Core 2 Duo (Conroe) the new king

[mkreku]

"But make no mistake, what you see before you is not the power hungry, poor performing, non-competitive garbage (sorry guys, it's the truth) that Intel has been shoving down our throats for the greater part of the past 5 years. No, you're instead looking at the most impressive piece of silicon the world has ever seen, at the fastest desktop processor we've ever tested. What you're looking at is Conroe and today is its birthday."

 

Source: http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2795

 

 

"First of all let me sort the facts: As soon as Core 2 Duo hits the market, it will...

• be the fastest x86 processor (both single and dual core models)
   
  
• make the Pentium D and all predecessors look like antiques
   
  
• be the clear choice for performance users despite its rather expensive price
   
  
• outperform the complete Athlon 64 family (X2 and FX) in all areas, including gaming, where AMD has traditionally been very strong
   
  
• consume less energy than other standard desktop processors
   
  
• transform the whole Intel platform from an energy-hungry beast to a reasonable solution that is competitive in terms of performance per Watt"
  

Source: http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/07/14/cor...n_64/index.html

 

 

AMD's fastest CPU is the Athlon FX-62, which is priced at ~$1000. Intel's new equivalent (in performance) is the Core 2 Duo E6600, priced at ~$318! Above that they now have two faster CPU's than AMD.. Intel is again king.

 

So.. For the fastest computer available right now, go with the Intel Core 2 Duo Extreme X6800 and two Crossfire-connected ATI X1900XTX's.

 

Edit: Typo.

Edited July 14, 2006 by mkreku

[kirottu]

I read something before about this new intel processor and it sounded really promising then too. Some benchmarks would be good to see, though.

[angshuman]

(w00t) Thanks for the link!

 

Intel's back with a vengeance. It's been 5 years, but this baby has been worth the wait.

 

EDIT: Kirottu, mkreku's original Anandtech link has plenty of benchmarks. Several hardware sites have also published results from pre-NDA-expiry benchmark runs on Conroe and its server-twin Woodcrest.

Edited July 14, 2006 by angshuman

[kirottu]

Yeah, I noticed now. I

[metadigital]

Not only is it faster, but it also draws about HALF the wattage of the new AMD chips.

[angshuman]

Looks like Intel isn't even trying to push these babies to the peak frequencies they are capable of. They just locked down the clocks at exactly the point where the $316 E6600 was spanking AMD's top-of-the-line $1000+ FX-62. The reviewers might have received some pristine samples, but there does seem to be a significant amount of frequency headroom.

 

That 2.4GHz E6600 overclocked to 4GHz with *air* cooling... scary.

[metadigital]

*meta pleased with waiting for Core Duo before making gaming machine purchase dance*

[mkreku]

I have my sights set for the Core 2 Duo 6600.. and a generation 8 GPU. Gothic 3 is going to be released this autumn and that's when I'm going to upgrade. With a little luck, they'll have released the new GPU's by then.

[Bokishi]

New CPU + New GPU + New Games = (w00t) (w00t)

[STDSkillz]

It's too bad gamers have to wait until Nvidia releases its new chipset for its SLi goodness. Darn

[mkreku]

It's too bad gamers have to wait until Nvidia releases its new chipset for its SLi goodness. Darn

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That is true.. But not really a problem. The new CPU's are supposed to be released in two weeks from now, but Dell (and the other big names in the industry) are getting the first batches of processors. I would be very surprised if there wasn't a shortage of CPU's in the following weeks. Unless you buy a ready-made Dell, something which I would strongly discourage.

 

Also, the prices of the new CPU's will have stabilized by the time Nvidia and VIA have released their new motherboards, supplies will have been met and if there are any problems with the new architecture, we'll know by then. A smart move would then be to wait for the second generation of motherboards from all the boardmakers, as their first tries seldom realize the potential in the new hardware. Until then I'm sure it's possible to "get by" with Intel motherboards + Crossfire. )

[Deraldin]

*meta pleased with waiting for Core Duo before making gaming machine purchase dance*

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

*Deraldin hurriedly looking for a job to pay for new computer dance*

[alanschu]

Gooooo AMD

[metadigital]

I have my sights set for the Core 2 Duo 6600.. and a generation 8 GPU. Gothic 3 is going to be released this autumn and that's when I'm going to upgrade. With a little luck, they'll have released the new GPU's by then.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There will be another round of GPUs released before DirectX 10 (gen8) and Vista, too ...

[angshuman]

Amusing Inq story

[Oerwinde]

Dangit... and I just spent $900 like 2 months ago on an upgrade...

[tarna]

Dangit... and I just spent $900 like 2 months ago on an upgrade...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I don't want to hear it. I bought the FX-60 'and' the AMD 64 4800+ a few months back!

[angshuman]

Dangit... and I just spent $900 like 2 months ago on an upgrade...

Hey, I spent $2500 less than a year ago on this Athlon64 rig... that's the nature of this business.

[Oerwinde]

Will I need a new motherboard for one of these? Or can they fit in the LGA775 slots?

[Fenghuang]

Sorry AMD, I'm gonna have to buy Intel this round, you made me need a new motherboard anyway. :angry:

[mkreku]

These CPU's need new motherboards, because they have some hardware checks that the motherboard has to support. Only the newest of the new will do that. Without those checks, the Conroe will not even allow you to boot.

[Fenghuang]

Hello mkreku. I'm using AMD this round. I'm switching to a new motherboard either way, but if I'm getting a helluva lot better performance for my dollar from Intel I'm switching to an Intel chipset.

[mkreku]

AMD's fastest CPU is the Athlon FX-62, which is priced at ~$1000. Intel's new equivalent (in performance) is the Core 2 Duo E6600, priced at ~$318! Above that they now have two faster CPU's than AMD.. Intel is again king.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You can get an Intel CPU as fast as the Athlon FX-62 (the former CPU king) for appr. $320. The Athlon FX-62 still costs $1000+.. Guess which is better value for your money?

[alanschu]

I wonder how AMD will counter.

 

 

EDIT: Mkreku, he said he is buying Intel.

Edited July 15, 2006 by alanschu

[mkreku]

EDIT:  Mkreku, he said he is buying Intel.

I thought the keyword was 'if'..

 

I'm using AMD this round.  I'm switching to a new motherboard either way, but if I'm getting a helluva lot better performance for my dollar from Intel I'm switching to an Intel chipset.