Categories:

Lower Core Voltage

10:28 - Tuesday 21 August 2007 by Bert Töpelt
Source: Tom's hardware UK – Keywords: overclocking, intel
Categories: Hardware

Table of content:
5 – Lower Core Voltage
  1. 1 – Four Cores at 3 GHz: Intel’s Core 2 Extreme QX6850
  2. 2 – The New Core 2 Models with FSB 1333
  3. 3 – An Overview of the Core 2 Steppings
  4. 4 – An Overclocking Powerhouse: The new G0-Stepping
  5. 5 – Lower Core Voltage
  6. 6 – Core 2 Extreme QX6850 Rock Solid at 3.66 GHz
  7. 7 – Core 2 Extreme QX6850 Rock Solid at 3.66 GHz (Cont’d)
  8. 8 – Core 2 Duo: Going Strong at 3.60 GHz
  9. 9 – Core 2 Duo: Going Strong at 3.60 GHz (Cont’d)
  10. 10 – Power Consumption
  11. 11 – FSB1066 vs. FSB1333
  12. 12 – Which Board will run an FSB 1333 CPU?
  13. 13 – Pricing: Cheaper than the FSB1066 CPUs
  14. 14 – New Hard- and Software for our Benchmark Suite
  15. 15 – Benchmarks and Settings
  16. 16 – Benchmarks and Settings (Continued)
  17. 17 – Benchmarks - Video CloneDVD, DivX
  18. 18 – Benchmarks - Video Xvid, Premiere
  19. 19 – Benchmarks - Video Studio 11, Mainconcept
  20. 20 – Benchmarks - Audio iTunes, Lame
  21. 21 – Benchmarks – Applications HD-Video, AVG Antivirus
  22. 22 – Benchmarks – Applications Photoshop, PDF
  23. 23 – Benchmarks - Applications Cinema 4D, 3D-Studio Max
  24. 24 – Benchmarks – Applications Fritz, WinRAR
  25. 25 – Benchmarks - 3D Games Quake 4, Prey
  26. 26 – Benchmarks - 3D Games Serious Sam 2, Unreal Tournament 2004
  27. 27 – Benchmarks - 3D Games Warhammer, Supreme Commander
  28. 28 – Benchmarks – Synthetic Sandra CPU
  29. 29 – Benchmarks - Synthetic Sandra Multimedia
  30. 30 – Benchmarks - Synthetic Sandra Memory
  31. 31 – Benchmarks - Synthetic 3D-Mark
  32. 32 – Benchmarks - Synthetic PC-Mark
  33. 33 – Conclusion: New Overclocking Potential with the G0-Stepping

Lower Core Voltage

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Looking at these CPU’s core voltage in the lab, we realized that Intel was once again able to reduce the voltage though further optimizations to the core. The G0 stepping now enables Intel to run its quad-core QX6850 processor, which operates at 3 GHz, at a core voltage of only 1.3375 Volts.

Compared to the previous quad-core flagship, the QX6700 with a B3-stepping, which runs 333 MHz slower, the new version gets by with a lower core voltage. While the difference only amounts to 1%, which isn’t spectacular, the impact on overall power consumption is still measurable.

char processor voltage

The fact that our Core 2 Duo E6750 (also of the G0 series) ran at a high core voltage can have many reasons. One explanation is that the difference may simply be caused by fluctuations in the manufacturing process. This is why Intel only states min. and max core voltages in its processor spec sheets.

Another possibility is that Intel equips the processors of the “Extreme” line with specially selected cores, giving them better overclocking potential. After all, these parts sell at a much higher price tag, and thus the buyer has much higher expectations.

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Core 2 Extreme QX6850

Compared to its predecessor, the QX6800, the new CPU’s operating frequency has only increased by 66 MHz. As you might expect, the performance gains are quite limited. On average, the QX6850 is only about 3.7% faster in our benchmarks.

Upgrading to one of the new processors is definitely not worth your while if you’re not planning on overclocking.

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Talkback
spuddyt 22/08/2007 03:46
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spuddyt

I hope Intel doesn't start 2 get a monopoly...

Cabelo 28/08/2007 04:19
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Cabelo

You're probably right to worry, but I read that AMD has taken a big upswing this month... hopefully it'll sort itself out.

I even fear the game monopoly :(

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