The new multicore processors from Intel just arrived. They are supposed to offer exceptional performance (with two computing cores in a single package) for an outstanding price.
| Model | Frequency | Bus | L2 cache | Price |
| Core 2 Extreme X6800 | 2.93GHz | 1066MHz | 4MB | $999 |
| Core 2 Duo E6700 | 2.66GHz | 1066MHz | 4MB | $530 |
| Core 2 Duo E6600 | 2.4GHz | 1066MHz | 4MB | $316 |
| Core 2 Duo E6400 | 2.13GHz | 1066Mhz | 2MB | $183 |
| Core 2 Duo E6300 | 1.86GHz | 1066MHz | 2MB | $163 |
The first real tests are popping up all around the web:
Mostly, this is a magnificent machine for a substantially lower price than originally expected from multicore technology. All applications do not take advantage of two cores, but in some cases, this becomes a boon (for example, in FarCry, an Intel Core Duo X6800 does from 20% to 30% more than an AMD Athlon 64 FX2; But both processors are priced around 1000€).
Intel visibly took very seriously the task to challenge the recent crown of AMD in terms of pure performance. The next offers from AMD will be interesting to watch. All this happening in a commercial environment that looks quite favorable to price falls (see my previous articles), we must keep an eye on how all this evolves in the near future (including for the entry-level processor offers).
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