intel prossesors

The Core 2 Extreme QX9650 is a Yorkfield quad core processor, featuring dual 6MB of independent L2 cache, for a total of 12MB of Advanced Smart Cache. This doesn't change the current Intel quad core design used with Kentsfield, and the 45nm Yorkfield is still a pair of Wolfdale dual cores on a single processor package. The processor supports the LGA775 package, runs at a core speed of 3.0 GHz, and uses a bus speed of 1333 MHz.




It also supports basic features like Intel Virtualization Technology, Execute Disable Bit, Intel 64 architecture, and SpeedStep. Although this is a 45nm processor running at a default core voltage of 1.1-1.2V, Intel still uses a 130W TDP. Motherboard support is also a potential bright spot, as most 1333 MHz platforms should handle a 45nm Penryn with a BIOS update, and there is even *unofficial* Penryn 1333 MHz support on older boards from companies like ASUS. Check your motherboard vendor website just to be sure.

The only real surprise is the 3.0 GHz clock speed. Launching a new processor line at a clock speed that has already been reached is kind of anticlimactic. After all, Intel already has the 3.0 GHz Core 2 Extreme QX6850 quad core, and now we get another 3.0 GHz quad core, albeit at 45nm. This is surely a response to AMD and their nonexistent challenge at the top-end of the processor market