Introduction
Intel Pentium Extreme Edition 955 ProcessorBack in May 2005, Intel rolled out its first consumer-level processor featuring two independent Prescott-based cores housed in one package, with each core, in the case of the Pentium Extreme Edition 840, having access to its own 1MB of super-fast L2 cache and carrying Intel's Hyper-Threading functionality, although both cores in the package shared system bandwidth supplied by the MCH (Memory Controller Hub). Cheaper derivatives of dual-core CPUs, differentiated by clock speed and a lack of Hyper-Threading, gave Intel a top-to-bottom range that complemented its single-core models. The pick of the bunch, as far as the enthusiast on a budget was concerned, was the £200 Pentium 820D, running at 2.8GHz but bereft of H-T tech. Dual-core for the masses!
Parallel processing is the future for CPUs, and it's telling that Intel, some seven months later, introduces another premium CPU that carries dual-core goodness with it. Ramping up the clock speed and FSB, together with a die shrink and some nifty new technologies, let's take a closer look at Intel's Pentium Extreme Edition 955.
