Core 2 Extreme QX6700 Processor

Built upon the state-of-the-art Intel 65nm manufacturing process, the Intel Core 2 Extreme qual core processor is designed to deliver outstanding capabilities on both today's en tomorrow's workloads. This latest Extreme processor delivers two dual core processors in a single 775 socket multi-chip processor package to provide incredible throughput support of multimedia applications and multitasking usage models. The Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 processor utilizes the Intel 975X Express chipset based platform supporting dual graphics. But also recently NVIDIA has joined the scene with their nForce 6 series which fully support all capabilities of Intel's Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme processors.

One of the most important launches from Intel in quite some time has been the Core 2 Duo, taking back the market at a fast pace. This has been quite a chance, as far some time Intel wasn't really up there with AMD in terms of raw performance. With the introduction of the Core 2 Duo this has changed for the better, Intel is back and up for it. In fact the Core 2 Duo changed the whole processor market around, by beating AMD with a very large margin. Even during the launch of the Conroe, Intel suggested that quad core wasn't far off either. As we mentioned before, Intel has basically taken two Core 2 Duo dies and just put them in to one package.

The Intel Core 2 Extreme quad core processors are equipped with a new Digital Thermal Sensor (DTS) that enables efficient processor and platform thermal control. Thermal sensors located within the processor, measure the maximum temperature on the die at any given time. Intel Quiet System Technology, included in the Intel 975X Express chipset family, uses the DTS to regulate the system and processor fan speeds. The acoustic benefit of temperature monitoring is that system fans spin only as fast as needed to cool the system, and slower spinning fans generate less noise.

Intel has managed to get its qual core processor to the market incredibly fast, mainly due to the fact that the Kentsfield is a pair of Conroe chips on the same package. Taking that into account, the power envelope has just doubled after Intel reduced the power requirements on its Core 2 Duo processors. It’s technically a pair of dual core chips in one socket, rather than a native quad core chip. In particular, the Core 2 Extreme QX6700 is a pair of Core 2 Duo E6700 processors on the same CPU package, meaning that the thermal design power has gone from 65W to 130W as a result of adding another two cores.

Each of the four cores will have a dedicated 64KB of L1 cache and as a whole, the Kentsfield will feature a huge combined 8MB L2 cache, but since the pair of cores aren't interconnected, each pair will only have access to 4MB, just like the Core 2 Duo. Feature wise, there isn't a difference between the Core 2 Quad and the Core 2 Duo as the Kentsfield is basically a 2-way SMP Conroe in a chip. For that reason all the advanced features found in the Core micro architecture you will find as well on the current quad core processors. The processor does also feature the SSSE3, EM64T, XD-bit and Virtualization (VT) technologies.

Intel Core 2 Duo/Extreme Series Processors
Model	QX6700	X6800	E6700	E6600	E6400	E6300
Codename	Kentsfield	Conroe	Conroe	Conroe	Conroe	Conroe
Cores	4	2	2	2	2	2
Speed	2.66GHz	2.93GHz	2.66GHz	2.40GHz	2.13GHz	1.86GHz
Sys Bus	1066MHz	1066MHz	1066MHz	1066MHz	1066MHz	1066MHz
Multiplier	10x	11x	10x	9x	8x	7x
L2 Cache	2x 4MB	1x 4MB	1x 4MB	1x 4MB	1x 2MB	1x 2MB
Power	130W	75W	65W	65W	65W	65W

The naming convention used by Intel is based on the fact that the Kentsfield processors are in the same generation as the dual core Conroe and Allendale. Hence, Core 2 designates the processor series and the Duo or Quad suffix designating the number of cores. What may be initially confusing however is that both Conroe and Kentsfield enthusiast parts will be named Core 2 Extreme. For these processors, the CPU model numbers give away its pedigree. Those with a Q prefix are quad core models, like the Core 2 Extreme QX6700.

What you should understand though, is that the quad core processors are only effective when there is the appropriate software to take advantage of them. There isn't a lot of software available currently that would use all four cores, so in some cases, the Core 2 Extreme QX6700 could be as slow as the Core 2 Extreme X6800. The most obvious case is games. However, this is expected to change this year, when game developers start to utilize multi-core CPU's in order to provide higher and better gaming experience. Of course, with such a processor, you can encode, listen to music, and even play games without any noticeable performance drop.