Neowin.net - Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 review: Quad Core is here!

Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 review: Quad Core is here!

Posted by Julio Franco on 02 November 2006 - 05:29 · 21 comments & 13128 views

Since the release of Intel’s Conroe micro-architecture, the company has been making waves, massive waves. In terms of performance, Intel washed away main competitor AMD, and they have continued to do so during the past three months with the success of their Core 2 Duo and Extreme processor series.

Step aside dual-core, it is now the time of the quad-core and you better believe it. The new quad-core series consists of the Core 2 Quad Q6600 and the Core 2 Extreme QX6700. Both feature a dual 4MB L2 cache, operate on a 1066MHz FSB, and have a thermal output of 130 watts. However, the Core 2 Quad Q6600 is not scheduled for release until early next year, and so today we will be looking at the more powerful Core 2 Extreme QX6700 version, which Intel had promised to make available this month, humming along to the tune of just 2.66GHz using a cool 1.34 volts of power.

The very same technologies that made the Conroe so powerful are all included in the new Kentsfield architecture. In fact, there are no new additions, so it is merely a quad-core version of the Conroe, but of course this is hardly a bad thing. So how does the Quad Core QX6700 performs? Read on and find out.

View: Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 review @ TechSpot

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(5 replies) #1 Posted by boogerjones on 02 Nov 2006 - 05:34: Cool stuff.

Quote -
using a cool 1.34 volts of power.

Volts are not a measure of power.

(1 reply) #2 Posted by msmcougar on 02 Nov 2006 - 05:34: Amazing! Great if you do video editing according to the benchmarks. Gamers and others might not see the performance benefits. If you multi-task or do heavy multi-threaded processing, this is awesome!

#3 Posted by GamerZ on 02 Nov 2006 - 05:48: damn, hope by 2008, core 2 quad prices will drop.

#4 Posted by Quick Reply on 02 Nov 2006 - 06:06: It's not the "Conroe micro-architecture", it's the "Core micro-architecture". Kentsfield isn't an architecture either, it's a codename for a Processor.

#5 Posted by nvme on 02 Nov 2006 - 06:10: mmmmm sexy

(1 reply) #6 Posted by Kushan on 02 Nov 2006 - 07:46: As nice as this is, I can't get excited about multi-core stuff until developers start designing their apps to be multi-threaded.
Same goes for AMD's 4X4.

If either company could figure out some sort of reverse HT, then I'd be excited.

#7 Posted by OAKside on 02 Nov 2006 - 08:46: Bragging rights: Awesome. Reality: Software (and programmers) are not prepared.
It's cool to see how fast we went from dual to quad-core, compared to vintage singles
to dual. At least the high-end CPUs now will not be so high-end-priced after quads
take their place. Impressive, but waiting on AMD's release. :drool:

(2 replies) #8 Posted by ambiance on 02 Nov 2006 - 08:58: I was expecting far greater benchmarks. I think Intel loses on this one, and consumers win because of the Core 2 price drop. Maybe HT3.0 coming in the new AMD chips will put them in their place, or not. Either way keep battling and save us money.

#9 Posted by ishtar on 02 Nov 2006 - 11:11: I still see nothing earth shattering big deal sisoft registers high everything else the same and even less lets compare it to a new fx and you'll see the gaming numbers are a few fps less big deal

#10 Posted by rIaHc3 on 02 Nov 2006 - 17:29: Yes! Core 2 Duo prices go down!

#11 Posted by Roger MS on 02 Nov 2006 - 19:16: There is a far more in-depth review of this proc at Anand's. It details more positives and negatives than TeckSpot points out. In addition, it appears there is a no-brainer choice for EE procs at this time: the dual EE is still priced the same as the quad EE (tho' that will likely change in the next couple of months, if not weeks). If you're heavily invested in graphics and video work, or 3D rendering, the quad EE is the easy choice for today.

Some good news: if you're into gaming, the quad should excell in games that use the Alan Wake or Unreal3 engines. I would surmise that by February, most or all common benchmark apps should be optimized for quad, so that we'll have a better idea of the differences and comparisons between all current procs on the market.

#12 Posted by mujjuman on 03 Nov 2006 - 16:18: AMD is seriously lagging. are they coming up with something? please... i hope so

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