Tech Link (Processor): Core 2 Duo E6750 Review

HardwareSecrets tested this amazing processor and well, they aren't too impressed about it. I guess they missed the fact that it does run on higher FSB on the same/similar TDP and clockspeed meaning these processors can now take a beating on memory intensive applications (and yeah, overclocking too). On the same/similar clock speed, there will be hardly any difference from applications that don't rely on fast memory access. Anyway, check it out...

Conclusions
On all our tests Core 2 Duo E6750 performance was identical to Core 2 Duo E6700, even though it uses a faster front side bus – and we simulated the use of several different types of application.

So what is the advantage of using a Core 2 Duo E6750 instead of a Core 2 Duo E6700? Based on the results from our tests, none.

Then why Intel is launching this new 1,333 MHz external bus? We have two answers for that.

First, on quad-core CPUs the higher external clock rate may increase the system performance. This happens because currently on Intel quad-core CPUs the cores are arranged into two pairs. The cores inside each pair can talk directly to each other, but if they need to talk to a core that belongs to the other pair they need to go to the front side bus and make this connection going thru outside the processor. Increasing the CPU external clock rate increases, at least in theory, the speed each core pair can talk to each other. For a detailed explanation about this subject please read our Intel Quad Core Overview and Roadmap article.

We will have to wait until we review a quad-core CPU based on this new FSB to see if this is really the case.

The second reason we can see is regarding DDR3-1333 memories, which will be supported by the Intel X38 chipset to be launched in July. Using DDR3-1333 memories with a Core 2 running externally at 1,333 MHz you will be able to match the FSB clock with the memory clock, allowing you to achieve the maximum performance with current technology.

In retrospect we must keep in mind that this is the first time in six years that Intel is launching a new front side bus speed with memories matching it. When the Pentium 4 was launched, for example, it used the then-new 400 MHz FSB and there were no 400 MHz memories at the time – this was PC-100 times and DDR-400 wasn’t available yet. The same thing happened when they launched the 533 MHz, the 800 MHz and even the 1,066 MHz external clock speeds. Even to this date Intel chipsets do not officially support DDR2-1066 (even though Intel P965 and P35 can access memories at 1,066 MHz just fine and P35 officially support DDR3-1066). DDR3-1333 availability may be an issue, but that is a totally different story.

Source:Core 2 Duo E6750 Review

Tech Link (Processor): New Member In Core 2 Duo Processor Family: Introducing CPUs with 1333MHz Bus

xbitlabs has a pretty good info on the new breed of processors from Intel. They have put it thru the test and come out good even with a sound beating and torture from the crew. Check it out...

Conclusion
Well, let’s sum up a few things now. Intel’s decision to equip their Core 2 Duo processors with faster 1333MHz bus support is regarded as another move towards higher performance of this processor family. It is partially true. As we have seen today, higher bus speed will obviously boost the performance in most applications. However, unfortunately, this boost will not be as significant as we hoped: it hardly ever gets beyond 3%. But, the changes in the bus frequency are not the only thing that determined the advantage of the new CPUs over their predecessors: different clock frequencies are another reason. For example, the nominal frequency of the top Core 2 Duo E6850 model has now risen to 3.0GHz, while before today the maximum frequency of the existing Core 2 Duo processors used to be only 2.93GHz. This also affects the performance, and together with the faster bus it brings in more confident victory of the top Core 2 Duo CPUs. In other words, the launch of the Core 2 Duo CPUs with 1333MHz bus will become another part of the progress CPUs on Core micro-architecture are making. Although we all wish that they were moving at a little bit faster pace towards the promising Penryn family.

Higher bus frequency is not the only nice thing about the new processors. They are based on the new G0 stepping of the Conroe core that boasts better frequency potential. As a result, the FSB Wall has been pushed farther back and the overclocking results have improved significantly. For example, our overclocking experiments revealed that the new processors can work at 3.6-3.8GHz with traditional air-cooling onboard. Therefore, Core 2 Duo E6850, 6750 and 6550 should become very popular among overclockers, especially since Intel is going to price them very affordably. According to the preliminary data, Core 2 Duo E6850 will sell for $266, Core 2 Duo E6750 - for $183, and Core 2 Duo E6550 – for $163. This attractive price tag will certainly help Intel stimulate the transition to systems with 1333MHz bus.

Source:New Member In Core 2 Duo Processor Family: Introducing CPUs with 1333MHz Bus

Tech Link (Motherboard): Asus P5W DH Deluxe/WiFi In-Depth Overclocking Review

madshrimps has posted a review of a "relatively" old board. After reading it, I felt that it wasn't about the baord itself but more on the overclocking side of things. I kinda agree with the author about the Dewar + LN2 thing, as this seems to be the most common way to proclaim leetness nowadays. Am I against it? Definitely not, but I am not as excited as before, when I really have to dig out all the crazy mods and stuff like that. Anyway, check it out and sorry for the rant..

Conclusive Thoughts:

The P5W DH Deluxe will most likely be retired with honors as an Asus classic. Unfortunately we cannot do much about the boot-strap issue except to try and work with it. With the price of DDR2 4GB kits such as GSkill 2x2GB DDR2-667 for $199 Newegg (CL4-4-4-12 @ 1.8 ~ 19V) this would make for a powerful Gaming system in Crossfire mode, or a great little Server with WiFi and the EZ-RAID back-up. Although reading through the Xtremesystems thread indicates some P5W DH owners have misdirected their dissatisfaction towards Asus, sadly they seem unaware Asus cannot re-design the 975X. Lest we forget this chipset was originally released in 2005 and if any company would find a work-around Asus would given the 865PE pseudo-PAT debacle. When I began this article I wasn't sure where it would lead me and I thought 400FSB was my limit on this board. To see 445FSB performance and then 460FSB + potential I can only hope those frustrated P5W DH owners will go back to the BIOS and try again.

As I stated earlier 8300MB/s is the highest I can recall overclocking any Intel system lately and while it’s not up there with the “Big Boys”, so what. Anyone can buy the most expensive hardware and then break records; I don’t recall the Art of Overclocking ever being about that. Overclocking used to be a community of DIY hobbyists whom aided one another to get more from less. What happened? I can pour LN2 over my head and proclaim to be COOL, all it costs is the price of a Dewar. Although the P5W DH is still fetching a premium price ( $199 at Newegg) the P5W DH still has much to offer and I hope this review has shown just how much. We ran our E6400 at 445FSB passing all benchmarks and this system has been running for 14-days straight at that speed Gaming, multitasking and running SETI BIONIC without incident.

Source:Asus P5W DH Deluxe/WiFi In-Depth Overclocking Review

Tech Link(Motherboard): ASUS P5K3 Deluxe

HardOCP has a new motherboard review up for your scrutiny. This bad ass motherboard sports the latest chipset from Intel and supports the latest Intel processor and can overclock well too. It didn't get the highest Gold honor, but still, a pretty cool board if you're a kind of geek who always wanted to try things out first thing they came out on the stor. Expand to read the conclusion...

The Bottom Line

The ASUS P5K3 proves to be another motherboard founded on stellar engineering culminating in great stability, excellent performance, and solid overclocking prowess. This is an expensive motherboard however and once you factor in the cost of DDR3 modules you are going to find yourself easily above a $600 upgrade investment.


Had we seen it outpace other motherboards in top end CPU bus overclocking it certainly would have been worthy of a Gold [H] Award. Still the levels of overclocking shown on the P5K3 are nothing short of awesome and will likely fill the needs of any overclocker other than the super-hardcore.

Source:ASUS P5K3 Deluxe

Tech Link (Platform): Vigor's Quadfather Uses AMD Quad FX CPUs

THG has an article posted about a AMD's 4x4 platform. We all know that this platform sucks and some of you might be thinking why post AMD things. Well, I am a Fanboy and if I see Intel products beating AMD's crap to a pulp, you'll see me post it here for sure. And this one is pretty good, if you're an AMDroid who is a masochist who likes torturing yourself, then get this platform. Otherwise, rejoice and just go a single-chip solution quad-core from Intel and have fun poking at the poor green bloke. Expand to read what THG has to say, or just read this excerpt:

We can't fault Vigor for building a system using inferior processors when these are the best an AMD enthusiast can buy. Instead, we'll put the blame on AMD for not keeping pace with the competition, and hope for a quick turnaround as new products are released.

Conclusion
If one were to add up everything Vigor Gaming put into its Vigor Force Recon QX4, its $4,900 price appears reasonable. Yet the 54% performance gain from Dell cost only 46% more. For anyone with an extra $2300 to spend, the Dell appears to be a better deal without even considering peripherals.

The Vigor Force Recon QX4 doesn't include a monitor it its base price. The Dell we tested included its 2407WFP 24" LCD monitor, a $670 value. Deducting that, the Dell system actually cost only 33% more, for a 54% performance gain.

We can't fault Vigor for building a system using inferior processors when these are the best an AMD enthusiast can buy. Instead, we'll put the blame on AMD for not keeping pace with the competition, and hope for a quick turnaround as new products are released.

Source:Vigor's Quadfather Uses AMD Quad FX CPUs

Tech Link (Motherboard): MSI P35 Platinum Motherboard

HotHardware posted a review of a new board from MSI* with the newest P35 chipset from Intel. The author is pleased with the results, check it out if you are itching to upgrade your current motherboard.

Three years ago, Intel launched the 925X / 915 chipsets and were criticized by some for introducing some new technologies before the market demanded them. This time around, however, with the launch of Bearlake, Intel has scored some points. The P35 chipset brings with it a handful of new technologies, like official 1333MHz bus speed support and DDR3 to just name a few. But unlike 925X and 915G, P35 comes in both DDR2 and DDR3 flavors, making the platform all the more attractive to price sensitive end users looking to save a bit on their memory expenditures.

Not only does the MSI P35 Platinum, which is one of the first Intel P35 motherboards on the market, have an excellent feature set, it also showed that it has the raw horsepower to keep up with the EVGA nForce 680i SLI and in some cases, we even saw the MSI P35 Platinum outperform the 680i SLI, albeit by very small margins.

It’s also nice to see that MSI is once again trying to implement new and interesting ideas like their ‘roller coaster style’ motherboard heat pipe cooling technology. Not only does it look cool, it even stays relatively cool to the touch without a fan due to its effective heat dissipation.

The BIOS was also generally good, with a large number of customizable features that allow for some decent overclockability.

The only issues with the board that came up during the review process were the inaccuracy of the motherboards debugger and the fact that it was quite difficult to read. The board also only has four SATA ports, which because of today’s dirt-cheap hard drive market and more common SATA optical drives, may not be enough for even a motherboard targeted toward the more mainstream computer builder.

But overall, the MSI P35 Platinum is a solid motherboard. It is a solid performer, has good features and is overall, pretty well rounded. If you’re looking for a new motherboard for your next Intel Core 2 system and want the latest motherboard technology at a reasonable price, the MSI P35 Platinum is definitely a product to consider.

Source:MSI P35 Platinum Motherboard

Tech Link (Motherboard): Gigabyte GA-P35-DQ6 Intel P35 Motherboard Review

PCStats posted an article about the newest board from Gigabyte. Not surprisingly, the board sports the newest chipset from Intel and it performs as it should. Expand to read the verdict from PCStats.

P35 Performance Verdict: Similar to P965, but just a bit faster

In terms of performance The Gigabyte GA-P35-DQ6 and the Intel P35 Express chipset are slightly faster than the previous generation P965, but the differences between the platforms won't truly be appreciated till quad core processors are readily available. Quad core CPUs will benefit from the added bandwidth the P35 Express delivers. As it is now, if you're a gamer you will notice a slight performance boost when moving to the P35 platform over a vanilla Intel P965 Express. There's little to no difference though for basic workstation tasks.

The Gigabyte GA-P35-DQ6 showed the awesome overclocking potential of the Intel P35 Express chipset, hitting a very nice speed of 482 MHz FSB! We're positive the motherboard had more in it, but the E6600 processor was most likely holding things back. Those of you with water or phase change cooling systems will definitely like what Gigabyte has to offer here. When it comes to overclocking, you'll love the awesome voltage options!

The Intel P35 Express has a bright future and probably is the best way to go if you plan on upgrading to a Core 2 Quad processor. The Gigabyte GA-P35-DQ6 is a little quicker than comparable P965 motherboards, full of features and fast, but it comes with a steep price tag.

Find out about this and many other reviews by joining the Weekly PCstats.com Newsletter today! Catch all of PCSTATS latest reviews right here.

Source:Gigabyte GA-P35-DQ6 Intel P35 Motherboard Review

Article: "Spiderman 3" - a FanBoy's take on the movie...

After securing the tickets and waiting for months, I finally got to see the movie! I have been edgy and pretty much excited on watching this that I really skipped reading the previews and early critics or anything related to Spiderman. I don't like any spoiler, I'd like to see the movie for myself and post my thoughts. So today, I just saw it. What's my verdict? Read on to find out...

I. Background
It's no suprise that Spiderman 3 will pick up where Spiderman 2 left off. There's a trail of Spiderman 1 history lessons as well, as the battle continues between Harry and Peter Parker. Hey, don't tell me you never really know the friction between the two "best friends".

Aside from that, there are several new characters that are introduced into the movie. For the super villains, Venom appears and another super villain is Sandman. I am particularly interested with what's going to happen with Mary Jane's ex-BF in part Spiderman 2 but he never made an appearance. Now, I am focusing my attention with Peter Parker's beautiful lab mate.


II. Storyline
To be frank, I am quite confused with this movie. For one, during the early part of the movie, I am focused on how Sandman will affect Peter Parker's life. My focus, because of how the movie started, is all about this Sandman guy. But as the story unfolds, it's all about the seemingly unbroken ties between the original characters: Peter, MJ, Harry, and yes Aunt May(??).

The heart of the story never really deviates from the first two, it's all about the battle within Spiderman himself. In Spiderman 1, he is just trying to discover his self, and lay down the foundation of story for Spiderman 2 and eventually, Spiderman 3. But still, Spiderman 1 also shows his inner battle, that is the struggle between power and the responsibility that goes with it. In Spiderman 2, again, it's an inner battle, that is to forgive himself and to actually know what he really wanted to be: hero or normal guy. In Spiderman 2, it's very easy to catch the storyline, and it also solidify Harry Osborne's position as the next super villain. Spiderman 3 is again, a battle within himself, his darkside that has been trying to get out. The super villains, like Green Goblin in Spiderman 1, Doc Oc in Spiderman 2, and now Sandman in Spiderman 3 are just spices to the movie. Well, not that I expect too much from them, they did lay the foundation as I said earlier.



III. Characters
I love the characters and their portrayal in the movie. I love Harry Osborne, I always love the guy, even from the start of the series. I just feel bad about him on this movie, it's a major letdown actually. I wish it could have been written differently, but I guess there's no room for two heroes on NY city so he has to go.

Spiderman / Peter Parker - the soft spoken, good tempered Peter Parker returned as his usual self with a twist: showing the evil part of his humanity and how vulnerable he is even as Spiderman. I like the acting as usual, but he has a lot of idle moments which adds to the dragging sensation that I felt.

MJ / Mary Jane Watson - Good acting as usual, not much to ask from her except, she really needs to look more beautiful. Her fangs are lovely, I'd love to be bitten by her, but at her young age, I am bit worried at how bad she looks when she's really not in a good mod (meh). No wet look this time around though, sigh...

Green Goblin II / Harry Osborne - My all time favorite character. He's one cool guy, literally, even when he turned into an antagonist. He redeemed himself in the end though. He has a better outfit now, more black than green. His mask isn't the same as the original Green Goblin which covers the whole face, Harry the Green Goblin looks more like a modern Ninja, yay for Harry.

Sandman / Flint Marko - His lips are scary, the face so square you won't really mistook him for a vilain. But inside his strong and rugged visage is a heart of man, a father, who only wants good things for his daughter.

Venom / Eddie Brock - I never liked the guy, and that's what makes his acting great. He is able to really let me feel that he is such a jack ass. I'd love to see him in other movies as a naughty guy or in a similar character.

IV. Costumes, Effects(FX), and Battle Scenes
The movie shows the strength of CGI. Sandman is a scene to behold, and the transformation of Eddie Brock into Venom is amazing. I liked the smooth sailing Spiderman, webbing his way across the city block.

For battle scenes, the highlights is between Spider Man and Green Goblin tag team versus Venom and Sandman tag team. The protagonist composed of mutation and technological power hose, while the other is about the freak team.

I can't believe how weak Sandman is compared to all the other characters of the series, while Venom is just so amazingly unbalanced. Too bad, they got defeated, I'd like to see them go down, but not like that.



V. Verdict and Conclusion
While I love this installment of the series, it pales in comparison to the other two, specially Spiderman 2. The story seems weak, and not that "smooth" as it appears more like tattered rags patched all together. There's a twist and turn, but other than shallow mysteries, it's just that. If you are a serious fan, then you should watch this one. However, if you just want to past the time, then better check other movie reviews.

Tech Link (Memory): OC Report :: OCZ Reaper HPC 2x1GB PC9200 C5

3oh6 of XS has posted a nice OC report of one of the newest memory from OCZ*. And this memory is none other than the nice lookin' Reaper series. Better check it out for the full scoop. Expand to read more...

OCZ is not going to be a stranger to anyone reading this but these new modules that I am reporting on today may not have crossed everyones eyes. The Reaper HPC series is OCZ Technologies latest line of performance memory with an enhanced heatsink to help keep the memory running cool. The OCZ Reaper HPC comes in four flavours at the time of writing this report...2x1gb PC6400, 2x1gb PC6400 EB Edition, 2x1gb PC8500 and 2x1GB PC9200 kits. I will be clocking the PC9200 2GB kit.

I believe in full disclosure so I won't be hiding the fact that these modules are a review sample sent to me from OCZ. I have never been sent anything but random samples equating to average end-user results in the past and believe in the results as a single sample out of many. Here is a brief look at the specifications of the all black modules.

Source:OC Report :: OCZ Reaper HPC 2x1GB PC9200 C5

Brag: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6320@500MHz FSB

For those who sent me email asking what's the max FSB for this Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6320 processor, well, sad to say that I can't tell. Seems like my skill (or lack thereof) has prevented me from going beyond 500MHz FSB. As much as I'd like to push it further, it would seem that I need to mod the motherboard just to find the highest FSB for the processor. If you would like to check out the four (4), yes only four (4), benchmarks I have prepared, then expand to read more. Or you can just click on the image for the CPU-Z validation link.

After opening the RAM I won from the XS contest (thanks FUGGER), I quickly put it to the test and found that it can do 1066MHz@2.4v@CL5 so it should be good 500MHz easy. So after installing the RAM, here's my setup

My test set up is as follows:
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6320 (ES)
OCZ Platinum PC2-6400 CL5 2x1024MB Rev2
Asus® P5B Deluxe, unmodded BIOS 1011
Asus® 7900GTX 512MB v93.71 driver
Thermalright® XP90 with Delta 92mm fan
Delta® 670w PSU
No chassis

CPU vCore is at 1.415v, vFSB is at 1.45, vNorthBride is 1.65v, vSouthBridge is 1.8v, and ICH is at Auto. As much as I'd like to see the raw MHz for FSB, the mobo is not cooperating. After several tries today, I gave up and settled with 500MHz FSB. However, this is unstable. I can only do SuperPi 1M for benchmark and it's a hit or miss. I decided to backdown a hefty FSB frequency, and at 485MHz FSB, the system is bench stable. I can't say if it's rock stable coz I was only able to do several short stess test. If you are interesred, you can chek out the ORB link for the following:

3Mark01SE - 51,561
3DMark03 - 26, 674
3DMark05 - 11,565
3DMark06 - 6,501

FanBoy out!

Article: The Little Intel® Xeon® X3210 that could (Part II)...

If you haven't read Part I yet, I highly urge you to check it out first to know the details of the processor, and how benchmarks are tested and data are collected. While the set of benchmarks in this article will be the same, this second part of the article will focus on overclocking. Expand to read the rest of the article...

Disclaimer: This is an ES CPU, retail may or may not have changes from this sample.

Note: Check out Part I article to know the test methodology.

Goals and Objectives: The primary goal of this overclocking experiment is to reach 50% overclock without hard modding and costly cooling requirements.

Success Indicator: There will be four(4) success indicators:

• Reaching 50% on all four cores


• Stable multi-threaded Prime95 with aircool heatsink for at least an hour


• Completion of all benchmarks


• Zero Physical Changes on the hardware (no hard mod, no lapping, etc)

Test Set Up
Processor Intel® Xeon® X3210(2.13GHz) Quad Core
Motherboard: Asus® P5B Deluxe BIOS 1004
Memory: Apacer Value DDR2-800MHz 2x1024MB(CL5-5-5-18 SPD)
Hard Drive: Seagate* Barracuda 120GB SATA RAID 0
Video Card: Asus® 7900GTX 512MB v93.74
Power Supply: Delta 670W EPS12V (server grade)
Chassis: N/A
Ambient Temperature: 32c

Heatsink/Fan: Do not expect water cooling, or phase change from this Blog article. The best I could muster is an aging Thermalright® XP-90 with a Delta® brushless fan model FFC0912DE (1.5a) and an LGA775 retention mechanism. This combo has served me well, and while they are not the best air cooling out there, I have no other heatsink available except the stock reference cooler. Thermaltake® Big Typhoon, Sunbeam® Tuniq Tower, Sycthe® Ninja Plus, Zalman® CNPS9700 or even Coolermaster® GeminII are all great heatsink, and arguably, the best right now in the market but availability and most importantly $$$ is scarce right now. But hey, I have used it in my Prescott days, so it should perform equally well (fingers crossed).

Motherboard: The motherboard Asus® P5B Deluxe is selected as the motherboard of choice, since this seems to be the most stable I have tested when it comes to high FSB overclocking. Performance, on the other hand, is not as best as their i975 brethren and manual selection of bootstrap is not possible which is a major drawback of this board, specially when hitting FSB beyond 400MHz. Another major drawback is the severe voltage drop of the vCore. Asus® almost always have this "feature" in every boards they released in the market. While I don't find the vdroop a major concern with dual core, it's proven to be a major pain with quad core. Both the performance and vdroop issue will be dealt with in order to level set the expectations from this board.

Memory: I have no plans of bringing this baby thru 500FSB, and target is a meager 400FSB. Some might think that the target is too low, but hey, this is quad core and early indication of quad core overclocking are all capped somewhere at 340MHz to 360MHz, with some hitting 390MHz. Anyway, newer BIOS and motherboard revisions has shown that they can push Kentsfield, some (*cough* eVGA) even recalled their board because of poor Kentsfield overclocking experience. Anyway, so for this round, my value RAM DDR2-800MHz 2x1GB dual-sided from Apacer® will be enough for the time being (cough *sour grape*).

Hard Drive: Two Seagate® 160GB SATA/3Gbps/8Mb will be used and configured as RAID 0 using Intel® Matrix RAID configuration with their ICH8R chipset. Not the fastest, but it's the most reliable and compatible that I have used so far. The hard drive will be partitioned in two, one will be for the OS installation, and the other partition will just be for miscellaneous data.

Video Card: I am thinking of using lowly PCI video card, but since I am not going to do magnificent score anyway, I decided that an Asus® 7900GTX/512MB is good enough. The driver is the latest (dated November 2006) downloadable for this video card at the time of testing. No tweak is done on this video card, and operated on stock.

Power Supply: A Delta® 670w model DPS-670DSB REV: S2. It's a full featured power supply and actually stable enough to run even server processors. It's an industrial grade power supply, and would be more than enough for my specifications.

Chassis: The testing will be done on an open test bed so there will be no chassis.

::Overclocking Notes::
With all the preparations done, the issue about performance with the seemingly changing and uncontrollable bootstrap on the Asus® P5B Deluxe will be ignored, and numbers coming out of them will be taken as is, without regard if there's any "linear" performance improvement or degradation. The other issue about the horrible voltage droop will be taken care of if and when needed.

I set my memory and FSB ratio to 1:1, and set the memory timing manually to CL5-5-5-15. vDIMM is set to Auto just to be sure I am on the relatively safe zone. PCIe is also set to Auto, Spread Spectrum is disabled, PCI Frequency is manually set to 33MHz. An initial test run has been done, to record the stock idle and load temperature.

Stock Screenshot (Temperature at Load)


The vCore is set to 1.25v, since when setting it at Auto, the motherboard is giving the processor a whooping 1.6v and it droops to 1.5v during load. Hitting the next bootstrap level of 333MHz (2.66GHz) is fairly easy with this processor, and it is done with just 1.25v.

Reaching 366MHz FSB (2.93GHz) shows the vDroop problem is impacting multi-threaded Prime95, but it is benchstable. Adjusting the vCore to 1.28v helped alleviate the issue with the vDroop and the system is rock stable.

The 375MHz barrier is proving to be a difficult proposition. Changing several voltage options from vCore, to vChipset is not producing any significant stability. While all the benchmark are stable, mPrime95 is producing an error after 30mins and pushing vCore only worsens the scenario. The second issue of the motherboard I mentioned earlier needs to be explored. While the loaded temperature might be an issue, a vDroop mod will be checked first if it can help boost stability. After a few googling here and there, the droop mod by hicookie will be tried. But this is a hard mod, so instead of soldering a VR in there, a pencil mod will be done. After a 3min job, it proved to be succesful and stability is reached with a meager 1.31vCore.

After a few more minutes of pushing, 399MHz which is the 50% target and goal for this experiment has been reached. The ending vCore required at this speed of 3.2GHz is 1.36v. However, a lot of fans has been used to achieve this and all fan headers of the motherboard has proved useful.

Overclock Screenshot (Temperature at Load)


Considering the clock speed, performance, and temperature at load, this is an impressive overclock. With just a minor modification needed, which is the pencil mod which is a very quick job, a stable overclock with a steady vCore holding during load produces an excellent results. To recap, I have reached the goals and objective of this experiement thru:

• Reaching 50% on all four cores - checked


• Stable multi-threaded Prime95 with aircool heatsink for at least an hour - checked


• Completion of all benchmarks - checked


• Zero Physical Changes on the hardware (no hard mod, no lapping, etc) - crossed

The pencil mod is not a full blown hard mod, but in a sense, it is still a mod. I have two choices, get a better heatsink and bump the vCore higher to make up for the vDroop or do a pencil mod. I chose the pencil mod, failing one of my criteria, than spend hard earned money for a better heatsink. But hey, you can pitch in your idea whether my experiment is a success or failure in this regard.

::More Exploration::
Since the overclock is done relatively easy, I decided to try and push forward with the overclock. Note that going beyond 400MHz means I am not just overclocking the processor and chipset, but also the memory as well. Due to the time limitation, and my determination (or lack of), I am able to push the system up to 436MHz with 1.44v, resulting to 3.48GHz. I did not try to find the max FSB via lowering multi, since I always doubt my memory can go beyond 900MHz anyway and doing such might result to changing the northbridge heatsink, or worst, replacing my RAM.

Overclock Screenshot (Temperature at Load)


At 3.48GHz with 1.44vCore, Core Temp is showing 80c tops at full load for all cores using mPrime95. While it is almost impossible to load all four cores at 100% for a prolonged time, it's still important to see how stable the system is. All the fans are working at full speed to keep the system cool, and I have to add FET cooling all over the board. At this stage, I have achieved a 63% overclock, with mere air coolers and a measly 1.44vCore, and 3.48GHz is not too bad for a quad core too with 32c ambient room temperature.

CPU-Z Validation (Click on the image)


The following benchmark will be based on this final overclock. Enjoy...

::Benchmarks::
Gaming:
Doom3: Low Quality-640x480


3DMark Benchmarks:
3DMark01: Overall


3DMark03: CPU


3DMark05: CPU


3DMark06: CPU


Aquamark03: CPU


Multimedia/Multitasking/Multithreading Benchmarks:
Cinebench: Render Score


Cinebench: Render Time


PCMark05: Overall


SANDRA: CPU


SANDRA: Multimedia


wPrime: 32M


SuperPi: 1M


Memory Benchmarks:
SANDRA: RAM Bandwidth


Others:
WinRAR


Temperature


::Closing Thoughts:: I can not stress hard enough how this processor is truly a wonder in all aspects. It can overclock well, with a good cooler and measly 1.35v, and it can also work well with all the four cores working at full speed with voltage as low as 1.175v and silent fan. If you can not afford the Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme QX6700 or Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q6600, then try to consider this one and give a good, solid and hard look.

Since this processor has a low clock multiplier, it is possible to really push that FSB high up in the air, and still achieve 50% overclock with good air cooling without a need for fire extinguisher. And for those who have better RAM and cooler, I am sure that they can achieve more than my max overclock of 63%. I am looking forward to extreme overclockers to achive a first ever 100% OC on quad core (if there's someone who hit it already, just let me know.

That is all for the day, it's been a busy day, FanBoy out...

Article: The Little Intel® Xeon® X3210 that could (Part I)...

The Little Intel® Xeon® X3210 that could (Part I)
The processor has been out for quite some time already, but save for the the few and really elite forum postings, I haven't seen much action, review or otherwise, coming from this processor. It is not very surprising, since most of the focus has been on the Intel® Core™ 2 Duo and Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme brand of processors. Most people I spoke with, looked at these processors from a "dual core" point of view, and have relegated their thoughts that quad core is solely for the Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme QX6700 and the Clovertown (Intel® Xeon® X5300 series) processor.

The Clovertown (Intel® Xeon® X5300 series) being based on LGA771, dwindles down the interests of PC users with the "Xeon" name, and this is why many of those I have spoken with are unaware of a quad core solution based on LGA775. This is our youngest quad core Intel® Xeon® X3210 (2.13GHz/2x4MB L2/1066MHz) on the test bench, and it will go head to head against an upcoming Intel® Core™ 2 E6420 (2.13GHz/4MB L2/1066MHz).

In this Part I, a quick look at the stock benchmark will be explored, and on Part II, overclocking will be done. Expand to check out the benchmark...

Disclaimer: This is an ES CPU, retail may or may not have changes from this sample.

::Processor Specifications::

The Intel® Xeon® X3210 has the following specifications:

• sSpec: ES^


• Frequency: 2128 MHz (2.13GHz)


• Core: Kentsfield


• Process: 65nm


• Package: LGA775


• Core Voltage: 1.19v


• Bus Speed: 266MHz


• L2 Cache: 2x4096KB^


• Multiplier: 8


• Stepping: B3-7


• Thermal Specification: 62.0°C


• Thermal Guideline: 105.0W


• Platform Compatibility: ??


• EM64T: Yes


• Execute Disable: Yes


• Hyperthreading Technology: No


• Virtualization: Yes


• Core per Package: 2x2


• L2 Cache per Core: Shared 2x4096KB^

::Test Set Up::
Processor(Reference Stock Cooler):
Intel® Xeon® X3210(2.13GHz) Quad Core
Intel® Core™ 2 E6420(2.13GHz) Dual Core

Motherboard: Asus® P5B Deluxe BIOS 1004
Memory: Apacer Value DDR2-800MHz 2x1024MB(CL5-5-5-18 SPD)
Hard Drive: Seagate* Barracuda 120GB SATA RAID 0
Video Card: nVidia* 7900GTX 512MB
Power Supply: Delta 650W EPS12V (server grade)
Chassis: N/A

::Benchmark Methodology::
For benchmarking, at least three (3) runs will be made for each benchmark. From the scores, the lowest and highest score will be discarded, reducing the random spike in results and ensuring better consistency of results. Note that more than three (3) benchmark runs can be executed to validate any inconsistency or abnormality that may arise.

For temperature gathering, Core Temp Beta 0.95 will be used along with SpeedFan v1.32 and the motherboard's own software. From the readings of all three software, assuming they all worked, an analysis will be done to derive the most accurate temperature reading. An external temperature reader, Coolermaster Aerogate II, will be used as well for additional reference. For multicore system, the temperature reading for both idle and load will be based on the highest reported temperature of all the cores.

::Stock Benchmarks::
Gaming:
Doom3: Low Quality-640x480


3DMark Benchmarks:
3DMark01: Overall


3DMark03: Overall and CPU


3DMark05: Overall and CPU


3DMark06: Overall and CPU


Aquamark03: Overall and CPU


::Multimedia/Multitasking/Multithreading Benchmarks::
Cinebench: Render Score


Cinebench: Render Time


PCMark05: Overall


SANDRA: CPU


SANDRA: Multimedia


wPrime: 32M


SuperPi: 1M


::Memory Benchmark::
SANDRA: RAM Bandwidth


::Others/IO::
WinRAR


Temperature


::Closing Thoughts::As can be seen by the benchmark, the quad core server-class processor is faster and better in most, if not all, of the benchmarks. It is interesting that older FutureMark 3D benchmarks 3Dmark01, and 3DMark03 favors the dual core Conroe than the quad core Kenstsfield. I have repeated several tests and rechecked all settings, from the memory timing to other setting sin the BIOS and can't find any difference between the dual core and quad core test set up. 3DMark05 is pretty interesting, as the overall score for the Intel® Xeon® X3210 processor is lower than Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6420, and the same goes for Aquamark03. However, the difference is not very significant. I'll check this more later, as the chipset i965P may not be optimized for the processor and number of cores.

SANDRA's RAM bandwidth may explain the difference, but I don't have enough data to conclude anything solid. In applications that take advantage of quad core, the server processor flexes its muscle and shows who's the boss. Take for example, the the Cinbench Multi-CPU score and render time. wPrime 32M is also solidly handled by the processor.

The procesor is superb, working smoothly with even just the stock cooler. The processor can work even at a low voltage of 1.175. This can be a very able workhorse, consuming reasonable wattage to deliver its performance. Overall, the Intel® Xeon® X3210 is a very capable processor that can work even with a mainstream desktop chipset based on i965P, truly, an unsung processor that "can" perform!

In the next article, I will be overclocking the processor and see how far I can go. That is all for today, FanBoy out...