Overclocking

Using a Koolance EXOS, we managed to push the CPU to a maximum of 14x330 on the ABIT Fatal1ty AA8XE. The CPU wasn't 100% stable though as certain benchmarks crashed the system. It ran our video game benchmarks fine, but once you fire up something CPU intensive such as video encoding, the system would crash. Given our CPU is an engineering sample, our results are not reflective of real-world results with a retail CPU, but it should give you an idea what kind of overclock you can manage with the right equipment.

Final Words

What the 3.73GHz Extreme Edition (and the 6xx series in general) brings to the table is more features that put them on the same playing field feature-wise as AMD, as well as putting together building blocks for their next round of processors. Intel's Dual Core CPUs will no doubt carry the same features such as EM64T, XD Bit, EIST (for non-Extreme Editions perhaps) and the larger cache so it makes some sense that these are introduced now. Granted, as we've stated in the past, AMD has offered similar features for a couple years now and it's only at the start of this year has Intel desktop CPUs have caught up. I suppose it's better late than never, and it was a wise decision to move forward with the features.

Unlike the Itanium's IA-64 instruction set, the 6xx and 3.73GHz Extreme Edition's EM64T instructions closely resemble AMD's Athlon 64's instructions. What this means is application and Operating System support should be identical. XD Bit will add another layer of protection, though users are encouraged to keep updated virus scanners and personal firewalls near by. The larger cache, though having little impact on current home applications, will provide a boost for more professional memory and cache intensive apps. Given that there is no EIST support on the 3.73GHz Extreme Edition, the CPU runs as hot as ever though no hotter than the previous 5xx based Prescotts. Our Koolance EXOS kept the CPU at about 51°C at medium settings, while the stock Intel cooler hovered at 71°C under load.

In terms of overall performance, it's plainly obvious that the new Extreme Edition 3.73GHz (and the 6xx series in general) is not going to convince owners of 5xx systems to toss those aside if all they are concerned about is 32-Bit performance. Nonetheless, one thing we've seen from the benchmarks today is the 3.73GHz Extreme Edition is, um, extremely efficient at application benchmarks, but is basically trumped by AMD at games. This is generally the case when it comes down to the traditional AMD versus Intel debate, but truth be told, in real-world use, they "feel" very similar to an extent (working with just one or two apps).

As we've seen in our results, the gap between AMD and Intel in terms of application performance is a lot closer than it used to be, at least when we're talking about $1000 processors. The 3.73GHz Extreme Edition did edge the Athlon FX-55 in most of the application tests (and trumped it in video encoding), but the race is getting tighter here. While the FX-55 did win all the gaming benchmarks, we saw that the larger cache and 1066FSB narrowed the results for Intel, but not enough to overtake AMD.

We've gone over this before, and it always results in a debate flame war, but under heavy load such as DivX encoding and documentation, I find the Pentium 4 provides a smoother experience. It's really impossible to describe unless you have comparison hardware, but if you do, try something intensive such as a virus scan, and opening web browser windows and you'll see. Now, we're not talking about night and day here, and it's not like working on an Athlon is impossible (I've adjusted to this), but I do feel that there is a tangible difference in experience. In anycase, who shares this opinion.

In regards to the 3.73GHz Extreme Edition, it is currently Intel's fastest desktop processor, and does show an improvement in gaming and application performance when compared to their previous generation thanks in part to the 1066FSB and increased cache. In our opinion, given the price of , we don't find it as good a value compared to their Pentium 4 660 which should provide similar performance at almost half the cost. We'll have to see if things change when ATI and NVIDIA release their gaming oriented Pentium 4 boards, but it all you really care about is gaming, it's almost impossible to recommend the chip over an Athlon 64 as Intel hasn't really caught up with AMD in this area.

Pros: Excellent application performance, better gaming performance from before. Improves on previous generation's features.

Cons: Very expensive, no EIST, still trails AMD in gaming performance and value.

Bottom Line: While the majority of consumers have no use for 64-Bit at this time, to not offer it affects mindshare as a the folks in marketing like to put tag lines such as "64-Bit READY" on boxes to move inventory. Thankfully, Intel did not cripple 32-Bit performance so the main benefit of the new CPUs is the increase in clock speeds, which in regards to their 5xx series, does indeed improve performance.

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