Last Wednesday, Intel launched its Core 2 Extreme QX6700 which is more commonly known as the Quad-Core line of processors (codename: Kentsfield). It’s basically two Core 2 Duo dual-core processors on a single substrate for a total of 4 CPU cores in a single socket. Two of twos makes 4 and a whooping 8MB (2 x 4 MB) L2 cache with core frequencies of up to 2.66 GHz each.
This development got me thinking about my recent Core 2 Duo (Merom) purchase the other week. I did a little more research on how much an improvement one gets from a Code Duo vs. a Code 2 Duo.
It brought me to this review over at AnandTech (Mobile CPU Wars: Core 2 Duo vs. Core Duo).
Overall, the Core 2 Duo doesn’t have much of an improvement but from what I’ve gathered, it has 10 to 15% more power than its predecessor and some huge improvements on 3D rendering and media encoding tasks. Here are some more detailed comparison between the Yonah and the Merom processors.
The question becomes — would it have been better to get a 1.83GHz Code Duo than a 1.66Ghz Core 2 Duo. I guess it’s the former.
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at worst no slower than the core duo yet most of the time 5-15% faster plus same power consumption? core 2 duo drains the battery as fast (or slow as it may be) as the duo.
performance to coin ratio my bet is on the Duo too unless the price is exactly the same…..or worth the 5-15% performance gain “most of the time”
Hardcore Gamers might want to check out Gamespot’s Quad core performance preview and Extremetech’s Quad core roundup. The Core 2 Duo kicked AMD off the gaming CPU crown a couple of months ago, and Intel is putting more pressure with this release.
I have a feeling that this one has a bad design. Heat problems specifically. But that’s just me. Is this processor for desktops or laptops too? Also, do the bus/pipelines have enough bandwidth to transfer data for four processors?
I’m also wondering if there’s a hardware-level task scheduler so that all the CPUs can be utilized even if the OS/software doesn’t support multiple processors/cores.
If the app doesn’t support multi-threading, the rest of them cores will sit idle.
But with Intel Virtualization Technology and VMWare (or its competition)… Virtual Machine heaven!
I wonder when will quadcore become available (for the masses) which should equate to cheaper Intel dualcores… that’s the perfect time to get a Core 2 Duo system!!!
I love the quad cpus it is suoperfast fast. I don’t have one yet, and no plan to upgrade, maybe next Christmas. This cpu is targeted for high-end users and servers. I think it’s a bit overkill for non-gamers and developers.