Intel has worked this concept for years, and has consistently delivered a better product each time around in comparison to their previous generation product. While they’ve delivered some questionable products from time to tine (i.e., first generation Prescott Pentium 4’s), they always work out the kinks and deliver a solid product in the end. However, something went strangely askew in Intel's marketing department a few months ago. While Intel's Pentium-D processor had only been out on the market for roughly three months, Intel suddenly started unveiling details for their upcoming next-generation architecture, codenamed Merom. While their product was still fresh, Intel was already telling potential buyers that their architecture provide better performance, lower power consumption levels, and generally be far superior to their current offerings.
While all of this next-generation architecture information wet the appetites of enthusiasts, it left both Intel and purchasers in an odd position. Do you purchase a Pentium-D 800-series processor now, or do you wait for Intel's next generation architecture in late 2006? Of course, the third option, purchasing an AMD Athlon64 X2 processor instead, is the route most enthusiasts chose to opt for in 2005. We’re still somewhat boggled by the position Intel put themselves in with their Pentium-D lineup.
Despite being more or less shunned by the enthusiast community for poor performance per clock and high power consumption and heat production levels, the Intel Pentium-D processor has still continued to sell quite well. Certainly playing a major role in this has been Intel's aggressive pricing strategy, selling Pentium-D processors for lower compared to AMD's Athlon64 X2 processors. While AMD undoubtedly had produced the better chip of the two, Intel's pricing made it much easier for low-end systems to move to a dual-core processor. For business and workstation usage, the Pentium-D's provided solid performance at a good price, and generally were stable, albeit warm-running processors.
The hip, newly-styled, fresh-and-in-your-face Intel is looking to freshen up the Pentium-D family with one last hoorah before their new architecture hits in late 2006. Armed with new 65nm process technology, Intel has significantly altered the Pentium-D family which we've grown to know and moderately like (let's face it, no one loved the Pentium-D 800's), in order to make the product more attractive the Netburst architecture's final run down the stretch. Hoping to address all of the major areas in which the Pentium-D 800 series chips were lacking, the new Pentium-D 900-series improves in terms of performance (faster clock speeds, double the amount of L2 cache) and power consumption / heat production, while at the same time lowering prices even more, putting additional pressure on AMD to follow suit.
Today at GamePC, we're going to try to take a look at the Pentium-D 900 series with fresh eyes and an open mind, putting the 800 series behind us and looking forward. Let's see what Intel's dual-core solutions throughout most of 2006 are capable of, before being hastily ushered out the door when their Merom architecture hits later this year."
Full article:
http://www.gamepc.com/labs/view_content ... 900&page=1
