This proves even more that conroe's performance is shrinking fast and K8L isn't out yet. 8)
http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/08/23/35OPcurve_1.html
The bizarre twist is that everyone knew precisely what AMD was doing next in server CPUs. Revision F Opteron, now called next-generation Opteron, has been a known quantity to my readers for a long time. It virtualizes and scales beautifully from entry to enterprise. Next-gen Opteron uses the same RAM as that employed by Core Microarchitecture, but Opteron’s memory controllers are on-chip; Intel’s are external. Intel still uses a front-side bus architecture in which memory, inter-processor and peripheral data compete. Core Microarchitecture now uses two such buses, but broken plus broken does not add up to breakthrough.
...Here’s the truth: The direct performance-per-watt numbers that Intel has published to bolster its claims of lower power usage pit a high-power Revision E Opteron against a low-power Core Microarchitecture Xeon. AMD ships 35 and 55 watt Opteron CPUs and always has. AMD’s PowerNow! run-time power management has been standard in Opteron for a long time; it is not Intel’s invention.
Intel shot its entire wad on Core Microarchitecture. From here, the only place Intel can go is bigger cache, more cores and faster clocks. That sounds like a grand triple play, but it isn’t. Mark my words: Core Microarchitecture will not scale.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/08/23/35OPcurve_1.html