Desktop CPUs: 1H' 2007
Performance
In our test setup, we used the following hardware:
Let's first take a look at the results of synthetic tests.
These are exclusively synthetic benchmarks which demonstrate the theoretical performance.
Tests of gaming applications
Kb/s, the more - the better
Final Words
The most important is: however surprising it is, the performance of Conroe-L core even at a small clock speed(1.6 GHz) is so high that it makes it possible to compete against the best processors of the NetBurst architecture. It's just this fact which does not let us call Celeron "a cap for the socket"; this is a full-fledged processor which provides quite a decent performance level!
Secondly, the reasonable pricing policy of AMD allows to maintain a competitive edge for its products. In particular, the 4200+ model provides the speed comparable to that of the CPUs based on Conroe-1M. But no more than that! If you are indeed into a high performance at reasonable price (good value for money), we can give the only advice - choose a CPU based on Conroe with 2 or 4 MB L2 cache.
The third conclusion, also important: the NetBurst architecture is dead. That means there is no one reasonable argument in favor of purchasing one of such processors (including the best models on the Presler core)!
We are now moving on to the most exciting part - the overclocking. At that, we can only make a simple and one-one conclusion: if the user is familiar to the overclocking principles and has the required knowledge and skills, he would be able to attain the top performance with minimum money. But he can only get that with only CPUs on Conroe core (any of the available modifications)! The lower Conroe models do not require additional costs in the form of powerful cooling or an expensive motherboard.
There is one point, though: the PSU must be of high quality.
A high-quality PSU must be fitted inside even the weakest computer, since that is the most important system component which determines the functioning of the whole PC!
All the conclusions which we arrived at will hold true until at least end of 2007, and you can safely use them when purchasing (or upgrading) your computer. The only point to note: before the Christmas sales we will conduct additional investigation of attraction for the CPUs. By the end of the year, there may be released new CPU models and, besides that, the pricing policies of the manufacturers may change .
Conclusion
Best CPU for multitasking computations
- 4-core Intel Core 2 Quad;
Best performance CPU
- Intel Core (Conroe) (4 MB L2);
Best "price/performance" CPU
- Other versions of Conroe core with L2=2MB;
Best inexpensive CPU
- Intel Conroe-1M;
- AMD Windsor;
Best value (most affordable!) CPU
- Intel Celeron (Conroe-L);
Best CPU for overclocking
- Only Intel Conroe (of any modification);
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