Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 / 3 GHz processor

...were looking very dire for Intel indeed. Massive job cuts, poor PR and above all they had an outdated series.

Their main rivals AMD were trouncing them at every step. They left no stone unturned and Intel seemed to be in major trouble.

Then the Conroes hit the market. Instantly the tables were turned. The new 65nm process Intel adopted, dominated the market. They ran cool, extremely efficiently and above all they overclocked. ...
...can see Intel delivering another choice kick. Now they have taken the next leap and scaled down to 45nm and banged together some more cores. Not only that but the sheer efficiency of the new chip allows it to take a comfortable lead over the previous line up (conroe). And while being cooler, and while being more efficient it overclocks even better than before. Intel knows what consumers want. Value for money.

On my meagre rig ;) I ... more

What can I say? My jaw is still getting aquainted with the floor.

Just over a year ago, things were looking very dire for Intel indeed. Massive job cuts, poor PR and above all they had an outdated series.

Their main rivals AMD were trouncing them at every step. They left no stone unturned and Intel seemed to be in major trouble.

Then the Conroes hit the market. Instantly the tables were turned. The new 65nm process Intel adopted, dominated the market. They ran cool, extremely efficiently and above all they overclocked.

Fast forward to today and you can see Intel delivering another choice kick. Now they have taken the next leap and scaled down to 45nm and banged together some more cores. Not only that but the sheer efficiency of the new chip allows it to take a comfortable lead over the previous line up (conroe). And while being cooler, and while being more efficient it overclocks even better than before. Intel knows what consumers want. Value for money.

On my meagre rig ;) I managed to overclock the QX6950 to over 4.3Ghz on watercooling. Unfortunatly my motherboard cannot go anyhigher so for the time being im limited. However being the Extreme version, this chip allows you to drop the multiplier to negate the limitations of the other components.

Would I recommend this chip though?

Maybe. As much as I have raved over it this chip is still fairly expensive for most people and if the cores are not being utilised then wastage is occuring ^_^. Have no fear however. At the start of next year, Intel are releasing a whole new suite of chips to compliment this beast. They are just as impressive and still have the 12mb cache.

If you are a forward thinking gamer or encode etc then this chip is definitly for you. Dont go dual core. Already Intels aggresive pricing techniques have made this obsolete. Why 2 when you can get 4 cores?

Highly recommended.

Just a helpful reminder. Quad core Kentsfields are NOT supported on the 680i chipsets. Dont tell me :( I had to upgrade because of it. They will support the wolfsdale (Dual core) however.

Hope you enjoyed this concise review 

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