Posted on 07/14/2006 8:31:15 AM PDT by ShadowAce
Two weeks from now, Intel will release its all-new Core 2 Duo processor. The technical details were made available to the public in March 2006, and first benchmarks made clear that Intel is not joking: Core 2 Duo shall become the undisputed leader in performance and performance per Watt. It's time to separate facts from rumors.
Intel does not talk about changes to the processor architecture; it talks about a complete redesign. The engineers took elements from the current Pentium D NetBurst architecture and added ingredients that made the Pentium M and Core Duo mobile processors successful, and voilá: The Core2 micro-architecture was born. Key design goals were an ideal relation between processing performance and power consumption, which was a direct result of AMD's processors delivering better performance per Watt of energy, and the public complaining about unreasonably high power consumption and cooling requirements for Intel platforms.
For industry experts, Core 2 Duo beating the Athlon 64 processor family is no surprise: On the one hand, Core 2 Duo is a brand-new state-of-the-art processor, whereas the Athlon 64 X2 has been around for a while. On the other hand, Intel must come out with a superior product to finally beat AMD after two years of Athlon 64 headwinds.
So fasten your seatbelts, because Core 2 Duo is the new high-flyer. We will go through all technical aspects that have not been discussed on the web. So don't expect lots of architecture details (these can be found in our Spring IDF article), but hands-on testing and analysis. We will also have a look at the impact Core 2 Duo might have on AMD.
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First of all let me sort the facts: As soon as Core 2 Duo hits the market, it will...
We expect Core 2 Duo to roll out slower than Intel proclaims, so don't expect to get every model in every shop right from the start. All eyes are staring at Intel, especially after it announced decreasing revenues and layoffs. For these reasons we believe that it will do everything that is necessary to ensure a stable processor supply.
Is the game over for AMD then? By no means. The performance race might be over for the time being, but it still can look at more attractive platforms for the enthusiast customer base (for ATI Crossfire and Nvidia SLI). In addition, AMD spokesperson Damon Muzny told us earlier this week that AMD intends to adjust its processor prices to keep delivering the best price/performance for the customer. Although we do not have any numbers yet, you can be pretty sure that the price cuts will be substantial, so check processor prices before you buy! And that is not all: There are AMD's low-power Athlon 64 X2 processors, rated at 65 W and 35 W - these will help the firm to compete in the digital home space. As Intel moves towards its first quad core processor in the winter and AMD will rollout first 65 nm processors, we will certainly see the battle heating up even more.
I'll stick with my TRS 80. It's paid for.
How's this chip compared the the Xeon?
Well the new Xeons are using the same architecture...so basically the same.
Intel Woodcrest: the Birth of a New King
Woodcrest replaces the Xeon I think.
Serious gaming? Is that like jumbo shrimp?
Woodcrest is a Xeon...Just the name of its new architecture which is based off of the new core architecture.
I only buy AMD. I have Athlons at 2800, 2500, 2000, 1800 and 1700. I see no need to move up from these speeds nor to upgrade from Windows XP. XPwithSP2 runs great at all those speeds and one gig memory makes it run really nice. Service Pack2 and constant updates have bogged down XP from what it originally was.
ROFLOL! The "Pentium M" is a Pentium III core with a few tweaks. The marketing department saved them, by giving it a name other than "Pentium III for Notebooks". *chuckle*
http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/
Give the guys more credit than that, whatever it was, it works marvelously. What with the debacle of Netburst, and the Pentium D soldering irons, Intel was in bad shape, those boys in Israel saved their a$$es. The Core2 is based on the P-M, but it is much more than that at this stage.
They already have plans for a Quad core, however AMD's Hypertransport memory architecture will come into its own. But then, Intel thinks it has an answer for that, who knows. Competition is a good thing.
As an aside, ALL of my desktop computers at home (5) have AMD chips in them. My 2 laptops have Intel though.
My geek meter is pegged. I've been a PC gamer for many years, since the 1980s. I'll use any flimsy excuse to purchase a faster graphics card, memory, motherboard, or faster CPU.
Yes, for any type of video rendering, these dual/quad cores are a god send!
It is a shame isn't it? While XP has served well, they always turn it into bloatware.
i'm sick of waiting 18 hours for complicated renderings with multiple ray traced refelections and shadows
Join the FR Folding team!
I also am a 3D monkey, and run 2 opteron 248's with 2 gig, but think that i might upgrade to 2 275's for the power of 4 processors. In 3d, you can never have enough power. BTW my 24" dell is a godsend!
No. AMD definitely isn't out of this fight by a long shot. It was almost inevitable that Intel would win the performance crown back at some point. At least for a while. Engineering efforts at AMD have been streamlined, just as they have at Intel, but it still takes time. Put out product, let it ride for a bit, then roll out the new stuff.
It would actually be worse for the market if one or the other company gained an insurmountable lead over the other. Just like with MS. The market is choked so you have one company dominating the landscape and putting out inferior product at utterly stupid prices.
So are you waiting for the quad-core processors,....or does the software not use multi processing threads?
a little premature... give it a few months and AMD will release their next intel killer... this performance war is pointless, each company ups the ante after 6 months.
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