Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Preview of Intel's Dual-Core Extreme Edition

Posted by Hemos on from the kicking-the-tires dept.

ThinSkin writes "Intel let ExtremeTech.com sneak behind the curtain of its anticipated Dual-Core Pentium Extreme Edition processor for a full performance preview with benchmarks. Bundled with essentially two Prescott cores on one die, the Extreme Edition 840 processor clocks at 3.2GHz and contains a beefed-up power management system to keep the CPUs running cool during use. Expect Intel's dual-core line to hit the streets sometime this quarter. No word on pricing yet." Update: 04/04 17:26 GMT by T : Timmus points out FiringSquad's preview, too, writing "The benchmark results are mixed, with a few applications taking advantage of the new CPU, and some that don't." And Kez writes in reference to this article to say: "Our article on HEXUS.net, covering the P4 EE in detail, states the price as £650 (that's what we're looking at in the UK anyway, not sure about the U.S.)."

17 of 289 comments (clear)

  1. How well does it do... by kwoo · · Score: 5, Funny

    On SlashMark? Namely, how many seconds does it take to compile the Linux kernel? :P

    --
    unixkb.com -- articles on practical Unix issues.
    1. Re:How well does it do... by ShaniaTwain · · Score: 5, Funny

      how many seconds does it take to compile the Linux kernel?

      if you press the 'turbo' button it goes twice as fast.

      --
      Starsucks
    2. Re:How well does it do... by rubycodez · · Score: 5, Funny

      with its advanced predictive branching and speculative execution, the processor will have several kernels with the most commonly used options compiled for you 0.25 seconds before you finish typing "make "

  2. Like, Extreme, to the, like, totally max! by ackthpt · · Score: 5, Insightful
    I love superlatives like 'Extreme' in a product name. It's so funny to look at, years later. "Hey, remember this old clunker? It was ' EXTREME !'"
    "Yeah, by today's standards it's EXTREMELY slow!"
    "Only dual core, ha ha ha ha hah!"

    I guess they can't very well call it 840i, as they've already used that for a chipset, but maybe Intel should stick to names ending with -ium and -on instead of something which timelessly proclaims some chunk of doped silicon as superior.

    Next up from Intel, the Ultra-Spifftronic-Wowee-Zappo Triple Core, with extra schmaltz!

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    1. Re:Like, Extreme, to the, like, totally max! by mikael · · Score: 5, Funny

      Somehow, Extremium and Extremon don't seem to have the same rhyme. Next up from Intel, the Ultra-Spifftronic-Wowee-Zappo Triple Core, with extra schmaltz! The local ice-cream van used to sell those during the Summer holidays - you had to eat them immediately, otherwise they would melt before you got inside.

      --
      Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
    2. Re:Like, Extreme, to the, like, totally max! by Stevyn · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Then they'll call it "ExtremeX!"

      I feel bad for the engineers who come up with these designs which are then crapped on by their marketting department.

  3. Cool?!? by Cruithne · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Running cool during use? It seems to me they'll need the power management to keep it from melting itself, judging from the heat output of just one of those beasts...

  4. There is also a new dual-core error correction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    If one of the cores generates a floating-point error, the other core can be used to correct the problem by adding both errors together to derive a slightly larger error.

  5. Would I need the "Pro" version of XP? by Rude+Turnip · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If I wanted to build a Windows system for gaming, would I have to buy Windows XP Pro for multiprocessor support...or is this dual core configuration invisible to the OS, meaning I could get away with XP Home for $100 less.

    --
    Bill Clinton: Pimp we can believe in. - The Shirt!!!
    1. Re:Would I need the "Pro" version of XP? by DaHat · · Score: 5, Informative

      No, Microsoft has said several times that hyperthreaded CPU's, along with multi-core ones will only be considered a single unit by the OS. So with XP home and a dual core chip, you are fine, just as XP pro users are with a pair of dual core chips.

      --
      Help Brendan pay off his student loans
  6. Re:Extreme edition by drivinghighway61 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Extreme editions always sell more. Just look at the adult entertainment industry. Which would you rather buy?

    Double Anal Penetration
    EXTREME Double Anal Penetration

    Chocolate Asian Anal Gangbangs
    EXTREME Chocolate Asian Anal Gangbangs

    American Heroes Bukkake
    EXTREME American Heroes Bukkake

    I think we can all agree that Intel is on the right track.

  7. Gamers won't be interested by LiENUS · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It looks like gamers won't be all that interested in this offering. Even once games support mutli-threading, this wont end up boosting their framerate much. Instead this will raise the lower framerate and give them smoother gameplay. While this is a great improvement unfortunately most gamers seem only interested in their max fps and not the minimum. However for workstations this will be great, lower cost than dual procescors means graphics design companies and advertising agencies can get their job done quicker and more efficiently.

  8. Re:Holy Cow... by pla · · Score: 5, Funny

    If the processors that big how the heck will I fit it on my motherboard?!

    Well, the processor itself only takes a few square inches - The rest of the box held the liquid nitrogen cooling system needed to keep the thing slightly cooler than the surface of the sun.

  9. Just have to ask... by IdJit · · Score: 5, Funny

    Does it have a hemi?

    --
    GET FREE APPLE STUFF!
  10. This is so exciting! by alta · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now the spyware on all my users's machines will have a processor all to themselves. That means the users will have the second processor to run Word, excel, et al...

    That means they'll leave me alone and quit bitching about slow machines for a while! Woohoo! Oh, and will help that winword.exe that keeps crashing and staying backgrounded. Woot!

    (Yes, I know the spyware will take over both proc's. Let me dream)

    --
    Do not meddle in the affairs of sysadmins, for they are subtle, and quick to anger.
  11. Re:Ketchup by eechuah · · Score: 5, Informative

    How is this informative?? The dual core chip Intel is shipping (smithfield) IS one die, with 2 cores. Actually, this is inferior to MCM packages with 2 dies, as it is difficult to get 2 cores side-by-side with equal performance/power. And yield goes down when you have to have a single large die.

    Re: sharing I/O bandwidth. Intel has to do this because they don't have a built-in MCH. It has *nothing* to do with "selling chips with 2 normal P4 dies on them".

    Re: Amd's offering. AMD doesn't have to change their design because they have a MCH onboard. That's why the number of pins can remain the same. On the flip side, if you change memory type, you'll have to throw away the chip. It's called engineering tradeoffs, and both companies do it.

    Arrgh... practically every point in the above post is misleading or wrong, and it get's modded to +5.

  12. Ahem. by hawk · · Score: 5, Funny

    ON a quantum compiler, it's both compiled (with avery combination of options) and not compiled already :)

    hawk