| Intel CPU Line Up in 2008 Q1/2 |
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| March 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
For those who have access to the price list of Intel processors, you will find a large range of CPU specifications and may wonder which one is the best for your intended use. We attempt to give you some guidelines herewith in appraising the differences.
Single Socket The good news is that Intel has adopted its Core architecture for the entire range and has eliminated the NetBurst core from the shelf. In brief, Core 2 has a much higher performance per wattage rating than NetBurst. The difference is so significant that we should rephrase by saying that the Core 2 has a much higher performance and yet a much lower electricity consumption rating than their previous microprocessor architecture. The six desktop series processors are classified in terms of the number of cores within the CPU, the Front Side Bus (FSB) speed in MHz and the amount of total Level 2 Cache in the CPU. Within each series are members with different clock frequencies. Please be warned that this classification is based on Supermicro New Zealand observation and is not an official Intel announcement.
Dual Socket In July 2006, Intel announced the first Xeon processor based on the Core architecture with its "Woodcrest" line of CPUs. The previous Xeon 5000 series is based on NetBurst and whilst their clock speed looked good (scaling up to 3.7GHz in the Xeon 5080), their performance was not so hot. The latest based on the Core 2 architecture is the Quad-Core Xeon 5400 series.
Electricity consumption is one variable. The good news is that all models shown in the table above consume less wattage and dissipate less heat than the previous generation Netburst architecture. All chassis, PSU and motherboard models from good brands are therefore adequate and we do not need to worry. |
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