Core 2 Quad Gets Efficient: Enter The Q8200S And Q9550S : Four Cores For The Power Consumption Of Two

Four Cores For The Power Consumption Of Two

Intel’s Core i7 processor family has been available for a few months now, but despite being the undisputed performance champion, it is not yet ready for the true mainstream. Processors, and especially motherboards, are still too expensive; and the existing models deliver their impressive performance at equivalently impressive power consumption figures. But users looking for the best balance between performance and efficiency have an interesting new option now: Intel has released its first 45 nm Core 2 Quad processors that stay below a specified power consumption of 65 W--the Core 2 Quad S series.



Bringing Power Consumption Down

Although processors have reduced their power consumption by more than 50% since the good old Pentium 4 powerhouse, the addition of processing cores typically increases power consumption, at least during high load conditions. While we believe it is absolutely acceptable to live with a certain power requirement for high performance parts, everything should be done to keep power consumption reasonable while the processor is idle or running at a low load level.

Features Versus Technology

All modern processors implement power saving features. Cool’n’Quiet by AMD and SpeedStep from Intel allow the operating system to lower the clock speed and processor voltage to decrease power consumption. In addition, processors are capable of switching into halt states, which means they may interrupt execution for very short periods of time. Finally, some sections of modern processors can be completely shut down when they are not needed; this has traditionally applied to caches, but is increasingly being used for processor cores as well.

Manufacturing technology keeps improving, and processor manufacturers use these advances to introduce minor improvements to their products. Our article AMD’s Athlon Stepping Improvements, which we published in March of 2008, is a great example. We took four different processors that are all named “Athlon 64 X2 5000+” but are all based on different silicon steppings, and compared them.

Improvements at the silicon level can be used to accelerate processors within particular thermal envelopes, or to decrease processor power. Intel did the latter here, introducing additional Core 2 Quad processors named the Q8200S, Q9400S, and Q9550S. These are as fast as the regular versions, but they don’t require up to 95 W of power. All three models stay below the mainstream thermal envelope of 65 W, which finally makes Intel quad cores interesting for low-power systems.

Cooler Master's Monstrous V10 CPU Cooler

Building on the reputation of the Cooler Master V8, the new V10 with hybrid Thermal Electric Cooler, or also known as peltier cooling, brings even more thermal dissipating power to your Intel Core i7 LGA1366 PC.Zoom

Cooler Master brings the V10 to their V-Series cooler line with some very impressive features, most notably the hybrid TEC. Thermal Electric Cooling (TEC or also known as peltier cooling) uses the 'thermoelectric effect' which makes use of an electrical current to draw heat from the hot side of the cooler surface to the cool side very effectively. The Thermal Electric Cooling feature is not actually the primary means of CPU cooling on the Cooler Master V10, rather it is the supplementary cooler that kicks in when heat becomes too extreme for the standard cooling fans to handle. This in turn keeps power consumption to a minimum as thermoelectric cooling is known for high voltage and amperage draw.

The primary cooling of the V10 is implemented through a total of ten heat pipes and a large array of cooling fins which are cooled off via two 120mm Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) fans. The two 120mm PWM fans have an effective RPM range of 800 - 2400 RPM and move up to 90 CFM total.

The V10 has one major advantage over conventional thermoelectric cooling devices and that is no condensation effect. Condensation is avoided by the V10 since the TEC cooler is not running constantly, and because of its offset location not being directly placed below the heatsink fins. Rather, heatpipes are used to transfer tolerable heat ranges from the CPU through the heat pipes to the sink fins where the two 120mm PWM fans can do their job. When the heat becomes too extreme the TEC then kicks in. The V10 not only cools your CPU but also your memory due to its design which places the cooling system above your memory slots where air is drawn across and pushed out the back of your case. TEC cooling is not applied to your memory since that would be a rather difficult installation.
The new V10 is an interesting solution for custom PC builders and enthusiasts alike, allowing for effective quiet cooling. Newegg.com has the Cooler Master V10 currently listed at US$139.99--which is pretty pricey for a heatsink.

Be aware that the sheer size of the V10 will require a case with adequate room. Users with the Antec 900 have expressed concern that it is a tight fit for them. The V10 is compatible with Socket 939 / AM2 / AM2+ / LGA775 / LGA 1366 and comes with brackets to support most installations.

More Intel Price Slashing on Quad-Core and Dual-Core Chips

een saving to buy a new processor? Hold the phone, cause the prices are coming down again. Intel has slashed prices of certain Quad-Core and Dual-Core processors for desktops and inexpensive servers.

ZoomThe price cuts have hit a new low in pricing, causing the entry level Dual-Core chips to put more strain on the low-end Celeron chip pricing. Starting from Oct 19th, 2008, Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 and Q6600 have been priced down to $193 and $183 — that’s a drop of 14 percent and 5 percent respectively.

With two Quad-Core processors now available for under $200, consumers now have the problem of deciding between Dual-Core chips with higher clock rates, or getting Quad-Core chips with lower clock rates. This is really nothing new since buyers were faced with the same decision a few years ago, between the Single-Core and Dual-Core offerings at the time.

Intel has also slashed prices of the E7300 from $133 down to $113 — a 15 percent change. The E2220 and E2200 down to $74 and $64 — 12 percent and 14 percent respectively. The Xeon X3220 and X3210 processors also seen a drop of 5 percent – down to $188.

The price drops, increased pressure on lower end processor sales only spells one thing — making way for new launches. Stay tuned!

Asus Rampage II Extreme

Features and Layout

The Rampage II Extreme carries Asus’ Republic Of Gamers brand into the Core i7 era with overclocker-friendly features that continue to set ROG products apart from the company’s other product families.
But you might have to look twice before you notice the added overclocking features, since the biggest visual difference between the ROG series and other Asus products is its use of flashy lights and shiny covers that scream “overclocker.” Such excesses include a huge southbridge sink that covers otherwise uninteresting circuitry, a Republic Of Gamers logo that lights up but actually decreases the northbridge sink area, and red covers over the voltage regulator module (VRM) sinks that impede airflow.
That second look brings most people’s eyes directly to a toggle surrounded by buttons and miniature connectors, which are controls and connectors for the Asus TweakIT and ProbeIT features. Using an included monochromatic LCD external display, users can adjust voltage and frequency settings without interrupting other programs that may be running on their desktop display. ProbeIT connectors interface several included cables to allow a third-party voltage meter to be more easily connected to the motherboard’s voltage rails.
Three PCIe 2.0 x16 slots are properly spaced for double-slot graphics cooling, but any double-slot card in the third slot will extend one-space beyond the bottom of standard seven-slot ATX cases. Thus, although the board supports up to 3-way SLI configurations, enclosures that strictly adhere to the ATX standard will often limit builders to a maximum of two cards. Asus created this problem by placing its uppermost x16 slot in the third-from-top position, covering the top position with chipset sinks and filling the second position with an audio riser interface.

Like most X58 Express-based motherboards, the second and third slots also share pathways, limiting a three-card arrangement to x16/x8/x8 mode. Electronic switches detect a third x16 card, so that when none is present the second slot gets all 16 pathways automatically.

Other expansion includes a single 32-bit PCI and two PCIe x1 slots. The black x1 slot serves dual functions, since it can also act as an audio riser for an included codec card.

Another deterrent to putting the Rampage II Extreme into semi-portable mid-sized enclosures is that it’s exactly one inch wider than the “full ATX” form factor. Builders who are uncertain of their options should make sure they have 10.5625” of clearance between drive bays and the backs of their cases. Close attention should also be paid to any hard drive cages that might interfere with the installation of Serial ATA (SATA) cables, because the six ICH10R ports face forward.

Anyone who has properly selected a case to house such a large motherboard, in addition to any large graphics cards, probably won’t care that the floppy connector is nearly unreachable at the motherboard’s bottom-rear corner, since these ancient devices are typically only required for installing RAID or AHCI drivers with outdated operating systems such as Windows XP. Similarly, the Ultra ATA connector is located too close to the bottom of the Rampage II Extreme’s front edge to allow easy cabling to top bays, but related devices are now outdated.

Zotac's Watercooled GeForce GTX 285

Graphics power is never enough. I remember when getting my hands on an 8800 GTX was the epitome of graphics performance. Alas, that's no longer the case. Zotac today sends word that its putting the final touches on a new GeForce 285 GTX card that's built to be water cooled, straight from the factory.

The new card will be based on Zotac's GeForce GTX 285 AMP Edition, which already has its stock frequencies overclocking from the factory. Zotac's AMP edition of the GTX 285 comes in at a core frequency of 702 MHz, shader clock of 1512 MHz and memory at 2592 MHz. Compare that with Nvidia's stock figures of 648 MHz, 1476 MHz and 2484 MHz respectively.
According to Zotac, the new watercooled version will come overclocked from the factory too. We're not sure what the final clock speeds are yet, but we were told they would be at least at the AMP Edition's speeds.

Those who have water cooled setups may want to keep eyes pealed for the release of Zotac's new GTX 285 with integrated water cooling.

Update: Zotac confirmed with us that its watercooled version will be clocked higher from factory, than the current AMP Edition.