Intel’s Core 2 Quadro, aka “Kentsfield”

Before the new millenium, back when I was a pasty-faced teenage gamer, computers advanced through the way of clockspeed. Making CPUs faster usually meant upping the hertz. Now, pure clockspeed hold less weight in the eyes of computer enthusiasts, and processor micro-architecture far more important. But a new trend in increasing performance of CPUs by is emerging. While the clockspeed has more or less stabilized, the core count is being increased. Intel’s Kentsfield, its 65nm quad core CPU, basically two Conroes in one, is slated for release in mid October. Details of its abilities were just recently presented here. To summarize the main findings, Intel’s Kentsfield performs like a Conroe, which are currently the best consumer processors on the market, when the programs are not optimized for the extra cores. But when they are, Kentsfield handily outpaces everything else. Obviously, there are large potential benefits to be tapped from quad cores (or even more). But the key question is, when will that potential be realized? Or to rephrase it, are quad cores even necessary at this time? From a gamer’s point of view, games are just barely being coded to take advantage of dual cores, let alone four. So the two extra cores will be a waste for an indefinite length of time until game developers catches up. Plus, the introductory price of $1000 for a new Core 2 Quadro makes my wallet tremble in fear. Both reasons steer me away from Core 2 Quadro to consider a Core 2 Duo instead for my next computer. However, I do see that the Core 2 Quadro can be a choice for others. Such as for the extreme multitasker, the one who likes to play Battlefield 2, rip a DVD, run folding@home, and compress a mp3 at the same time, may like those four cores. Or for those who work with programs that can utilize the extra cores, saving time that translates into money. At the very least, the introduction of Intel’s Core 2 Quadro may in turn drive the price of Core 2 Duos down. And now we wait and see what the green team AMD has to offer in their upcoming “4×4”.