Dual- and quad-core 'Penryn' CPUs benchmarked
Smokin'
18th April 2007 12:02 GMT
IDF How might processors based on Intel's upcoming 45nm 'Penryn' architecture perform when compared to today's 65nm CPUs? The chip giant today posted test results to give us an indication of what to expect the Core 2 upgrade hits the market.
The tests were carried out on a pre-production Intel D975XBX2 motheerboard with a pre-production BIOS installed. Alongside the processor, the company connected an Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX card from Asus running version 100.65 of Nvidia's drivers. 2GB of Corsair 800MHz DDR 2 memory set to 5-5-5-15 and a 320GB Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm hard drive were fitted, and the whole lot was running the 32-bit version of Windows Vista Ultimate.

Three processors were tested: dual- and quad-core Penryns running at 3.33GHz over a 1333MHz frontside bus, and a four-core 2.93GHz Core 2 Extreme QX6800 sitting on a 1066MHz bus. Here are the numbers:
3DMark 06

Longer bars are better


Antec Nine Hundred Two Mid Tower (ATX/Micro ATX/Mini-ITX, 9 Bays)
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Dual Core Processor (3GHz, 6MB, 1333MHz FSB, LGA775 Socket T)
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Processor (2.40GHz, 4x2MB, 1066MHz FSB, Socket T)
Intel Core i7 I7-920 Quad Core Processor (2.66GHz, 4x256kB, 4.8GT/s QPI, LGA 1336 Socket B)
Intel Core 2 Q9550 Quad Core Processor (2.83GHz, 4x3MB, 1333MHz FSB, LGA775 Socket T)