Memory tests and single-threaded performance
Memory bandwidth, according the SANDRA's Float measurement, has always been historically higher on AMD's AM2 processors, and that's the case here. Remember, the Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6800 officially runs off a 266MHz (1066MHz QDR) system bus.
The introduction of the Core microarchitecture, which uses effective latency-masking techniques, shows Intel's dual- and quad-core CPUs in an AMD-matching light. We will have to wait for Nehalem until Intel adds a memory controller right on the CPU die.
HEXUS Pifast is a single-threaded application that calculates the constant to 10M places. That's why both QX6800 and X6800 - dual- and quad-core models operating at 2.93GHz - return near-identical times, and both beat out the best AMD has to offer. They should do, too, as, at the time of writing, they cost twice as much.
