Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 Quad-Core Performance Preview

Introduction

Up until a few years ago, clock speed was the number one barometer used by many to judge a CPU?s performance. It was a pretty simple formula: higher CPU clock speeds means better performance. With their Netburst Pentium 4 architecture, Intel in particular was shooting for breakthrough clock speeds. Intel had hoped to eventually hit 10GHz with Netburst. As you all certainly know by now though, Intel?s plans for Netburst were never fully realized; ultimately the Pentium 4 never hit 4GHz.

While clock speed is certainly still important today, both AMD and Intel have realized that clock speed isn?t everything. After all, both companies have hit brick walls in frequency scaling with their CPU architectures in the past. This dilemma presents an interesting challenge to both companies ? how do you dramatically improve CPU performance without relying on hitting higher clock speeds? The answer both have come up with is simple: integrate more processing cores into the CPU?s die. With two CPUs built into the same CPU die, the CPU can perform twice the amount of work as a conventional single-core CPU.

That?s the theory at least. Of course by now we all know that you?ve got to have software that?s capable of taking advantage of that second processing core, or else it ends up spending most of its time idling.

In 2005, dual-core processing was all the rage. Both AMD and Intel introduced CPUs with two processing cores built-in to the CPU. Initially there was a dearth of software capable of taking advantage of dual-core, but over the course of the past 12 months slowly but surely dual-core software has been steadily trickling in, particularly when it comes to audio/video encoding and 3D rendering.

Kentsfield: Two cores inside


Now in 2006 we see the debut of the first quad-core CPUs. Intel?s first out of the gate with today?s launch of the Core 2 Extreme QX6700, previously known by its codename ?Kentsfield?. Intel had originally planned to release the Core 2 Extreme QX6700 in the first quarter of next year, but decided to move the release up by a few months to make it in time for the holidays.

By the end of the first half of next year, AMD plans to release their first quad-core CPU codenamed ?Barcelona? (it has also been referred to previously as K8L), but until then they plan on relying their upcoming 4x4 platform. AMD?s 4x4 technology is expected to be released later this month, but it isn?t a quad-core CPU. Instead 4x4 is composed of two dual-core processors.

Ultimately with a 4x4 system you?ve still got four processing cores, but its spread across two processors and thus you?ll need a two-socket motherboard. (AMD can?t affordably integrate four processing cores into one CPU die until their smaller 65-nm manufacturing process is ready.) With Intel?s Core 2 Extreme QX6700, you?ve got four processing cores inside a single socket, in fact the QX6700 is compatible with most of today?s existing Core 2 motherboards?

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Intel Core i7-980X Performance Preview: 6-Core Processing Arrives

The state of multi-threaded games

It's been over three years since Intel ushered in the quad-core era of computing with their introduction of the Core 2 Extreme QX6700 in November 2006. Back then we couldn't find a single game capable of taking advantage of the CPU's four processing cores; at best games of that era were only dual-threaded, leaving half of the QX6700's cores idling away unused. Unless you were into 3D rendering, or a mega-tasker running multiple apps in the background while gaming, the CPU just wasn't a feasible option for most users, especially given its $999 price tag.

Today however the software landscape has changed drastically.

Capcom's MT Framework engine is easily our favorite example of a game application that's been coded to run multiple threads simultaneously. The MT Framework engine was first used in Lost Planet, and now can be found in games like Devil May Cry 4 and Resident Evil. Now Capcom is putting the finishing touches on MT Framework 2.0, which will be showcased in Lost Planet 2 later this year. All of these games scale well with CPUs that contain multiple cores.

Many RTS games are also multi-threaded. Relic's Essence 2.0 engine used in Dawn of War II is one example, and Gas Powered Games Supreme Commander is another. World In Conflict is another popular RTS from a few years back that's designed for multiple cores.

And just last week Terminal Reality announced that their Infernal Engine has been updated to support the Core i7-980X. The Infernal engine was used in Ghostbusters last year.



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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480/GTX 470 Performance Preview

s been six months since ATI ushered in the DirectX 11 era of gaming with the launch of the Radeon 5870 last September. Since then, the red team has methodically introduced a top to bottom range of DX11 parts spanning price points from as little as $50 all the way up to $700. Meanwhile NVIDIA

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