Not yet rated
Loading ...Nvidia - scared of Intel already?
Clive Webster
During the testing and write-up of the GeForce 9800 GTX review, I came across some odd language from Nvidia in its Reviewer’s Guide (the fact sheet Nvidia sends out to reviewers in order to brainwash them into thinking its next product is great). It’s no real secret that Nvidia is worried about Larrabee, Intel’s forthcoming ‘graphics product’, hence phrases such as:
“A second GeForce 9800 GTX offers tremendous bang for the buck. Compared to upgrading the CPU, it offers much higher performance at a fraction of the cost.”
In other words, ‘don’t buy a Core 2 Quad and a GeForce 9800 GTX, just buy two 9800 GTXes.’ Hmm…
Of course, Nvidia has some benchmarks to back this up. For gaming, Nvidia’s graphs say that a pair of 9800 GTXes with an Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 processor gets you better frame rates in a load of games than a single 9800 GTX with a £600 Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650. But as we all know, a pair of graphics cards isn’t going to help non-3D apps, while a CPU will.
The CPU requirements for testing with the 9800 GTX also seem low – a £70 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo E4500 is apparently fine for a single card, while a £180 3.16GHz Core 2 Duo E8500 won’t limit 3-Way SLI performance. Given that almost every Core 2 Duo can hit 3GHz, Nvidia seems to be saying, ‘spend all your money with Nvidia, your CPU is fine.’
This paranoia on Nvidia’s part seems a bit early given that Intel hasn’t even said whether Larrabee will be aimed at gaming or CAD-type applications, and it won’t be out until the end of 2009 at the earliest either.
Rated: 90% (2 votes)
Loading ...If I was AMD, I’d…
Clive Webster
Beyond the fact that if I was working for AMD at the moment I’d be sprucing up my CV and checking monster for relevant vacancies, the company could turn around the current dominance by Intel and Nvidia with a few smart moves. This would be of massive benefit to the industry, as we need competition to give us innovations, good products and fair prices. I’ve put together some ideas on how AMD can fight back, but feel free to add your own (or discuss why a suggestion I make might not be a good idea) in the comments. Hopefully an AMD senior bod will stumble across the list and get some inspiration…
Rated: 92% (5 votes)
Loading ...Is Intel being too aggresive for, er, your own good?
Clive Webster
The pricing has just come out for the new 1,333MHz FSB Intel processors. And while I might have said in a previous blog that I’d give them a miss and wait for Penryn, the super-low prices have made me think again.
Let’s take the new 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo E6750. In testing this performed identically to the E6700 but could overclcok further. And it cost 40% less (at time of writing). Read more
Rated: 80% (2 votes)
Loading ...Is Intel being too aggressive for its own good?
Clive Webster
The next few months will see Intel release an avalanche of products, but there are so many that even the notorious Intel marketing machine can’t keep up. We were less than impressed with the lack of information flowing from Intel about the P35 chipset while reviewing the Asus P5K Deluxe and even more surprised when a new Pentium CPU turned up on Aria with absolutely no fanfare (or comment as to why the brand had been re-introduced, at time of writing) from Intel at all. This from a company which had the marketing power to foist NetBurst Pentium 4s and Pentium Ds on the world for years in surprisingly large quantities. Read more