Intel Core 2 Duo: What You Need to Know
The tech market has been buzzing for months, anticipating Intel's next processor launch. The industry's worst-kept secret is out: Intel's Core 2 Duo processor (formerly Conroe) is here?finally. Perhaps, Intel couldn't contain itself. After all, who wouldn't be boastful: this new processor is, in a word, fast.The anticipation surrounding this processor isn't solely because of the new architecture and features; the focus is on the promise of faster speeds?the very benchmark numbers columnist John Dvorak writes will be a source of controversy in his article "The Conroe Effect". Sure, 64-bit compatibility is nice, as is added security, but the chip's hype stems from its ability to perform. Joel Santo Domingo, PC Magazine's Desktops Analyst, tested the new Core 2 Duo Extreme in a high-end gaming system, Falcon Northwest's Mach V. And yes, the test numbers impressed the bejeezus out of us?at least some of us?at PC Mag Labs. But what's even more exciting, or at least should be to consumers, is the test results and pricing surrounding the mainstream version of this processor.
