Intel's Q8300; May be Last Quad Core

By Aaron Heibert
published

Following suit with our Intel road map back in September of this year, Intel has launched the last Quad-Core based on Core 2 that consumers may see for the next while, if more are to come at all – the Q8300.

The Intel Q8300 comes, properly, at the end of the Quad-Core launch frame. This is not to say that Intel will not be making anymore Quad-Core processors ever. Intel is now redirecting resources to other CPUs, such as the Core-i7. Intel is also apparently moving efforts into its Centrino 2 platform to further its market penetration over the next coming months.

Here is a current listing of Intel’s Core2 Quad line-up and a brief comparison along with it:

Swipe to scroll horizontally
ProcessorCacheClockFSB
Q9650 (45nm)12MB shared L23.0GHz1333MHz
Q9550 (45nm)12MB shared L22.8GHz1333MHz
Q9450 (45nm)12MB shared L22.66GHz1333MHz
Q9400 (45nm)6MB shared L22.66GHz1333MHz
Q9300 (45nm)6MB shared L22.5GHz1333MHz
Q8300 (45nm)4MB shared L22.5GHz1333MHz
Q8200 (45nm)4MB shared L22.33GHz1333MHz
Q6700 (65nm)8MB shared L22.66GHz1066MHz
Q6600 (65nm)8MB shared L22.4GHz1066MHz
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Q9000 SeriesQ8000 SeriesQ6000 Series
Cores4 (Quad)4 (Quad)4 (Quad)
Process45nm45nm65nm
L2 Cache12MB/6MB4MB8MB
FSB1333MHz1333MHz1066MHz
SSESSE4, SSE3, SSE2, SSESSE4, SSE3, SSE2, SSESSE3, SSE2, SSE
ChipsetIntel 3 & 4 SeriesIntel 3 & 4 SeriesIntel 3, G955, P965, 975X

The new Quad-Core Q8300 comes in at 2.5GHz and sports a front side bus (FSB) of 1333MHz and 4MB of L2 cache. The new chip comes in just above the Q8200 which clocks at 2.33GHz and shares similarities with the Q9300. Estimated pricing for the Q8300 come in at US$224.

According to Stanley Huang, director of Technical Services and Marketing for Intel, the company is paying more attention to boost its Centrino 2 penetration rate. Huang also denied rumors that the upcoming Calpella platform might be delayed for its scheduled launch in 2010. Huang noted that work on the Calpella platform is going according to plans and that the product would be launched as originally scheduled.

16 Comments Comment from the forums
  • mtyermom
    What's the point of this proc? Fill in the gap left by the q6600? I suppose it does this at stock, but certainly not to the overclocking enthusiast.
    Reply
  • grieve
    The overclock enthusiest is what 2% of the population?

    But i do agree... what is the point of this processor?
    Reply
  • Linux4geeks
    Yea, I don't see a point other than having a nice complete lineup... but with the Socket 775 going sooo cheap now... you can get a QX9650 for $500 Buy it Now on eBay... WHY get this?
    Reply
  • jaragon13
    Why is the comment box issue not fixed?
    Also,why like 50 dollars more than the Q8200 or Q600
    Reply
  • enewmen
    How can this Q8300 be the last Quad Core? There will be more quad i7s and Sandy Bridge quads.
    Just don't get it.
    Reply
  • malveaux
    Uh,

    There's the Q6600 and then there's the Q9550. There's no reason to have chips between these two. Pointless.
    Reply
  • Freiheit
    I'm with The Doctor on this one. i7 is practically all quad-core, so what's this nonsense about this being the last quad-core "for the next while", whatever that actually means. Still, competition (Intel/AMD) is driving prices down and performance up. Whether this chip is "needed" is debatable, but it sounds like it's got good specs at a good price.
    Reply
  • rocky1234
    Someone should do a study just to see just what the percentage is out there for us overclockers now I am pretty sure we make up more than 2% of the market by now if we didn't then all these companies would not be going out of their way to make overclocking products for us to buy.
    Reply
  • Mucke
    There's the Q6600 and then there's the Q9550.

    The new one is much cheaper to produce, compared to the Q6600 (45nm instead of 65nm and 4MB less cache -- you can save a lot of waver)

    In about one month, Deneb will be available. I wouldn't buy any quad-Core before. Remember what the gtx200-prices did when the HD48xx-cards came out...
    For me it will be a Deneb anyway: the MB/RAM-costs keep the system cheap -- and supporting AMD keeps the prices low in the future.
    Reply
  • cl_spdhax1
    i think he meant the last core2 quad, since the i7 is a different architecture. but, a 45nm quad core at 2.5ghz for about 200 is cheap, and should easily overclock past another ghz, to about 3.5~3.8.

    there was a past article about crysis benefiting by using more than just 2 cores, but 4+ very fast cores or 8 threads on the i7. so, q8300 is more than welcomed.
    Reply