Hardware News

Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 45nm CPU Reviews

Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan

2007-10-29 07:41:43.0


Intel will officially be launching their 45nm processors in a couple of weeks, but in the mean time, here are some reviews of the top-of-the-line Core 2 Extreme QX9650.


  • Bit-Tech:

    "We think it's fair to say that Intel's Penryn architecture can be regarded as a success, as it offers some decent performance enhancements over existing processors, while using much less power in the process. Most of the success can be attributed to the "brute force" methods like the 50 percent larger cache instead of the more delicate features like SSE4, which requires specific optimisation in software to see the benefits. However the most interesting changes should be in the mobile parts which feature some great new technologies."


    Click here to read the full review.


  • Hot Hardware:

    “The Yorkfield-based Core 2 Extreme QX9650 is a success in every sense of the word. The processor is faster, has new features, uses much less power, is less expensive to produce, and has more overclocking headroom than its predecessor. What more is there to say? Sure, the new features like SSE4 won't be fully exploited until applications are programmed to use them, but that is already happening and we suspect adoption will be relatively quick considering the available performance increases. And the fact that chips built using Intel's 45nm process will be cheaper to produce doesn't just mean more profits for Intel. It means the company can keep the price pressure on AMD while maintaining their bottom line, so expect aggressive pricing with future mainstream and mid-level dual and quad-core 45nm processors.”


    Click here to read the full review.


  • Legit Reviews:

    “The processor we looked at was solid as it performed better, consumed less energy and was able to overclock by 33% to over 4GHz! It doesn't get much better than that! The new Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 is the fastest processor on the market today hands down. Now you'll just have to wait a couple more weeks for them to be available in the market!”


    Click here to read the full review.


  • TechGage:

    “We've known for a while that Penryn was much more than a process shrink, but some of the performance increases have exceeded our expectations. The performance advantage of Penryn depends upon what the processor will be used for, however. As far as video conversion is concerned, SSE4 is going to prove a godsend for those who deal with these scenarios everyday. No matter how you look at it, a 40% increase clock for clock is incredible.”


    Click here to read the full review.


  • X-bit Labs:

    “So, Intel made another strong evolutionary move forward having prepared the launch of new Penryn processors with 45nm cores. Mastering new production technology alongside with introducing new SSE4 instructions, increasing the L2 cache and making other micro-architectural improvements allowed them to raise the processor performance by another few percent without increasing the clock frequency. Moreover, at the same time Intel engineers managed to reduce the new processors’ heat dissipation and power consumption although even their predecessors were quite economical already. The frequency potential has also grown a lot, which will please numerous overclocking fans.”


    Click here to read the full review.

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