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Intel QX6700 Quad-Core |
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We received the test kit at the office in a large brown box. Inside waited some basic instructions, as well as the motherboard with the CPU already mounted, and Intel’s stock heatsink.
Well, what is under the heatspreader? Intel’s engineers have managed to squeeze two E6700 cores under one IHS – a marvelous feat that offers quad-core performance today. After all, it makes a lot of sense from Intel’s stand point – instead of spending a lot of money on developing one die with four cores in it, it is much easier to put together two dies, each with two cores. Also, Intel can pick the best E6700 chips for its QX6700 CPUs, and not have to worry about refining the manufacturing process as it would with a whole new core. Worth noting is also the massive amount of L2 cache – 8 MB in total, 4 MB per die, 2 MB per core.
Below, you can see what the two cores look like in real life:
Our Bad-Axe 2 motherboard was a pre-production sample. This meant that it did not have automatic fan control, so the fan had to be set to a specific percentage in the BIOS. Retail boards can control the fan speed automatically depending on temperature. I also hope that Intel provides a better manual with their retail motherboards, we only received a simple poster explaining the main features and a simplified diagram of how to put together a computer.
We received Intel’s stock heatsink for testing. “Stock” may not be the correct word however. Intel has gone as far as redesigning the heat sink for Quad-core CPUs. It has expanded in almost every direction; the increase in height is especially noticeable. To cool the processor, Intel has strapped-on a rather loud fan that spins at 5000 RPM.
Intel QX6700
Intel’s Core 2 Extreme is to be considered the first Quad-core CPU out on the market. Below are its main features:| Brand ID | Intel Core 2 Extreme |
|---|---|
| Processor number | QX6700 |
| Core Frequency | 2.66 GHz |
| System bus frequency | 1066 MHz |
| TDP | 130 W |
| Stepping | B-3 |
| Number of CPU cores | 4 |
| L2 Cache | 8MB (2x 4MB) |
| CPUID | 06F7 |
| Core to bus ratio limit | 10:1 |
| Max Processor Input Voltage | 1.350V |
| PECI Enabled | Yes |
| Enhanced Intel Speed Step Technology (EIST) | Yes |
| Extended HALT State (C1E) Enabled | Yes |
| Execute Disable Bit (XD) Enabled | Yes |
| Intel 64 Technology | Yes |
| Intel Virtualisation Technology | Yes |
| Package/Socket | FC-LGA775 |
Well, what is under the heatspreader? Intel’s engineers have managed to squeeze two E6700 cores under one IHS – a marvelous feat that offers quad-core performance today. After all, it makes a lot of sense from Intel’s stand point – instead of spending a lot of money on developing one die with four cores in it, it is much easier to put together two dies, each with two cores. Also, Intel can pick the best E6700 chips for its QX6700 CPUs, and not have to worry about refining the manufacturing process as it would with a whole new core. Worth noting is also the massive amount of L2 cache – 8 MB in total, 4 MB per die, 2 MB per core.
Below, you can see what the two cores look like in real life:
Intel Bad-Axe 2
I won’t go into a lot of detail with the motherboard that was used. It was supplied as part of the test kit, and is Intel’s top-of-the-line motherboard, utilizing the 975X chipset. The Bad-Axe 2 features numerous improvements over its predecessor, mainly in the overclocking segment. Most importantly, it supports Core 2 Quad CPUs.
Our Bad-Axe 2 motherboard was a pre-production sample. This meant that it did not have automatic fan control, so the fan had to be set to a specific percentage in the BIOS. Retail boards can control the fan speed automatically depending on temperature. I also hope that Intel provides a better manual with their retail motherboards, we only received a simple poster explaining the main features and a simplified diagram of how to put together a computer.
Heatsink
We received Intel’s stock heatsink for testing. “Stock” may not be the correct word however. Intel has gone as far as redesigning the heat sink for Quad-core CPUs. It has expanded in almost every direction; the increase in height is especially noticeable. To cool the processor, Intel has strapped-on a rather loud fan that spins at 5000 RPM.
