Conclusions
The Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770's review could have been summed up in one sentence, really. Its announcement serves to extend Intel's dominant position at the very high-end of the desktop market. It does everything the QX9650 does - being based on the same Penryn core - but doe so that little bit faster.
We've seen that AMD will need to pull a Phenom rabbit the size of Gibraltar out of a hat if it's to challenge the incumbent Kentsfield-based QX6850 in pure performance stakes. That rabbit will need to be raised on nandrolone and nurtured with EPO if it's going to munch on the Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770 carrot for breakfast, for its enhanced core, faster clockspeed and front-side bus combine to offer the highest single-socket processor benchmarks we've ever seen - a familiar tune for QXs of late.
Released in Q1 2008 to coincide with the AMD quad-core Phenom 9900, the Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770 will remain the fastest desktop processor until some bright spark decides a 3.4GHz SKU is necessary.
The flipside is that it will cost around £750. Intel knows it can charge extortionate prices at the very high end, simply because there's a distinct lack of competition from AMD.
95 per cent of readers will look at the benchmark numbers and await lower-clocked Yorkfield/Wolfdale processors - also released in Q1 2008 - with more-palatable price-tags. The other 5 per cent will want the fastest processor around. No prizes for guessing which one that is..
HEXUS Awards
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770
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