Intel Launches Core 2 Duo

Core 2 Duo Launched

Welcome to the Worlds Best Processors

And to think I *was* saving up for a MacPro ... *sigh* ...

It's a darn good chip!

The Israeli design team did a good job, they have changed the direction of the company.

More information can be found here and an in-depth view of the architecture and it's benefits can be found here.

(notice not links to Mr Mooney's blog)

The only thing that is stopping me from moving to Conroe is the mobo's. They are still rubbish, the issue is that  the Hyper-Transports on current models have insifficent heat-sinks so are prone to over-heating, so give it afew months till this situation is sorted out before commiting to one.

Try Google'n Core 2 Duo

C'mon! Who wants to be first in line to learn the assembly language mnemonics on this one?!

::: crickets :::

Hopefully the architecture is more sane than the way the Pentium line evolved in terms of register structure, etc.

Cornelius Ellsonpeter wrote:

C'mon! Who wants to be first in line to learn the assembly language mnemonics on this one?!

Why would it be any different? It's still a 100% x86-compatible chip.

Wait... isn't this chip basically a Pentium D without the 64 bit compatability?

W3bbo wrote:



Cornelius Ellsonpeter wrote: C'mon! Who wants to be first in line to learn the assembly language mnemonics on this one?!

Why would it be any different? It's still a 100% x86-compatible chip.

I take it you have never programmed in assembly. There will inevitably be new instructions, and most likely some of the existing ones will be processed a bit differently. If this is fully backwards compatible it's going to be even messier inside to program on a very low level.

alwaysmc2 wrote:

Wait... isn't this chip basically a Pentium D without the 64 bit compatability?

No, it's a totally new design: "Intel Core" which replaces the NetBurst archictecure used since 2000.

Hopefully, I will be having a E6600 Core Duo soon  Just ordered the first parts for my new pc[H]

alwaysmc2 wrote:

Wait... isn't this chip basically a Pentium D without the 64 bit compatability?

They are 64bit as far as I know.
http://www.intel.com/products/processor_number/chart/core2duo.htm

Unfortunately, the FSB might prove to be the weak link in the future, as it is a shared bus infrastructure, unlike AMD's HyperTransport.

incidently, Can core 2 fit into P4 motherboards without problems with bios and stuff?



are we going to see Duality in other chips too, like graphics cards and sound cards and motherboard chips to increase performance?



is the clock speed important here? Why is a P4 with 3 GHz speed faster than a Dual core 2 with 2.66 Ghz speed?



I would still go with AMD because in the tuture the bottle neck in INtel's processor is the Front Side Bus, they have to re-design this to not be shared some how.

W3bbo wrote:



alwaysmc2 wrote: Wait... isn't this chip basically a Pentium D without the 64 bit compatability?

No, it's a totally new design: "Intel Core" which replaces the NetBurst archictecure used since 2000.

How confusing.  Intel® Core™2 Duo processors are 64, but Intel® Core™ Duo processors aren't.

alwaysmc2 wrote:



W3bbo wrote:  alwaysmc2 wrote: Wait... isn't this chip basically a Pentium D without the 64 bit compatability? No, it's a totally new design: "Intel Core" which replaces the NetBurst archictecure used since 2000.

How confusing.  Intel® Core™2 Duo processors are 64, but Intel® Core™ Duo processors aren't.

I dont see where it says that. I thought Core Duo support 64 bit software but are 2 32 bit cores. Is it true that Core 2 is 64 bit on both cores?

Shark_M wrote:

I thought Core Duo support 64 bit software but are 2 32 bit cores.

That's not possible. Two 32 bit cores do not make a 64 bit one. To be able to run 64 bit software, both cores must be 64 bit.

Sven Groot wrote:



Shark_M wrote: I thought Core Duo support 64 bit software but are 2 32 bit cores.

That's not possible. Two 32 bit cores do not make a 64 bit one. To be able to run 64 bit software, both cores must be 64 bit.

so how can Windows XP 64 bit run in Core duo with clock speed of 2.16 Ghz. I was told this by the local shop dealer that sells Dell and Intel based PCs.  He was an intel representative also.


But where does it acually say that Core 2 is 64-bit on both cores?

Shark_M wrote:



Sven Groot wrote:  Shark_M wrote: I thought Core Duo support 64 bit software but are 2 32 bit cores. That's not possible. Two 32 bit cores do not make a 64 bit one. To be able to run 64 bit software, both cores must be 64 bit.

so how can Windows XP 64 bit run in Core duo with clock speed of 2.16 Ghz. I was told this by the local shop dealer that sells Dell and Intel based PCs.  He was an intel representative also.


But where does it acually say that Core 2 is 64-bit on both cores?

Dual Core processors, whether AMD or Intel doesn't matter, are SMP systems. SMP stands for Symmetric MultiProcessing, and the "Symmetric" part in that means that all processors must be identical. It is therefore impossible to have one core be 64 bit while the other is not. Either they are both 64 bit or they are both not.

The specs on the Core 2 Duo specifically lists that the CPU is EM64T, therefore both cores are 64 bit.

The specs on the Core Duo doesn't list that, and a quick google seems to indicate the Core Duo indeed doesn't support EM64T. This would mean that it can't run Windows XP x64. If your dealer told you that he was wrong.

Shark_M wrote:



Sven Groot wrote: Shark_M wrote: I thought Core Duo support 64 bit software but are 2 32 bit cores. That's not possible. Two 32 bit cores do not make a 64 bit one. To be able to run 64 bit software, both cores must be 64 bit.

so how can Windows XP 64 bit run in Core duo with clock speed of 2.16 Ghz. I was told this by the local shop dealer that sells Dell and Intel based PCs.  He was an intel representative also.


But where does it acually say that Core 2 is 64-bit on both cores?

On Wikipedia, "EM64T support"