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Intel Demos Core 2 Extreme QX9650 Quad-Core At IDF
MojoKid writes "Intel demonstrated a dual socket gaming rig at IDF this week, based on their Skulltrail platform with the X38 chipset. The interesting thing about this machine wasn't just that it had 45nm quad-core CPUs in its sockets, as well as PCI Express 2.0 capable slots, but also that it was running a pair of NVIDIA graphics cards in SLI. That's right, SLI on an Intel chipset. No word whether or not X38 would officially be supported with SLI just yet. In fact, NVIDIA representatives noted Intel was buying NVIDIA nForce 100 SLI Southbridges just for this one Intel motherboard model."
The only thing this has over there old v8 is more pci-e lanes also the SLI is only pci-e 1.1 The NVIDIA nForce 100 MCP converts a single x16 PCI Express Gen 1 bus into dual x16 PCI Express Gen 1 buses. This is how SLI is being supported on Skulltrail.
A AMD 4x4 dual quad-core with DDR2 ram and dual x16 pci 2.0 and all slots with pci 2.0 and SLI, also there will also be a ATI chipset for the same system with all pci 2.0 16x-16x or 8x-8x-8x-8x CrossFire + Discrete PCI-E x4 slot. With Support for HTX slots.
Do vendors ever sell the super high end gaming systems?
No, they generally don't. My guess is that Dell, HP and the others will never sell a system like this, but the super gaming dorks who think they need this crap will order all the parts and build their systems themselves. Just like they've always done.
Poster said: Intel demonstrated a dual socket gaming rig at IDF this week, based on their Skulltrail platform with the X38 chipset.
Skultrail is a dual socket chipset (probably a Greencreek follow-on) -which means it CAN'T be a X38 which is a single socket chipset.
What was seen at IDF was TWO systems - one dual socket and one single.
Also... for those who think these won't come to market... The X38 is a planned commercial chipset and what everyone has been calling a V8 is basically a dual quad core DP workstation platform which has been available since last November. The Penryn gen version is just a newer version of the same thing.
Eight Intel cores in one box is old news, what's new is the perf on the Penryn 45nm parts.
It's not really that complicated. "Core 2" is the architecture. "Extreme" is mostly marketing, but it's usually indicative of some "above and beyond" features ... higher clocks, unlocked multiplier, possibly a larger L2. "Q" means quad-core, "X" means extreme, and 9650 is just a number for comparison between other models in that line (i.e. a 9650 is better than a 9550, if there were such a thing).
... when they realized they couldn't ramp clock speeds (and make it the primary selling point) forever, and that new architectures would have higher performance but at lower clock speeds.
It all sprang from the end of the GHz wars
From my experiences, only games from about HL2 on support dual-core, quad-core being utilized either badly or not at all. When you talk about Photoshop, CAD, encoding video and so forth, the situation improves.
i mean wow... pulling 49 amps over the 12 v rail... you might as well sell them with a dc generator and solid copper power rails.
seriously add in liquid cooling and cold cathodes and a 52" HDTV and youre talking over 3 killowatts of power draw...
Well, yeah, maybe, sort of. Since the AC power comes out of the wall at 120V (and someone jump in and correct me if I'm wrong), the 12v 49a is the downconversion of 4.9a and 120v. 4.9a pulling at the outlet is a lot for a computer, it's true, but I mean, most houses these days are wired with 15a circuits. A 15a circuit will be able to hold three of these 12v rails (so, probably 2 computers once you add in the 3v and I think there's a 5v rail on the atx power connector), or to put it in perspective, slightly less than two modern waffle irons.
4.9a is a lot of power for a computer. It's not a lot of power for any modern power tool or small kitchen appliance. The wow factor isn't that this computer uses that much power; it's that up until now, the rest of the computers haven't used this much power.
~wx
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