Northwood 2.0 GHz review at GamePC. Opinions?

[redpriest_]

The thing appears to overclock quite well. However, it needs those overclocked speeds to tackle the Athlon XP completely.

 

[o1die]

I wouldn't spend $479 on a 2.0 northwood. I'm hoping intel will sell the 1.6 or 1.8 northwood in the us with a reasonable price.

 

[Pabster]

There won't be a 1.6 or 1.8 Northwood. The 2.0 "A" is the first.

 

[christoph83]

Whats this then Pabster? There have been rumors that 1.6 and 1.8 versions would come out. I remember reading an article on the inquirer about it. Although not officially announced it looks like this store is counting on getting them in. And if these overclock as well as the 2ghz it maybe well worth it for the cheaper price.

 

[classy]

Disappointing. Its still overall slower than a XP Athlon. Whats even more scary, Intel has nothing better on the horizon. The XP will only go faster and when Throughbred is released in March or April they'll be stomped even more. And its nice to see a 500 mhz overclock. But in reality that will be hit and miss. Intel in my opinion is slowly following the dark path of another former King, 3DFX. They rested on their laurels and now the little company who they didn't take seriously is only going to get stronger. No innovation and high prices has become Intel's label. And its ashame. I said it before and I'll say it again, I think they're done.

 

[WilsonTung]

<< And its ashame. I said it before and I'll say it again, I think they're done. >>



That's what Zilog and Motorola said about the 8086, which really sucked @ss compared to the Z80 and the 68000.

 

[Pabster]

WilsonTung wrote:

"That's what Zilog and Motorola said about the 8086, which really sucked @ss compared to the Z80 and the 68000."

It's also what every Intel zealot said when the K6-3 was winding out and P3 was ramping up, with P4 on the horizon.

 

[Lecho]

<< I said it before and I'll say it again, I think they're done. >>



You have to be kidding..

Intel is stronger than AMD in so many areas. AMD is not big enough to produce their own chipsets, their marketing department is weak, don't have the industry support they need yet, and don't produce as large a variety of products as Intel. Intel is still ahead of AMD in manufacturing and R & D.

Intel has the support in the industry and OEM markets. Compaq and Dell not selling AMD systems really hurts, and Intel owns the mobile market. The Athlon MP servers outperform Xeons, but so many companies already use Intel servers and networking products, and will continue to do so. I'd would also bet that the desktop processor market only makes up about 20% of Intel's profits. Intel will have to make many more and much larger mistakes in order to go under.

 

[SlapAss]

The P4's 20 stage pipeline allows high clock speeds,but that is about it. It is not a very smart cpu, like the Athlon XP. If Intel would add hyperthreading to the P4 they might have something. I am starting to wonder if Intel cares very much about desktop pc's. I personally hope AMD & Intel both keep kickin' ass so prices stay under control. I think if AMD stays on the ball, Intel might have a tough road ahead.

 

[SpeedTester]

<< Intel in my opinion is slowly following the dark path of another former King, 3DFX. >>



Whatever dude, Intel isnt going anywhere anytime soon.

 

[The_Lurker]

Wonder why people always claim Intel's dying when they only see a small segment of what they do? Like others have said, Intel's desktop market is small enough that if they pulled out, the company will still prosper in other areas. I love AMD's chip myself, and it helps create diversity and choices in the market, but if they don't put more pressure on Intel in other areas, INtel aint going nowhere for a while.

 

[christoph83]

Disappointing. Its still overall slower than a XP Athlon. Whats even more scary, Intel has nothing better on the horizon. The XP will only go faster and when Throughbred is released in March or April they'll be stomped even more. And its nice to see a 500 mhz overclock. But in reality that will be hit and miss. Intel in my opinion is slowly following the dark path of another former King, 3DFX. They rested on their laurels and now the little company who they didn't take seriously is only going to get stronger. No innovation and high prices has become Intel's label. And its ashame. I said it before and I'll say it again, I think they're done.

Well even though you may think they are fading to the dark its just the opposite. AMD lost money last quarter, Intel made over 100 million on their balance sheet.AMD on the other hand lost 170 million. Intel also gained some market share from AMD as well. Plus you dont think Intel's processor wont go faster and faster? Wasnt that what it was designed to do? Scale very high? 3DFX was not a majority market share holder as long as intel has been. Intel's been in the market how long? Atleast 7 years in computers and AMD has been a part of many of those years and still hasnt de-railed intel as of yet. Intel and AMD were both started in the late 70's early 80's.

 

[MistaTastyCakes]

Intel's most likely FAR from dead. However, with the relative speeds and the fact that, yeah, it overclocks well.. but in the grand scheme of thing only a couple percent of consumers overclock.. the times may be turning to AMD hands down performace wise. The XP is pretty competitive with the Northwood, and the Throughbred is on the way as well, so it looks like AMD might be winning the price/performace wars for a little while longer.

 

[Hulk]

I must say I'm a little disappointed at Northwood's performance. I was hoping that Intel would be able to perform a little magic like they did when they transformed the Pentium Pro into the PII. PP performed badly in Windows while the PII was great. I guess the penality of misses in that 20 stage pipeline is not going away, and the only way around is for programs to use SSEII instructions.

Still, at least there is some improvement per clock cycle.

 

[christoph83]

If your disapointed...check out this review. The 2.0A beats the 2000+ in 20 out of 31 tests.

 

[redpriest_]

I would hardly laud that as a smashing victory -- 20 out of 31. That's still very competitive, if you ask me, not withstanding AMD hasn't even shrunk to .13 micron yet.

 

[AGodspeed]

I would hardly laud that as a smashing victory -- 20 out of 31. That's still very competitive, if you ask me, not withstanding AMD hasn't even shrunk to .13 micron yet.

I wouldn't take Xbit's review too seriously. They (like HardOCP for some reason) don't think it's "fair" to use AMD's SSE patch that's available to the public. Not only that, but Xbit used a lot of SSE2 optimized tests that are used about 0% of the time in any real world or even specialized situations. Using a SSE2 optimized benchmark is not what's "bad", it's using an SSE2 optimized benchmark that virtually no one in any significant, or minor for that matter, position uses.

Oh well, I'd still say the NW did it's job, it wasn't going to beat the AXP's anyway, so I'm just awaiting other processors and platforms at this point.

 

[mrman3k]

One thing I would like to say as a word of caution, DO NOT think that the Thouroughbred will be the P4 killer yet, if you begin to think that, you might be let down when it actually comes out just like the majority of us with the P4 Northwood.

 

[x86]

<< Disappointing. Its still overall slower than a XP Athlon. Whats even more scary, Intel has nothing better on the horizon. The XP will only go faster and when Throughbred is released in March or April they'll be stomped even more. And its nice to see a 500 mhz overclock. But in reality that will be hit and miss. Intel in my opinion is slowly following the dark path of another former King, 3DFX. They rested on their laurels and now the little company who they didn't take seriously is only going to get stronger. No innovation and high prices has become Intel's label. And its ashame. I said it before and I'll say it again, I think they're done. >>



THIS IS 100% NOT TRUE! The NW 2.0A crushes the 2000+ XP in 18/28 Benches. It is also impossible for Intel to go under. Here is why:

Intel owns the pattens to x86, for every processor any company (i.e. AMD) sells that is based on the x86 (includes the up-comming x86-64) ISA Intel gets royalites. They also licence the P4 bus to Via, Ali, ect, and they get royalties. Even if AMD controls 100% of the desktop and notebook market share, Intel will still be churning money with the royalties. Unless there is a complete over turn to Macs with their G5s Intel is here to stay!

Get with the "program" Classy

 

[x86]

<< One thing I would like to say as a word of caution, DO NOT think that the Thouroughbred will be the P4 killer yet, if you begin to think that, you might be let down when it actually comes out just like the majority of us with the P4 Northwood. >>



Very true. Besides the Throroughbred is just a shrink to 130nm, there are NO enhancements whatsoever. It will maintain its performance ratio. I also hope you know that Jackson Tech is implemented on NW. We are just waiting to get the software.

 

[christoph83]

Jackson tech is implented on the normal northwoods selling right now? Or the new Xeon or Foster versions?

 

[Kell]

<< THIS IS 100% NOT TRUE! The NW 2.0A crushes the 2000+ XP in 18/28 Benches. >>



Not according to the results at our local AnandTech. The 2.0A loses all but two or three tests against the AthlonXP 2000+. Even the 1900+ could be considered worthy competition for it.



<< I also hope you know that Jackson Tech is implemented on NW. We are just waiting to get the software. >>



Jackson technology is currently hardware-disabled in production Northwoods. Software can't enable something that's been burned out with a laser.

 

[XWolfsraider]

you said:>Jackson technology is currently hardware-disabled in production Northwoods. Software can't enable something that's been burned out with a laser. <

can you say prestonia?

the newest p-4nw with jackson technology enabled!!!!

i assume production northwoods are northwoods you can buy?

then the prestonia fit that bill.

 

[Bluga]

Disappointing.

 

[Pabster]

DocSmarts wrote:

"Very true. Besides the Throroughbred is just a shrink to 130nm, there are NO enhancements whatsoever. It will maintain its performance ratio. I also hope you know that Jackson Tech is implemented on NW. We are just waiting to get the software."

Where do you come up with this B.S.?

Northwood does not have support for SMT, or Jackson technology. Prestonia, yes, but they're "just a little" more expensive than the 2.2GHz Northwood.

And no, a piece of software will not enable it.