Intel CPUs

[DocDon]

Been out of the loop for awhile, but wanting to build a new machine. What is the difference among the Smithfield, Pressler, and Conroe CPUs -- which is the "best bang for the bucks."

 

[biostud]

Conroe by far (but not out yet)

 

[996GT2]

Smithfield chips have two 90nm Prescott cores on a single die, with 2*1MB L2 cache. They are labelled as Pentium D 8XX chips
Presler chips have two 65nm Cedar Mill cores on a single die, with 2*2MB L2 cache. They are labelled as Pentium D 9XX chips.

Because of their smaller manufacturing process, Presler chips will run cooler and draw less power than similar Smithfield chips, so look to those if you want to build an Intel system NOW. However, the Pentium D 805 is a good Smithfield option at around $120. It offers excellent overclocking abilities when paired with a good cooler.

Conroe, on the other hand, is not based on the Netburst architecture like the two aforementioned cores and all other Pentium 4 chips. Its architecture is more related to that of the Pentium M/Pentium III. Early benchmarks and tests have shown that this core is incredibly fast, often beating out comparable AMD chips by a significant margain. It will come in several varities on July 23rd, with some carrying 2 MB Shared L2 cache and some carrying 4 MB. Prices will not be much higher than even the slashed prices of current Pentium D prices. I would say that a Conroe chip is your best option for building a new system. So if you can wait a few weeks, a great new chip will be released at a very reasonable cost, Pentium D prices are likely to drop even further, and AMD will also cut prices on their chips soon after Conroe's release.

 

[Markfw]

When do you have to have the machine done by, and what do you do with it ? If its too soon, you should use an AMD chip. Right now they are the best bang/buck. We don't know when you will actually be able to buy a Conroe, and smithfield and pressler aren;t good options at the moment (see post about yours on 805 throttleing, they do that easily)

 

[HopJokey]

Originally posted by: Markfw900
When do you have to have the machine done by, and what do you do with it ? If its too soon, you should use an AMD chip. Right now they are the best bang/buck. We don't know when you will actually be able to buy a Conroe, and smithfield and pressler aren;t good options at the moment (see post about yours on 805 throttleing, they do that easily)

Well I think that he should try to wait until the Conroe release date (July 23rd) if at all possible because then some Conroe's may be available and AMD X2 price cuts will come as well the next day. The CPU options look better around this timeframe.

 

[Markfw]

The problem with waiting, is that most I hear, say they won't be available to anyone but OEM's for at least 2 months. So thats late sept. But you could wait and see what happens. Thats why I asked how long do you want to wait. X2's or even AMD single cores are fine today, unless you need the extra horsepower.

 

[DrMrLordX]

AMD still has price cuts scheduled for July 24th, so waiting is smart at least for that reason alone.

 

[archcommus]

Originally posted by: DrMrLordX
AMD still has price cuts scheduled for July 24th, so waiting is smart at least for that reason alone.

Yes, up to HALF the current price for X2's. I'm not in the market right now but it's still exciting to see AMD dual cores far below $200.

 

[DocDon]

Thanks for the info -- what chipset will the Conroe take -- 945/975? I assume the memory will be DDR2677

 

[HopJokey]

Originally posted by: DocDon
Thanks for the info -- what chipset will the Conroe take -- 945/975? I assume the memory will be DDR2677

Conroe can be used within updated versions of the 945 and 975 chipsets. Also the new 965 chipset supports Conroe (boards with that should be out later this month). For the older chipsets(945/975) I believe they support DDR2 533 and DDR2 667. The 965 based boards should support DDR2 533, DDR2 667, and DDR2 800.

 

[BladeVenom]

Unless it's an emergency and you have to have a computer now, I would wait till Conroe becomes available. Even if you decide on something else, everything else is going to have to take a price cut to compete.

 

[archcommus]

One of the cheap Pentium D's or perhaps a $169 X2 3800+ may be the best bang for the buck towards the end of July.

 

[alex123]

I guess no one is buying dual core CPUs in June

And those who buy, they regret it, dont care, or dont know


Since nobody is buying CPUs before the price cuts, why dont they just make those price cuts effective of tomorrow ?

 

[DrMrLordX]

Who knows? I guess AMD isn't looking forward to the price cuts the same way we are.

 

[hardwareking]

conroe or core 2 duo as it would be know,is the chipu are lookin for if u can wait,a couple of weeks.
It according to previews,absolutely destroys any and/or all of the current offerings from either amd or intel.
And those are the mid range ones.