Intel's Core 2 Duo processors

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2006/07/14/intel_core_2_duo_processors/1.html

 

Looks like Intel's back on top again!
I'm seriously getting goosebumps from this article (I haven't read much about the pricings)...the E6400 is really going to be a freakin' steal. Can't wait to upgrade after Vista comes out

 

I have to say this is a major blow to amd =/ I would really hate to be in charge of amd...poor amd. Makes me rethink upgrading due to the pricechanges (although now im sure why) during july and fork up another 100$ to get my hands on a intel! ...did i just say that?

The slowest conroe 2.1Ghz in quite a few benchmarks beats the top of the line amd let alone the flagship intel vrs flagship amd. So even comparisons (Cheapest amd vrs Cheapest intel) would be outragous differences! So let me be one of the first to say it..Intel has made a comeback and quite the comeback at that.

 

Holy **** man. What's AMD going to do? I dont think they're done yet but they had better have something to kick back with.

 

I'd hate to be in AMDs shoes because intel >_>...intel owned them.

 

and the AMD fanboys Attack in 1... 2... 3...

on a serious note those are fantastic, cant wait to see how the mobile version stacks up so i can buy a MBP

 

I'd like to see how much AMD drops their prices by when these his the market proper as we could find AMD having the best performance for the price again. However, I think that Intel has done a fine job and perhaps, has actually listened to the market for once.
Having always been an AMD supporter I'm seriously tempted to go to the Intel camp for a change

Nice review

::edit for punctuation and link::

Novatech seem to be taking pre-orders (they are my local place) and at a slight cheaper than overclockers however they seem to have some info wrong ..
2x 1MB cache on the 2MB cache chips?
But the 6400 IS 20 quid cheaper or there abouts..
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/products/a923x1y0z1p0s0n0m0

 

Yep amd is gonna have a big price drop! And intel has definetly done a good job aswell as bring about alot more people going to the intel camp as I think i may >_>

 

Surprised at the 2mb cache results tbh, the performance from the 2mb chips always seemed to be worse than the 4mbs when I've seen the results posted elsewhere... Guessing thats probably due to the amount the 2mbs overclock compared to their 4mb partners (mostly due to mobo limits)
The E6400 does indeed seem to be a steal certainly seems to be the CPU of choice for those on a budget.
Don't count out AMD yet guys, remeber this is intels new gen up against AMD's current gen (despite the recent move to DDR2)

Tim - How many of the tests run fill the full 4mb/2mb cache btw?

 

Big price jump from the 6700 to the extreme.

I'm glad to see the independant tests by Bit are every bit as good. Looks like Intel for me next then. Wow... first Intel chip I'll have bought in 10 years!

 

Has anyone tested Core 2 in a RAID5 situation? I remember reading about it having performance issues with ES hardware and I'm wondering if that got solved for the shipping version(s).

Not that I'm getting Core 2 or RAID5 any time soon... *sigh*

 

well, AMD's next move (other than the price drops) is going to be interesting, cause all i have to say to AMD after those results is 'Dude, you got pwnz0r3d'....i haven't had an Intel in 6-7 years but the the E6400 or E6600 is looking to be and interesting proposition for when i next upgrade and then with a bit of OC'ing i'm sure your can get performance equal to that of the extreme.

 

Hrmmm... I'm skeptic of this, looking at those benchs the FX-62 wasn't that far behind, I've got a 3800 X2 capable of 2.8ghz am I actually going to see any preformance increase? But then again these are stock Conroe speeds so this could easily all change with abit of overclocking. I can't really compare an overclocked CPU to a stock one... Tim were you allowed to overclock these ones ? If so, spill! The E6600 is getting tempting.... Great read too

 

Just a polite warning for everyone to keep alert for low flying pigs

 

That was an issue with Woodcrest. Whether this extends to Conroe too I'm not sure however.

 

Tim, just like to point out a few errors in the article. Firstly there's an obvious error in the Advanced Smart Cache paragraph on page 3. Then on page 8, in the MP3 encoding section the first graph says .mp3 to .wav encoding when I think it should say .wav to .mp3. Lastly on the last page you mention the price of the E6400 at overclockers as £182 then further on down the page mention that it's "a steal at £152".

Right now that's out of the way, all I can say is wow. I may very well have to take my flag to the Intel camp with my planned new system in October. Never thought I'd be saying that.

Also Tim, in the future could you do some benchmarks that everyone can do at home? For example, I could compare my Super PI for my Athlon XP and the new Core processors to see just how far CPUs have come in the last four or five years.

 

Late night 5am deadlines are a killer, especially when there's no one else awake to edit the copy. I'm glad there aren't too many errors, I'll have a quick gander through.

I'll take that on board and try to include some more common benchmarks in the future.

 

I'm not entirely sure how much cache the chips are using - is there a way that I can measure (sorry if I sound dumb, I've had about 2 1/2hrs sleep)?

 

I will be doing some overclocking, yes. I just didn't have the time to fit it all into this particular review.

 

What, no overclocking results?!

Still, mighty impressive numbers as it is!