Intel treats hardcore gamers with new quad-core processor
Intel treats hardcore gamers with new quad-core processor
Intel has made another significant addition to its innovative processor family with the Intel Core 2 Extreme processor QX6800, setting new standards for desktop PC performance.The launch came a good three months earlier than expected.
The company’s twelfth quad-core processor offering,Intel Core 2 Extreme processor QX6800, is ideal forthose gamers, digital design professionals and enthusiasts who crave the highest performing computers they can get their hands on. The processor runs at 2.93GHz, which is the fastest native clock speed yet reached with the Intel Core microarchitecture for the quad-core desktop to date.
Apart from hardcore gamers the processor is also attracting media users and developers like Adobe, Cakewalk, DivX, Sony Creative Software, as it would enable media professionals to capture creativity quickly and reliably.
According to the company’s figures, the Core 2 Extreme quad-core processor QX6800 is up to 65% faster than the Intel Core 2 Extreme dual-core processor X6800 on video encoding.The new chip will also reduce waiting time for high-definition media editing jobs such as video encoding, said Eric Kim, senior vice president and general manager of Intel’s Digital Home Group, in a statement.
At the recent Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco, several software developers demonstrated new games that have been “threaded" to take advantage of multiple processor cores and threads.
This increased performance can help deliver smoother gameplay, more realistic game effects and more lifelike artificial intelligence. Some of the most exciting titles of the year such as Crytek’s Crysis, Gas Powered Games’ Supreme Commander and Flagship’s Hellgate London have undergone substantial joint engineering efforts with Intel to use more than two processing threads to their advantage.
With Core 2 Extreme QX6800 released, Intel is looking to increase the performance gap with rival Advanced Micro Devices, which is also expected to release its quad-core competitor product in the middle of this year.
The competition with AMD has resulted in both the companies launching newer products. Intel launched two low-power versions of its Core 2 Duo processor, the U7600 and U7500 chips, a week before their latest launch.
But unlike Intel’s product line, which is comprised of two duo-core chips, AMD’s upcoming offering will be four individual cores on one chip. It remains to be seen whether that enhances performance.
Last year, AMD outsold Intel in dual-core chips. However, through price cuts and new product, Intel has regained its momentum. AMD on Monday lowered revenue expectations for the first quarter, blaming it on cuts in the average selling price of its chips and lower sales. Analysts say the company is feeling the affect of locking horns with a richer rival.
The Intel Core 2 Extreme processor QX6800 is built on Intel’s 65-nanometer process, has an 8 Mbyte cache and supports a 1066-MHz system bus. The processor is available now at a cost of US$1,199 (Rs51,227).
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