Collection of Conroe Data. (Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme!)

[IdiotNewb]

Many thanks to this post and these forums.

This was my situation 2-3 months ago. I play a lot of games on my computer. I have a motherboard with and 8x agp. It finally has gotten to the point I have to upgrade because agp does not cut it in gamming anymore. So I figured I would wait and buy a AM2 system with and FX chip but I had to wait for AM2 to come out. Then I read on Tom's hardware this topic. I'm glad I had to wait and the information was available. So what's my point?

Fact, is I have to upgrade and it makes no sense using old hardware if I am buying a new motherboard. So if I am going to do it I'm going to get the best available hardware and currently that is a Conroe system. It doesn't matter if I will not see that much increase in FPS over somebody elses AMD, I don't own their AMD. This will be a major step up over my system. Like I said I was that close to buying the AMD it is good to see Intel finally competing again.

Just wanted to thank you all for the great input. I would have been way upset if I hadn't got the facts and bought a high priced CPU/system when I could buy a E6600 for as cheap as it will be.

 

[iterations]

Official Core 2 Reviews And Info

Well the NDA is up and all of these sites have independently verified what we have known for the past couple of months. Core 2 is the best chip you can buy, period. Performs the best, uses less energy, produces less heat, has better performand per watt as well as performance per dollar. Here are a sample of reviews (in alphabetical order)

AnandTech- http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2795
Bit Tech - http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2006/07/14/intel_core_2_duo_processors/1.html
ByteSector - http://www.bytesector.com/data/bs-article.asp?id=661
Chile Hardware - http://www.chilehardware.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=hardware_reviews&file=200607131
Club IC - http://www.clubic.com/article-36354-1-le-pentium-laisse-la-place-intel-core-2-duo.html
Computer Base - http://www.computerbase.de/artikel/hardware/prozessoren/2006/test_intel_core_2_extreme_x6800/
Digit Life - http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/cpu/intel-core2-duo-e6600.html
Extreme Tech - http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1989036,00.asp
Firing Squad - http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/intel_core_2_performance/
GD Hardware - http://www.gdhardware.com/hardware/cpus/intel/conroe/X6800_E6700/001.htm
GotFrag - http://hardware.gotfrag.com/portal/story/33492/
Guru3D - http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=185555
HardOCP - http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTEwOCwxLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==
Hardware Secrets - http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/348
HardwareZone - http://www.hardwarezone.com.sg/articles/view.php?cid=2&id=1980
Hardware.fr - http://www.hardware.fr/articles/633-1/express-core-2-duo-p965-vs-i975x.html
Hexus - http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=6184
Hot Hardware - http://www.hothardware.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=845&cid=1
Legion Hardware - http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=569
Legit Reviews - http://www.legitreviews.com/article/362/1/
MadBox PC - http://www.madboxpc.com/contenido.php?id=2394
Mad Shrimps - http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&articID=470
Maximo PC - http://www.maximopc.org/articulos/intel_core_2_duo_review_parte_1.html
NeoSeeker - http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Hardware/Reviews/core2duo_e6700/
OCAU - http://www.overclockers.com.au/article.php?id=489587
OC Workbench - http://www.ocworkbench.com/2006/intel/core2duo/g1.htm
PC Perspective - http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=272
Phoronix - http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=512&num=1
Planet X64 - http://www.planetx64.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=283&Itemid=14
Sharky Extreme - http://www.sharkyextreme.com/hardware/cpu/article.php/3620036
Sim HQ - http://www.simhq.com/_technology2/technology_090a.html
Tech Report - http://techreport.com/reviews/2006q3/core2/index.x?pg=1
Tom's Hardware - http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/07/14/core2_duo_knocks_out_athlon_64/
Trusted Reviews - http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?art=3161
TweakTown - http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/923/
Xbit Labs - http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core2duo-e6300.html

 

[ltcommander_data]

You've used many of mine, but I noticed you forgot a few:

There are 2 from ByteSector. You only have the one dealing with the E6700. The one dealing with the X6800 is this:

http://www.bytesector.com/data/bs-article.asp?id=662

Similarly, HEXUS also has 2. You have their original i975X Crossfire one, but the nForce 5 SLI one is here:

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=6188

HardOCP also has 2. You have the gaming one, and here is the encoding one:

http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTExMCwsLGhlbnRodXNpYXN0

You also forgot these:

http://www.gamepyre.com/reviewsd.html?aid=753&p=1

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/07/14/intel_core2_duo/

http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,126342,00.asp

http://www.thechannelinsider.com/article/The+Core+2+Intel+Goes+for+the+Jugular/183290_1.aspx

You could also include The Inquirer's commentary if you want:

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=33048

The person's appears to be on a trip right now so their full review will be delayed.

You might want to mention some of the people that have helped compile data since this stuff began. I'm not really saying it for my sake, but people like ethernalite and JumpingJack among others stayed up to help list them as they came in. (I'm not sure of their time zones so I'm just assuming here).

 

[ltcommander_data]

Here are 2 more:

http://www.tbreak.com/reviews/article.php?cat=cpu&id=459

http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/reviews/article/1833/

 

[Hoppy6698]

Okay, all this is great an all, but what chipsets (verified please) will support the Conroe?

TH's own review only looks at 4 975x chipset boards, only 2 of which are on Newegg. But in some reports, not all, I see that 965X boards are SUPPOSED to support Conroe. But in going to the manufacturers sites, even they cant seem to agree on what is supported.

Looking for help, can someone provide a link of ALL boards CURRENTLY out that support the Conroe, or at a minimum, a certified list of what chipsets I should be searching for?

Thanks.

 

[pausert20]

Okay, all this is great an all, but what chipsets (verified please) will support the Conroe?

TH's own review only looks at 4 975x chipset boards, only 2 of which are on Newegg. But in some reports, not all, I see that 965X boards are SUPPOSED to support Conroe. But in going to the manufacturers sites, even they cant seem to agree on what is supported.

Looking for help, can someone provide a link of ALL boards CURRENTLY out that support the Conroe, or at a minimum, a certified list of what chipsets I should be searching for?

Thanks.

Intel Motherboards: Bad Axe built on the Glenwood-DG chipset (975x)
Lemont built on the Broadwater Chipset (P965)

Both the Bad Axe and the Lemont boards can run the Core 2 Extreme processors.

Other boards from other Vendors must have VRM 11 to support a Conroe processor.

 

[Hoppy6698]

Okay, still not helping much, as you just mentioned two of the boards I already mentioned.

VRM 11 - where would this be mentioned under specs? Does it matter if I have no intention on the extreme edition? I just need a board that will take full advantage of the E6600.

 

[pausert20]

Then start looking for the P965 boards that come out. Some will be expensive some will be reasonable priced. Or you can wait for the Q965 and G965 boards. Those chipset have yet to be officially launched by Intel so you will have to wait for the boards with them on it.

If you want internal graphics then wait for either the G965 or Q965 boards. Or the RD600 chipset from ATI or the new one from Nvidia which the name escapes me for the moment.

 

[Hoppy6698]

What fool in his right mind would actually choose onboard graphics vice a GPU? Prolly not any that post here.

So am I to take it that ANY current 965 board will support the E6600 and a full 1066Mhz FSB?

 

[pausert20]

Yes, it will.

Since you are not interested in internal graphics then setup your search for P965. Asus and Gigabyte I thought I heard have these available and of course Intel but I could not find the Intel Lemont board when doing a search.

 

[Hoppy6698]

Thanks, mate. Guess I will stick with the Gigabyte board recommended to me - 965P DS3.

 

[Kougar]

To answer some questions... RD600 has a best possible ETA of September, maybe October. Nvidia will be releasing a nForce4, nForce 550, 570 SLI, and 590 SLI that all support the Core 2 Duo, starting in August. All 965 boards will support Core 2 Duo processors. The only way to verifiy that a 975X chipset board supports Conroe is to look at the revision#, and reference with their respective website to know for sure.

Now, I have a few questions... I am trying to find reviews and/or overclocking results with any Conroe chip, but it must be the retail shipping B2 stepping Revision 6. Has anyone spotted any of these?

Also, the below information is new

Intel originally planned to position the E4200, which will represent the entry level of its Core 2 Duo CPU family, against AMD's forthcoming Socket-AM2 Athlon 64 X2 3600+ CPU. However, recent tests indicated that the E4200 could hardly outperform the Athlon 64 X2 3600+, prompting Intel to change its roadmap, the sources said, noting that the E4300 CPU will feature a core speed of 1.8GHz, as compared to a core speed of 1.6GHz for the E4200. -Digitimes

 

[Guest]

If you go on xtremsystems.org/forums, quite a few guys got the B2 steppings and some guys ran a few benchmark, other than that most review had B0-B1...

 

[illuminatirex]

what is the diference betwean the B2 version and the older ones?

 

[pausert20]

what is the diference betwean the B2 version and the older ones?

The B2 is the Production version and the B1 is a Pre-Production version. As for what was fixed between the 2 that is only known by Intel and Intel.

 

[itneal2277]

Has anyone found any motherboards that are 100% ready for Conroe? I know all the 975 chipset motherboards have to be revised in order to work. Motherboards that feature the 965 chipset will be compatible but I haven't seen any that list Conroe on their supported CPU list yet. I assume these boards will require a BIOS update. The reason I ask is because I don't have an old socket 775 processor to boot with in order to update and then swap with Conroe.

 

[illuminatirex]

i think its posible to get a bios chip from the manufacturer, and i think (i m not shoor of this ) but the p5b or the p5w dh (one of these) has a way to update the bios using a flash drive, but i think that a compatible cpu has to be placed in the socket thou

 

[itneal2277]

Out of all the mobos I have seen the ASUS P5B looks most promising as they have not posted a CPU list on their site yet. Also I haven't seen any available in stores (except the P5B Deluxe, but there is no CPU list posted for that either) so I'm hoping this is a good thing. Perhaps they are holding this information until Conroe's official release.

 

[illuminatirex]

Perhaps they are holding this information until Conroe's official release.

I think so as well. The oly thing about the p5b series that i do not like is the fact that tehy do not have support for the xfire.l

 

[nick_000000]

Perhaps they are holding this information until Conroe's official release.

I think so as well. The oly thing about the p5b series that i do not like is the fact that tehy do not have support for the xfire.l

The Asus P5W DH Deluxe looks good but a tad expensive, already ordered one. I just hope that my asetek waterblock will fit the CPU area, looks like it's going to be tight fit with the 8 phase power design 🙁.

I spose I can dremel the block, but it won't look as nice.

 

[illuminatirex]

im also planing on geting the p5w dh deluxe, but im waiting for the dx10 gpus for my new build, im hoping that maby a premium version of the mobo will come out for both the p5w and the p5b mobos, which hopefuly will ad xfire suport for the p5b series, and maby 3 pcix slots for the p5w mobos

 

[Kougar]

For any of the old hands, here's a very, very good article on the difference that memory timings will have, between 4mb and 2mb cache Core 2 Duo processors.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2006/07/18/core_2_duo_memory_timings/1.html

 

[Chris-P]

Per this link -

http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=307&model=1179&modelmenu=1

and this link,

http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=307&model=1178&modelmenu=1

Both the P5B and P5B Deluxe both are Conroe-ready.

 

[pausert20]

Per this link -

http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=307&model=1179&modelmenu=1

and this link,

http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=307&model=1178&modelmenu=1

Both the P5B and P5B Deluxe both are Conroe-ready.

This is from Intel's site:

http://support.intel.com/products/motherboard/d975xbx/index.htm

and

http://support.intel.com/products/motherboard/dp965lt/index.htm

 

[itneal2277]

I know they say they are Conroe ready but until I see a CPU support list saying it will work with the initial BIOS. I will not leave anything to chance. A good example is the ASUS P5W DH Deluxe motherboard. It says Conroe support in the specs but doesn't mention it at all in the supported CPU list as working with the first BIOS release. Remember I don't have an old socket 775 processor to boot with in order to update and then swap with Conroe.