Alienware Area-51 m5550 with Core 2 Duo Performance Evaluation
Intel's embargo on the Core 2 Duo is finally up, and it's time to see exactly what sort of performance it brings to the table. The notebook we'll be evaluating today is Alienware's mid-range m5550, a 15.4" gaming notebook with a powerful GPU and a host of high-end options. Our particular model is configured as follows:
* Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7600 2.33GHz 4MB Cache 667MHz FSB
* Operating System (Office software not included): Genuine Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 with Service Pack 2
* Display: Alienware m5550 15.4" WideXGA 1280 x 800 LCD
* Motherboard: Alienware Intel 945PM + ICH7 Chipset
* Memory: 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz - 2 x 1024MB
* Hard Drive: 100GB Serial ATA 1.5Gb/s 7,200 RPM w/ NCQ & 8MB Cache
* Primary CD ROM/DVD ROM: 8X Dual Layer DVD+/-RW / 24X CD-RW Combo w/Software
* Video/Graphics Card: 256MB NVidia GeForce Go 7600
* Sound Card: Intel 7.1 High-Definition Audio
* Wireless Network Card: Internal Intel PRO Wireless 3945 a/b/g Mini-Card
* Communications: Integrated 10/1000Mb Gigabit Ethernet & 56K V.92 Modem
* Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support w/ Onsite Service
The T7600 is the flagship Core 2 Duo for notebooks, running at a relatively high clockspeed of 2.33GHz. The 4MB of L2 cache is shared between the two execution cores -- Intel refers to it as Smart Cache.
