News Blog

Nvidia has posted a video that involves the new GTX 280 chip, overclocking, lots of liquid nitrogen, and the Nvidia labs. Oh, and no quad-core processor. Get the point?

Nvidia NForce 790i Ultra SLI motherboard

(Credit: Nvidia)

"A lot of people believe you need an Intel quad-core or Intel quad-core Extreme to build an extreme PC," says the post by "Steffee" on the Nvidia Web site. "Today I'm going to build a gaming PC using the Intel Core 2 Duo. That's duo. Got that? Duo, two cores."

I think the point the blogger is trying to make is that the test system has only has two cores, though I could be mistaken.

Here's an excerpt from the blog: "Think you need a quad-core CPU for an extreme gaming PC with impressive 3DMark Vantage numbers and gaming performance?...I overclocked and hyper-cooled an SLI gaming rig using two of our latest and greatest GPUs--GeForce GTX 280...and a sub-$200 CPU."

Intel, of course, has a different take on this. "Most of what people do today with their computers requires powerful processors. Examples of processor-intensive applications include: creating content, viewing/editing high definition video, using social media sites, office tools, downloading music, and editing photos," Intel said in a statement.

In the test, the blogger uses an NForce 790i Ultra SLI motherboard, Intel core 2 duo E8400, in addition to the GTX 280 graphics card.

With the single GTX 280 board, the score is a 3DMark Vantage "X4796."

Then the blogger (an Nvidia employee) takes a hike to the Nvidia lab. "Now we're going to take a field trip to Nvidia labs to do some serious overclocking," she says. After adding what seems to be prodigious amounts of liquid nitrogen and adding another GTX 280 SLI board, the 3DMark score jumps to "X10,282."

Intel could respond (which it hasn't) by saying that the E8400 is not a slow processor: it runs at 3.0GHZ and has 6MB of cache. And overclocked with liquid nitrogen, it would probably get some pretty good scores too. And then, of course, it might be simpler to just get a quad-core Extreme CPU.

In the test, the Nvida GTX 280 core clock was overclocked to 727MHz and the shader to 1458MHz. The core clock is normally 602MHz and the shader clock 1296MHz.

System specifications:
--2× NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 graphics cards running in SLI nForce 790i Ultra SLI motherboard
--Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 CPU
--4 GB SLI-ready Corsair DDR3 memory
--PC Power and Cooling TurboCool 1200W power supply
--Windows Vista 32-bit operating system

Intel will introduce the Q9650 Core 2 Quad processor in the third quarter, according to Chinese-language Web site HKEPC, almost halving the price of the current high-end Intel part with similar specifications.

(Credit: Intel)

The Q9650 will be priced at $530, according to HKEPC, close to half the price of the similarly spec'd high-end "Extreme" QX9650, which is listed at $999 on Intel's pricing Web page.

Like the QX9650, the Q9650 will have a clock speed of 3GHz, a 1333MHz front-side bus (FSB), and 12MB of cache memory.

The other notable desktop processor slated to debut in the third quarter is the Core 2 Duo E8600. This will have a clock speed of 3.33GHz, a 1333MHz FSB, and 6MB of cache memory, according to HKEPC. It is expected to be priced at $266.

The E8600 will top the currently available E8500, which runs at 3.16GHz and is priced at $266.

When contacted, Intel had this to say: "We publicly acknowledge that we will have future 45nm Intel Core 2 processor offerings which fit into LGA775 sockets and take advantage of currently available and future desktop platforms with similar physical, power, and thermal characteristics."

HKEPC also lists price cuts. The quad-core Q9550 (2.83GHz), for example, is slated to drop from $530 to $316 (the upcoming Q9650 will push the Q9550 down to a lower price point). The widely-used Q6600 (2.4GHz) is expected to fall from $224 to $203.

The Core 2 Duo E8500 should see its price fall from $266 to $183.

As expected, Dell is now offering Inspiron notebook PCs with the Intel Core 2 Duo "Penryn" chip as an optional configuration. This is the first time that Dell has included the 45-nanometer processor as an option in the consumer-oriented Inspiron line.

Dell Inspiron 1420

(Credit: Dell)

An Inspiron 1720 with a T9300 (2.5GHz, 6MB cache) processor, 17-inch (1440x900) screen, Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100, 2GB shared dual channel DDR2 memory, and a 250GB SATA hard drive (5400RPM) is priced at $1,299.

An Inspiron 1420 with a T8300 (2.4GHz, 3MB cache) processor, 14.1-inch (1280x900) screen, Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100, 2GB shared dual channel DDR2 memory, and a 160GB SATA hard drive (5400RPM) is priced at $1,024.

For an extra $200, a 256MB Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT video card is available with the 1720. On the 1420, a 128MB Nvidia GeForce 8400M GS is available for an additional $100.

Launched last month, Intel's 45-nanometer mobile processors generally pack around 400 million transistors. One of the most salient features is the larger cache. The higher-end processors integrate 6MB of cache memory versus 4MB for the older 65-nanometer "Merom" generation, and the lower-end chips integrate 3MB vs. 2MB for the Merom-class processors. A larger cache generally means better performance.

Advanced Micro Devices may have been demoted on Dell's Web site (though three AMD-based notebook models are still listed). But its chips aren't collector's items yet.

A quick inventory of Best Buy, the largest U.S. electronics retailer, is telling. A search on the reseller's Web site greets you with a page full of AMD-based notebooks. Ten to be exact. Some are fairly attractive too. Many are models in Dell's svelte Inspiron line. (Correction: not Dell's XPS line). Granted, Best Buy may not have the turnover of Dell's Web site but it's not Radio Shack either.

HP dv9715

(Credit: Best Buy, AMD)

Then there's Hewlett-Packard. If the perception is that AMD is fading at Dell, that's not the case (at least not yet) at the largest PC supplier in the world. "AMD represents a good value from a price/performance ratio," an HP spokesperson said.

In addition to the AMD-based notebooks available on HP's home-and-small-office site, a crush of systems is listed on Best Buy. If you're keeping score: AMD 9, Intel 4. Go to Staples online, and it's nothin' but AMD in HP.

And let's not forget Toshiba. In addition to listing seven AMD-based notebook on its Web site, almost half the Toshiba notebooks at Best Buy use AMD chips.

What about the brick-and-mortar Best Buy? At a Southern California Best Buy (just south of Orange County), there were 34 notebooks on display. Exactly half (17) of these used AMD chips (mostly dual-core Turion processors). And most of the AMD systems were placed at the front where people browse. But here's the catch. The salesman was pitching Intel. He volunteered that Intel's Core 2 beats AMD's dual core. "Intel runs cooler too," he said. And he had nothing positive to say about AMD. That's a problem.

Which brings us to another problem AMD may face. Last fall, Intel CEO Paul Otellini said in a conference call that his company has "walked" away from "a lot of low-end business" in mobile and desktop because it's not profitable. This is a real danger for AMD: getting relegated to the budget bin where profit margins are typically thin. (Many of the AMD systems are below $900.) But that story--whether AMD's profit margins are in fact razor thin or not--will be told in upcoming earnings statements.

The bigger problem may be Intel's Silverthorne and its low-cost x86 derivatives. These chips are designed specifically to compete at the very low-end--and make money there--unlike current Intel processors. Though nobody knows at this point whether Silverthorne will be competitive or not, its mantra is worth noting: low cost is good. "Because they are so small, literally thousands of them can be cut from 300mm wafers at 45nm. Thus, their economics are incredibly good," said Roger Kay, an analyst at Endpoint Technologies Associates.

And Otellini said more or less the same thing during Intel's fourth-quarter conference call. "We're embracing this trend with Silverthorne and will take the pricing down even lower...A tailored product for ultralow cost notebooks is a new thing for us," he said.

Dell XPS M1730

(Credit: Dell)

Dell will begin offering Intel's "Penryn" processor as an option on several notebooks within a week or so, according to sources close to the computer giant.

Although the 45-nanometer generation of Penryn processors targeted at laptops was announced back in early January, the chips haven't exactly leaped into laptop lineups.

So far, Hewlett-Packard is the biggest taker of one Penryn chip: the Core 2 Duo T9300 (2.5GHz, 6MB L2 cache). The HP Pavilion dv6700t, dv9700t, and dv2700t series all use the T9300. The massive 20-inch Pavilion HDX also offers the T9500 (2.6GHz, 6MB cache) as an option.

Gateway has a model in its P Series that uses the T8300 (2.4GHz, 3MB cache).

Toshiba has been one of the most aggressive early adopters. New models from Toshiba include the Satellite X205 based on the T8100 (2.1GHz, 3MB cache), the 4.6-pound Satellite U305 that uses the T8100, and the Qosmio G45 that integrates the T9300.

Dell is not specifying yet which models will get the processors, but the company's high-performance notebooks, such as the XPS, are likely candidates.

45-nanometer Penryn mobile processors

(Credit: Intel)

Intel's 45-nanometer mobile processors generally pack around 400 million transistors. One of the most salient features is the larger cache. The higher-end processors integrate 6MB of cache memory versus 4MB for the older 65-nanometer "Merom" generation, and the lower-end chips integrate 3MB versus 2MB for the Merom-class processors. A larger cache generally means better performance.

Hopefully, a shift in Intel's marketing strategy will put the Core 2 Duo dancers on hiatus later this year, Intel CEO Paul Otellini said Tuesday.

After Intel realized its fortunes had begun to turn last year, the company immediately began a marketing blitz called "Multiply," based almost exclusively around the Core 2 Duo brand. It was an interesting--if not somewhat perplexing--departure from the platform branding strategy that previously governed Intel's marketing, but any baseball manager will tell you that you've got to go with the hot hand while it's hot. The Core 2 Duo's performance stacked up very nicely against Advanced Micro Devices' chips at the time, so Intel chose to exploit that angle.

The Multiply Core 2 Duo ads will be replaced with Centrino ones later this year.

(Credit: Intel)

Now Intel feels confident enough in the Core 2 Duo brand that it's planning to shift its marketing priorities back to Centrino in the second half of the year, Otellini told financial analysts during the company's second-quarter earnings conference call. Centrino is Intel's brand for a combination of notebook chips that includes a processor, a chipset, and a Wi-Fi chip. Notebooks are the most important segment of the PC market these days, as they are growing much faster than desktops and are generally more profitable, so Intel wants to make sure notebook shoppers remember Centrino this holiday season.

Such a push has a bonus effect of hitting AMD where it hurts the most. AMD has spent much more time over the past few years working on its server products, which served the company well. But its mobile Turion chip is basically a power-efficient version of its Opteron chip, and AMD doesn't plan to have a chip designed specifically for notebooks until next year.

The Centrino ads will be accompanied by a "an all-out mobile blitz" heading into 2008, an Intel representative said. But please, don't bring back the dancers.

(Credit: Apple Computer, Inc.)

Apple updated its MacBook line this morning, but the new models don't include many of the rumored features such as Intel's new Santa Rosa platform, LED-backlit displays, or solid-state hard drives. But what did you expect? Anything larger would have required Steve Jobs to take the stage. Using the same design, MacBooks now feature 2.0GHz or 2.16GHz Core 2 Duo processors, 1GB of memory, 80GB to 200GB hard drives, and 802.11n networking. Pricing still starts at $1,099.