DESCRIPTION: Fear not my enthusiast brethren, in our second publication we will be covering all that you asked for and more as we review the Intel Core i7-965 Extreme Edition (XE). We have now had sufficient time to spend with Core i7 series and our knowledge base on these processors and their supporting components has grown exponentially. In our first article, Intel Core i7 CPU & DX58SO X58 Platform we covered most of the available information regarding both the Nehalem Technology and the architecture used with the Intel Core i7 Processor family. We will therefore not repeat that discussion, instead; our goal today is to spend most of our energy concentrating on those features and performance aspects of the Intel Core i7-965XE that have led it and its other i7 kin to be dubbed “The Fastest Processor on the Planet” by In! tel.
“Intel’s latest Extreme Edition processor release is not your usual bump in clock speed and a new number name tag. The new Nehalem technology is nothing less than a giant leap forward for Intel when there is no real competition in sight.”
I thought instead of posting all of this separately it would be easier to just put it all in one spot for you:
here’re the Redaktion ocinside.de News from Monday, November 3, 2008:
The first comprehensive test results, benchmarks and dozens of reviews
with technical data and guides for overclocking and underclocking of the three brandnew Intel Core i7 processors are available since today. The Intel Core i7 920, 940 and Core i7 965 Extreme Edition Bloomfield
processors based on the Nehalem architecture and they have already been reviewed on several websites.
This Intel Core i7 roundup contains all reviews, which were submitted
to ocinside.de and Hardwarespot.de news portal.
We will update this international roundup with more reviews over the course of the day.
“Yes, I know … right through the review, I’ve been raving on about this new Core i7 processor from Intel. But what I’ve said about its performance and overclocking ability is true. If I plan to upgrade next year … it will definitely be an Intel Core i7 processor, new socket 1366 motherboard and a Tri-Channel memory. Hopefully by then, the prices would have settled down and it should be more affordable.”
NEW CONTENT (Casing & Cooling) - All about Intel Core i7 Socket LGA 1366 Cooling
QUOTE:“Ready or not, the age of Nehalem is finally upon us and with it comes Intel’s new Socket LGA 1366 processor interface. Socket LGA 775 has lived a long and distinguished life, longer than any other Intel processor socket to date. To put this in perspective, when LGA 775 first came on the scene we were still using Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) graphics cards.
For cooler manufacturers, Intel’s i7 couldn’t come soon enough. Since LGA 775 reigned supreme for such a long period of time, cooler sales have steadily declined. With diminishing returns on investment, funding for research and development has also dipped and without strong R&D, innovative new products come few and far between.”
“In a few weeks you can find a brand new Intel CPU at your local hardware shop, it still carries the Core name but it is drastically different compared to their previous Core 2 units. The Core i7 has an onboard memory controller and hyperthreading is re-introduced. We compare the
performance of the entry level 920 model as well as the high end 965 XE.”
In addition to our in-depth article coverage of Intel’s new Core i7 processor and platform
architecture, we also have a video spotlight up that gives the viewer a hands-on look of various new Intel Core i7 hardware as well as a Core i7 system in action on the test bench.
Direct Link:
http://hothardware.com/Articles/Getting-To-Know-Intels-New-Core-i7-Video-Spotlight/ Synopsis:Ultimately, we can’t help but be impressed by the new Core i7
processors. The
performance, power profile, and overclockability are all very good even at this early stage. Intel clearly has another exceptionally strong product in their line-up that will undoubtedly appeal to PC enthusiasts and multimedia professionals alike.
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There are only a select few events in the PC hardware world that get hardcore enthusiasts truly excited. For example, when popular trade shows like Computex, IDF, and CES take place, there is a fair amount of buzz. Also, anytime the major players in graphics release next-generation GPUs, things definitely heat up; or likewise when a hot new game hits. Finally, when either of the processor big guns, Intel or AMD, unleash new CPU micro-architectures on the world, you can almost bet that the community will come alive with enthusiasm. We’re sure we’ve missed a few other momentous occasions as well, but you get the gist. It takes something new and exciting to get a PC Enthusiast’s pulse racing.
Thankfully, today is one of those times. Although Intel won’t be officially launching their Core i7
processors, formerly codenamed Nehalem, and the X58 Express chipset until sometime later in the month, we’ve had them in house for a while now and can finally show you all the goods. We’ve tested every Core i7 speed grade that will be available at launch, along with at trio of X58 Express based motherboards. We’ve even thrown in some high-resolution multi-GPU SLI and CrossFireX testing for good measure as well. Come on by the site and take a look…
Intel Core i7
Processors: Nehalem and X58 Have Arrived:
Codenamed Bloomfield, this well-anticipated successor in the ‘Core’ series has been officially labeled as the Core i7. Its is the first CPU to be based on Intel’s new Nehalem micro-architecture and it comes with a host of unique features
NEW CONTENT (CPU & Chipset) - Intel Core i7 – Nehalem Arrives and FSB Departs
QUOTE:“Today Intel’s CPU, formally known as Nehalem arrives and with it comes a new
architecture along with a new bus. Intel’s latest addition to the Core
architecture is the Core i7 series, which is based on the same
architecture that made the Core 2 series so popular, but with a few major changes to the design.
To replace the aging FSB, Intel has designed a new point-to-point communication protocol which is known as Quick Path Interconnect or QPI. Intel’s first generation of QPI is a 20-bit interface with bi-directional communication running at either 4.8GT/s for the Core i7 range or 6.4GT/s for the Core i7 Extreme range of
processors.”
Today marks the release of Intel’s latest and greatest processor
architecture to date. For the past two years Intel has dominated the CPU market with their Core 2
processors, reaping havoc on AMD’s Athlon and Phenom products. Yet despite of this significant dominance, Intel will be pushing the Core 2 aside and make room for the new Core i7 processor series.
Today we will be introducing you to three new Core i7
processors based on the new Intel Nehalem microarchitecture, each featuring 4-cores and operating in the 2.66 to 3.20GHz range. Like the Core 2 family, these new
processors feature model numbers, designed to keep things simple.
The Core i7 965
Extreme Edition runs at 3.20GHz and features a QPI (QuickPath Interface) throughput of 6.4GT/s, which is the key difference here. The mainstream versions of the processor include the Core i7 920 and 940, clocked at 2.66GHz and 2.93GHz, respectively. These more affordable
processors feature a QPI throughput of just 4.8GT/s, so it will be interesting to discover what kind of impact this has on
performance.
DESCRIPTION: We at Benchmark Reviews consider ourselves extremely fortunate to have been chosen by Intel as one of those review sites to showcase the Core i7 prior to its official launch. Once chosen our dilemma was how to best convey the myriad of information we ascertained to our readers. Obviously the best plan would be to release one all encompassing review of the entire product line. Because of time constraints this plan was impossible. After much deliberation we decided our best recourse was to present a series of reviews on this product line. In today’s segment we will cover an overview of the technological aspects of the Core i7 processor series and the X58 motherboard that supports it. We’ll test all three of the
processors using a succinct series of benchmarks run a stockprocessor speeds and draw the necessary conclusions from their results. What else is left you might ask? Believe me when I say that’s only scratching the surface. In future review! s we’ll concentrate on individual product components and expound in much greater detail on that product’s
performance capabilities including overclocking.
Quote: With Core i7’s launch due in just a few weeks, there’s no better time than right now to take a hard look at its performance, which is what we’re taking care of today. In addition to our usual performance comparisons with last-gen CPUs, we’re also taking an in-depth look at both QPI and HyperThreading performance, and some of our results may surprise you.
Brief: Intel Core i7 processors with Nahalem core are to be released
in the second half of November but we already got our hands on an
engineering sample.
Digit-Life Review #1: HD 4850 / 4870 / Golden Sample and Bliss 9600 GSO Golden Sample
Excerpt:
“Gainward used to be NVIDIA’s stronghold that didn’t even consider manufacturing graphics cards on competing GPUs. But times changed and Gainward, as part of Palit, decided to make products based on AMD (ATI) GPUs.”
Excerpt:
“In this article we return to memory speed and its effect on PC performance in real-life applications. Last time we were interested in Phenom X4 9850. Today we’ll analyze a top processor from the other company — Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770.”
Digit-Life Review #1: NVIDIA Quadro FX vs. Intel Core 2 in SPECviewperf 10
Excerpt:
“Needless to say, a balanced approach to building a computer is even more rewarding in the professional area. Generalization is hardly appropriate here, as it all depends on your tasks. Still, if we speak of popular modeling and design applications, it becomes easier because there are industry-recognized tools for benchmarking such applications. SPECviewperf 10 is one of them.”
Excerpt:
“This Biostar product starts a new series of TPower motherboards for Intel processors — the next step in the evolution of the Mid-End T-Series. The manufacturer highlights the following features: stability, high performance (doubtful though), excellent overclocking capacity.”
Summary:
Atom is a CPU from Intel targeted to laptops and mobile internet devices running normal x86 instructions and dissipating less than 3 W. Let’s take a look on this processor. Including a sneak peak on the future “Moorestown”platform.
Here is a snippet:
“Atom is a low-power CPU from Intel with very low power dissipation (less than 3 W), targeted to laptops or handheld devices with internet access – dubbed MIDs, Mobile Internet Devices. In this tutorial we will explore the architecture used on this CPU.”
Summary:
The CPU has several power saving modes called C-states. In this tutorial we will explain what these modes are, what they do and the modes supported by each processor.
Here is a snippet:
“In order to save energy when the CPU is idle, the CPU can be commanded to enter a low-power mode. Each CPU has several power modes and they are collectively called “C-states” or “C-modes”. In this tutorial we will explain what these modes are, what they do and the modes supported by each processor.”
For a retail price of $230, the 9950 is an interesting choice from AMD. This has driven the price of the 9850 Black Edition down to the $200 level in 1000 unit quantities. The 9950 performs higher than the 9850 across the board as to be expected from a CPU that doesn’t have any architectural differences than the higher clock speed over the older CPU.For those wanting performance, but at an affordable cost the 9950 does well for the target area its aimed at. It plays games, runs Photoshop and works with all media without a problem. Not the fastest CPU in the world, but neither is it a lag dog.
NEW CONTENT (CPU & Chipset) - Intel Atom vs. VIA Nano Platform Comparo
QUOTE:“While we concentrate on this sector, the focus is now moving towards the lower end of the spectrum. VIA has really cornered this market in the past when it came to ultra compact PCs; EPIA has been VIA’s biggest success and with the evolution of the VIA processors, each generation has gotten just that little bit more capable. Now Intel has seen just how popular this is, we finally have some competition in this sector.
Today we will be pitting the Atom platform against the Nano platform. Who has the best performance and energy savings? – Well, we don’t know yet, but by the end of this we will have an informative answer to that. Let’s move on and check out the platforms individually before we get into the testing phase.”
Summary:
A series of quick reference tables containing the main specs of all Athlon 64, Athlon 64 FX and Athlon 64 X2 models released to date. Updated.
Here is a snippet:
“In this tutorial we will list all Athlon 64, Athlon 64 FX and Athlon 64 X2 CPU models from AMD released to date and the main differences between them.”
Quote:Intel today takes a portion of the veil off their upcoming Larrabee architecture, so we can better understand its implementation, how it differs from a typical GPU, why it benefits from taking the ‘many cores’ route, its performance scaling and of course, what else it has in store.
VIA caused quite a stir a few months ago when the company first revealed initial details regarding their low-power Nano processor. At the time, the product was referred to by its internal codename of Isaiah and the president of the design center that was tasked with making the processor was decidedly outspoken, which made for some exciting reporting. When news of the Isaiah core first broke, we hopped on the line with Glenn Henry, VIA’s Centaur design center president, and got many questions answered regarding the processor’s architecture, features, expected performance, and the company’s plans for the CPU. We also covered the official announcement of the VIA Nano processor and detailed the exact models that would be available at launch. One thing we hadn’t been able to do, however, was a direct performance comparison of the VIA Nano processor versus Intel’s recently released Atom, which is target at the same market segment. Thankfully, we were recently given the opportunity to take a VIA Nano reference platform for a spin to see what it could do and will be presenting our results for you here today.
Excerpt:
“Today’s article will be a complete antipode to the previous: now we are interested in Low-End processors instead of top products. These processors are manufactured for a reason, aren’t they? So, we’ll find out what they can do and how fast.”
Digit-Life Review: Top Dual/Quad-Core CPUs: Enticing Heights
Excerpt:
“It was not difficult to come up with a topic for our today’s article, because many readers demanded this very analysis: comparison of top processors from Intel and AMD. Even though we state repeatedly that these products differ very much, and their comparison makes little sense, our readers still want to know the truth, no matter how bitter it is. Well, here you are.”
Digit-Life Review: Conroe vs. Wolfdale: To the Limit
Excerpt:
“We shall examine two interesting families of Intel processors with 333 MHz (1333 MHz Quad Pumped) FSB, based on the relatively old (Conroe) and relatively new (Wolfdale) cores. We selected the slowest and the fastest CPU from each series. So, even if you are not interested in core comparison, you still get useful information about performance ranges of these CPU families.”
Gadi Singer, Vice President of Intel’s Mobility Group, and Doug Davis, Vice President of Intel’s Digital Enterprise Group, held a conference call today to discuss a brand new product line from Intel targeted at security, storage, communications, and industrial applications, the Intel EP80579 Integrated Processor family. The Intel EP80579 Integrated Processor family, however, is more than just a new processor. The products actually consist of new System on a Chip designs that integrate a Pentium M core, with a Memory Controller Hub (MCH), I/O hub (ICH), and in some cases specialized security, TDM, and data path acceleration engines, which have been dubbed Intel QuickAssist Technology. We’ve got a preview of the technology posted right here…
Digit-Life Review: Lower- and Higher-End Phenom X3/X4 Processors
Excerpt:
“The main participants are AMD Phenom X3 8450/8750 and Phenom X4 9550/9850 on one hand, and Core 2 Duo 4300/4400/4500/4600/4700 (the entire E4×00 family) as well as the new Core 2 Duo E7200 on the other hand. No deep analytical conclusions this time. This article is to help users make a choice.”
InsideHW.com has posted editorial about Intel Montevina - Centrino 2 Portable Platform. You can read a clip from review:
“Almost five years ago, Intel promoted its first uniform solution attended for notebooks, under the brand – Centrino. This brand was launched with intention to consolidate a position of Intel on notebook’s market as number one. Many people are making a mistake if they think that Centrino is some Intel processor attended for notebooks and is based on “rocket science” technology. Centrino consolidates processor, chipset, integrated GPU (graphic processor), network subsystem that supports 100Mbit/1Gbit LAN connection and also an optional WiFi adapter…”
If you are interested to read some more, we present you link:
Summary:
A round-up review comparing the performance of Celeron E1400, Pentium Dual Core E2180 and Athlon X2 4600+. Which one is the fastest USD 70 CPU? Check it out!
Here is a snippet:
“Today we put together a review comparing the performance of entry-level CPUs on the USD 70 price range: Celeron E1400 (dual-core 2 GHz), Pentium Dual Core E2160 (1.8 GHz), Pentium Dual Core E2180 (2 GHz) and Athlon X2 4600+ (2.4 GHz). With this review we wanted to answer a simply question: which one is the best USD 70 CPU today? We also included on this round-up a Core 2 Duo E4400 (2 GHz). We know that this CPU isn’t on this price range (and not even sold in the US anymore), but we were curious to compare a Celeron, a Pentium Dual Core and a Core 2 Duo all running under the same clock rate (2 GHz in our case) to see what is the performance difference between these Intel CPUs. Which CPU is the winner? Read on!”
Digit-Life Review: AMD Phenom X4 In Real-Life Applications
Excerpt:
“This small article touches upon a single problem: how memory performance affects the speed of a computer based on a quad-core AMD Phenom X4 9850 processor. However, it would be reasonable to assume that tendencies discovered in this article will be true for at least all Phenom X4 products.”
Summary:
A quick reference table showing the main specs of all Phenom models released to date.
Here is a snippet:
“Phenom is the latest CPU series from AMD, based on their new K10 architecture. In this short tutorial we will list the main specs of all Phenom models released or announced so far.”
Title: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Linux Performance @ Phoronix
Direct Link: http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=12551
Summary: “Back in March we had looked at the Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 mobile processor with its Penryn core and 6MB of shared L2 cache between its two cores clocked at 2.50GHz. We were very pleased with the performance of this mobile processor on Linux, which was found within a Lenovo ThinkPad T61 notebook, and today we are looking at the Penryn’s desktop counterpart. Intel’s Core 2 Duo “Wolfdale” E8000 series processors were released earlier this year with 6MB of L2 cache, 45nm manufacturing, a 1333MHz FSB, and support for SSE 4.1. The processor from the Wolfdale series we are looking at today under Linux is the Core 2 Duo E8400.”
AMD is launching a three-pronged attack on the desktop CPU space today, with the introduction of three new quad-core Phenom X4 processors. One of the processors, the new 2.6GHz Phenom X4 9950 Black Edition, is AMD’s latest flagship desktop CPU. The other two, however, are somewhat surprising “green”, low-power quad-cores dubbed the Phenom X4 9350e (2.0GHz) and Phenom X4 9150e (1.8GHz).
With its Black Edition branding, it should be obvious to the power user among you that the Phenom X4 9950 BE is targeted squarely at enthusiasts and overclockers. But the audience for the Phenom X4 9350e and Phenom X4 9150e processors is a little harder to quantify. Head on over to the site and check them out…
November 17th, 2008 by Kristofer
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