saphalline
05-11-2005, 10:43 PM
Intel
Intel is first out the door with dual-core CPU's. Both the new Pentium D and Pentium Extreme Edition are based on the "Smithfield" core revision, with the only difference being that the Extreme Edition has Hyper-Threading turned on. Smithfield is distinguished by a 90nm process, 2 x 16KB of L1 data, 2 x 12Kµ ops L1 trace, 2 x 1MB L2 unified cache, SSE3, EM64T, XD bit, classified in the "800 series" of CPU performance numbers, and is only available in LGA 775 packaging. These new dual-core Pentiums are only supported by dual-core capable chipsets, which include Intel's 945/955 series and NVidia's NForce4 SLI Intel Edition (if dual-core support is enabled by the mobo manufacturer). Expect VIA to have a Pentium dual-core chipset released by the end of summer.
Pentium D 820 = 2.8GHz (each core), 800MHz FSB
Pentium D 830 = 3.0GHz (each core), 800MHz FSB
Pentium D 840 = 3.2GHz (each core), 800MHz FSB
Pentium EE 840 = 3.2GHz (each core), 800MHz FSB
Rough price of about $500 for the PD 830/840, twice as much for the HT-enabled PEE 840. Initial sales are reserved for Intel's launch partners, but volume production should be underway by June.
Intel's future plans include "Presler" (65 nm process, 2MB L2 cache per core, based on dual-chip single-package design). A single-chip package design of Presler will be the foundation for the next-gen Celeron. Intel also says quad-core CPU's (not including HT) should be available in 2-3 years.
AMD
AMD's dual-core plans are a bit behind Intel's, but nevertheless, their new Athlon64 X2's are coming. Based on the new "Toledo" core revision, they'll be sporting a 90nm process, 2 x 64KB L1 data, 2 x 64KB L1 instruction, 2 x 512KB/1MB L2 unified cache, SSE3, NX bit, and only available for Socket 939. Chipset support is limited to NVidia's NForce4 series of chipsets (with dual-core support enabled by the mobo manufacturer). Again, expect a dual-core chipset from VIA before the end of the summer, and perhaps some sort of NForce5 from NVidia by the end of the year.
Athlon64 X2-4200+ = 2.2GHz (each core), 512KB L2 cache (each core)
Athlon64 X2-4400+ = 2.2GHz (each core), 1MB L2 cache (each core)
Athlon64 X2-4600+ = 2.4GHz (each core), 512KB L2 cache (each core)
Athlon64 X2-4800+ = 2.4GHz (each core), 1MB L2 cache (each core)
AMD's pricing on these is unknown. Initial sales will be reserved for AMD's launch partners starting in June, but volume production should be underway by July/August.
AMD's future plans include FX's based on the Toledo core revision. After that is anyone's guess, but rumour has it that the Sempron will very soon get 64-bit support on Socket 754.
Single-core vs Dual-core
For multi-taskers out there, dual-core CPU's will result in major performance increases! As Pentium D's trickle down to us end-users, you'll start seeing benchmark results being posted by people encoding two movies at once! It will also be possible to play in a LAN game while also hosting a dedicated server on the same system. Such lofty ideas are only the beginning, using current single-threaded software. As multi-threaded software becomes more available, dual-core systems (especially those with Hyper-Threading) will take over as the new power users' machine.
For pure gamers out there, dual-core CPU's are not worth the extra money right now. They're slower than the fastest single-core CPU's and there's not one multi-threaded game out yet. Until games become optimized for dual-core systems (yeah right! maybe in 12 months!) you're better off sticking to a fast single-core system. Unless that LAN game idea sounds fun. :p
For everyone else out there, low-end single-core systems are still the best deals. If you don't use any software that stresses your single-core CPU, why pay for two? Intel and AMD intend to keep making low-end single-core CPU's for quite some time, so the Celeron and Sempron series aren't in any danger of going away. There aren't even any cheap dual-core CPU's on the horizon for at least 2 years. And honestly, there's no reason to think that a multi-threaded "killer-app" will be released any sooner than that.
Intel is first out the door with dual-core CPU's. Both the new Pentium D and Pentium Extreme Edition are based on the "Smithfield" core revision, with the only difference being that the Extreme Edition has Hyper-Threading turned on. Smithfield is distinguished by a 90nm process, 2 x 16KB of L1 data, 2 x 12Kµ ops L1 trace, 2 x 1MB L2 unified cache, SSE3, EM64T, XD bit, classified in the "800 series" of CPU performance numbers, and is only available in LGA 775 packaging. These new dual-core Pentiums are only supported by dual-core capable chipsets, which include Intel's 945/955 series and NVidia's NForce4 SLI Intel Edition (if dual-core support is enabled by the mobo manufacturer). Expect VIA to have a Pentium dual-core chipset released by the end of summer.
Pentium D 820 = 2.8GHz (each core), 800MHz FSB
Pentium D 830 = 3.0GHz (each core), 800MHz FSB
Pentium D 840 = 3.2GHz (each core), 800MHz FSB
Pentium EE 840 = 3.2GHz (each core), 800MHz FSB
Rough price of about $500 for the PD 830/840, twice as much for the HT-enabled PEE 840. Initial sales are reserved for Intel's launch partners, but volume production should be underway by June.
Intel's future plans include "Presler" (65 nm process, 2MB L2 cache per core, based on dual-chip single-package design). A single-chip package design of Presler will be the foundation for the next-gen Celeron. Intel also says quad-core CPU's (not including HT) should be available in 2-3 years.
AMD
AMD's dual-core plans are a bit behind Intel's, but nevertheless, their new Athlon64 X2's are coming. Based on the new "Toledo" core revision, they'll be sporting a 90nm process, 2 x 64KB L1 data, 2 x 64KB L1 instruction, 2 x 512KB/1MB L2 unified cache, SSE3, NX bit, and only available for Socket 939. Chipset support is limited to NVidia's NForce4 series of chipsets (with dual-core support enabled by the mobo manufacturer). Again, expect a dual-core chipset from VIA before the end of the summer, and perhaps some sort of NForce5 from NVidia by the end of the year.
Athlon64 X2-4200+ = 2.2GHz (each core), 512KB L2 cache (each core)
Athlon64 X2-4400+ = 2.2GHz (each core), 1MB L2 cache (each core)
Athlon64 X2-4600+ = 2.4GHz (each core), 512KB L2 cache (each core)
Athlon64 X2-4800+ = 2.4GHz (each core), 1MB L2 cache (each core)
AMD's pricing on these is unknown. Initial sales will be reserved for AMD's launch partners starting in June, but volume production should be underway by July/August.
AMD's future plans include FX's based on the Toledo core revision. After that is anyone's guess, but rumour has it that the Sempron will very soon get 64-bit support on Socket 754.
Single-core vs Dual-core
For multi-taskers out there, dual-core CPU's will result in major performance increases! As Pentium D's trickle down to us end-users, you'll start seeing benchmark results being posted by people encoding two movies at once! It will also be possible to play in a LAN game while also hosting a dedicated server on the same system. Such lofty ideas are only the beginning, using current single-threaded software. As multi-threaded software becomes more available, dual-core systems (especially those with Hyper-Threading) will take over as the new power users' machine.
For pure gamers out there, dual-core CPU's are not worth the extra money right now. They're slower than the fastest single-core CPU's and there's not one multi-threaded game out yet. Until games become optimized for dual-core systems (yeah right! maybe in 12 months!) you're better off sticking to a fast single-core system. Unless that LAN game idea sounds fun. :p
For everyone else out there, low-end single-core systems are still the best deals. If you don't use any software that stresses your single-core CPU, why pay for two? Intel and AMD intend to keep making low-end single-core CPU's for quite some time, so the Celeron and Sempron series aren't in any danger of going away. There aren't even any cheap dual-core CPU's on the horizon for at least 2 years. And honestly, there's no reason to think that a multi-threaded "killer-app" will be released any sooner than that.