced the Nano processor in my Centaur Technologies Tour article we will jump straight into things.

Armed with the VIA Nano processor and the Intel Atom processor, I can now do a direct performance comparison against two of the most talked about processors for 2008. The VIA Nano reference platform we were sent isn't a retail product, so keep that in mind while reading the rest of the article. The Intel Atom was tested on the D945GCLF, which is a retail product you can purchase today for $66 plus shipping.

These two platforms might both be using Mini-ITX motherboards, but the features do differ between the very different processors. The VIA Nano processor is built using 65nm process technology (the Atom uses 45nm) and it's major claim to fame is the 64-bit Superscalar Speculative Out-Of-Order MicroArchitecture. Will this be enough to keep the Intel Atom processor at bay? Let's take a look a closer look at the test systems and find out which one is faster in the benchmarks! clickhere

Intel Announces The Centrino 2 Platform

Intel Centrino 2 Takes Off Running

Today is a special day for Intel as it is the 5^thanniversary for the Centrino mobile platform and they are celebrating it with the launch of the Centrino 2 platform (Montevina). Intel started to design the Intel Centrino mobile platform in 1999 and for the time it was cutting edge as WiFi in 1999 was a just dream. When the Intel Centrino platform was launched in 2003 only 16% of notebooks contained Wireless technology (WiFi). Today over 95% of retail notebooks contain WiFi. With Centrino 2, Intel is planning for the future with a platform that is able to adapt to what we need in today’s marketplace.

Intel believes that social networking, user-generated content and visualization are the driving forces in the market today. What platform will bring these uses to the user? Intel believes the Centrino 2 platform will be the perfect match for consumers to bring these driving forces together. clickhere

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. clickhere

Intel Core i7 920, 940 and 965 Processor Review

The Core i7 Series Arrives

Intel has finally lifted the embargo on the yet-to-be-launched Intel Core i7 processors and the Intel X58 Express chipset. Intel strongly believes that this new platform will be the must have work horse for digital media & gaming enthusiasts for many months to come. With so much to talk about this new platform we made the decision to focus just on processor performance for this article and then take a deeper dive at other features in the weeks to come. This should work out nicely as the processors won't be available to purchase until later this month and many companies are just now getting us production grade triple channel memory kits and video card drivers for this new platform.

The Intel Core i7 Processor (known as Nehalem internally) has some very big architecture changes as you can tell from the picture above. The new Core i7 processor has 1366 pins and as a result the size of the processor, socket and heat sink mounting brackets are all larger than LGA 775 based processors that have been out now for a couple of years. The die size of Core i7 processors is 263 mm² and the transistor count is 731 Million. clickhere

INTEL I7-965 XE EXTREME NEHALEM PROCESSOR

For more than three decades, Intel Corporation has developed technology enabling the computer and Internet revolution that has changed the world. Founded in 1968 to build semiconductor memory products, Intel introduced the world's first microprocessor in 1971. Today, Intel supplies the computing and communications industries with chips, boards, systems, and software building blocks that are the "ingredients" of computers, servers and networking and communications products. These products are used by industry members to create advanced computing and communications systems. Intel's mission is to be the preeminent building block supplier to the Internet economy.

PRODUCT INTRODUCTION

I have to admit, I have gotten used to the Socket 775. It was the friendly stable quad-core in the corner that never had a problem, was as stable and dependable as the rising sun and packed a performance punch that knocked out pretty well all its competition. As the Kentsfield and Penryn sits alone in the ring, there isn't anyone to fight or defend off. The only thing Intel can do is launch a new product on to the market and essentially fight itself. This is something that a lot of companies will not ponder seeing they don't want to cannibalize their other processor sales but I have a feeling the newer technology that had to offer was just too good to keep under wraps. The thing is, the megahertz war of the Pentium 4 era died when that processor line became obsolete. The speed of the processor isn't the problem anymore, and Intel has focused on the main roadblock that was holding back any real speed increases, and that is processor memory bandwidth.

This month marks the release of Intel's new i7 Nehalem 1366 pin processor line which boasts some new features such as an integrated on-die memory controller for faster memory access and the removal of the processor-memory bottleneck. the triple channel memory controller allows for two dimms per channel with a maximum memory capacity of 24Gb of total accessible memory. Remember, to take advantage of this, you will have to use a 64bit operating system. The now 133.33Mhz based bus system uses a set multiplier which is different for each processor to set the processor speed (24x133.33=3.2Ghz), and also to set the proper DDR3 memory bus speed (8x133.33Mhz=1066Mhz DDR3). clickhere

Intel's Core i7: Blazing Fast, But Crippled O/C : Eight Virtual Cores Through Hyper-Threading

Eight Virtual Cores Through Hyper-Threading

Just as Intel’s Core 2 has firmly established itself in the market, it is already being replaced by a completely new architecture. Unlike the switch from the Pentium 4 / Pentium D to the Core2—where the new CPUs worked as drop-in replacements on existing boards due to the fact that the processors were pin-compatible—Intel’s newest chip requires a completely new "ecosystem." But this transformation represents nothing less than a milestone for Intel.

Here’s the short version. Intel is introducing the Core i7, the successor to the Core 2 processor, which features both improved performance and higher efficiency. In our benchmark suite, the Core i7 is 25% faster clock-for-clock than the Core 2. Overclockers shouldn’t get their hopes up though: all standard models are equipped with an overclocking lock. Since Intel is re-introducing Hyper-Threading to its desktop CPUs in the Core i7 line, the new processors clickhere