Seems like we were just getting used to the Core 2 Duo chips, and now Intel has gone and released its first quad core processor, code-named Kentsfield and officially called Core 2 Extreme QX6700. Toms Hardware likes Intel's 2.66GHz quad-core QX6700, saying it could let some users do their work twice as quickly. The biggest speed difference in their tests was with Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0, which nearly doubled the speed of the quickest Core 2 Duo processors.
On the other hand, some applications showed hardly any improvement at all for Toms testers, such as Photoshop CS2 and Quake 4, for which there is a quad-core patch forthcoming. However, as soon as software developers wrap their minds around the quad-core way of doing things, serious speedup will ensue. AMD is not going to be caught napping; expect that company's quad-core processor in a couple of weeks. Toms Hardware's Patrick Schmid's opinion, and lots more including Tech Spot's intense quad-core testing, after the jump.
Toms Hardware's Patrick Schmid: "Intel certainly beat AMD to the quad-core starting line, but this race is far from over. The market needs tight competition to assure reasonable performance at all price levels, so as we congratulate Intel on a job well done, let's also hope that AMD is able to catch up quickly."
Tech Spot tells us more good news about the quad core Intel processors, where those who have upgraded to Intel Core 2 chips will be happy to know that these new chips will plug right into their LGA775 platform motherboards, and the worst-case scenario to make them work would be a BIOS update. The downside? Cost, where these first quad-core chips will cost $1000.
Tech Spot also points out that there are no new additions to this latest processor except for the extra two cores, but warned that gaming performance won't be twice as fast. The testers underlined the fact that applications not optimized for quad core performance are not going to benefit from this technology.
Contrary to the results of Toms Hardware, the Tech Spot crew noticed significant speedups with Adobe Photoshop CS2, measuring 25% faster operations when compared to the Intel Core 2 Extreme x6800. The most jaw-dropping performance leap was in Pinnacle's Studio Plus video editing software, where the quad chip was 78% faster than its dual-core predecessor. Another massive performance gain was seen with Autodesk 3D Studio Max, which enjoyed a 60% speedup.
"Intel has done a fantastic job with their latest Core 2 Extreme QX6700 processor and while it was not all gleaming results, the QX6700 did excel where it had to. The thermal output of the QX6700 was very manageable at its default frequency of 2.66GHz though considerably higher than an equally clocked Core 2 Duo processor... As of now, the Core 2 Extreme QX6700 looks to be the most powerful processor on the market for use with power hungry Windows apps. When it comes to gaming, the Core 2 Duo E6700 is a much better choice, or for value the E6600 or even the E6300."
We can't wait to load up some serious video editing apps on these quad-core horses. It's especially heartening to hear that Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0, our favorite editing application, runs so well on the QX6700. Let's hope more gaming software writers follow Quake 4 developer id Software's lead and tweak the code to take advantage of all this power.
Core 2 Quadro Ready to Ravage the High-End [Toms Hardware]
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 review: Quad Core is here! [Tech Spot]
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 [Bit-Tech]
Intel core 2 extreme QX6700 Kentsfield Quad Core [hardcoreware.com]
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700: Four Cores to the Floor [Computer Shopper]