QX9770 Is 5% Faster
We simulated the Core 2 Extreme QX9770, as recommended by Intel, and can thus give you a preview of the processor's performance once it actually makes its way into the market.
Compared to the QX9650 that was unveiled three weeks ago, the QX9770 is exactly 5% faster across our benchmark suite. The fastest 65 nm model trails the new CPU by almost 11%.
We can't compare the performance to AMD's equivalent offering, since the benchmark results of the Phenom are still unknow and this Intel CPU is still nothing more than a paper tiger that won't be available in stores this year.
Overclocking the Core 2 Extreme QX9770 to 4 GHz übertaktet can boost its performance by about 15%, depending on the application.
FSB1333 Vs. FSB1600
So what can the buyer expect from the front side bus speed increase from 333 MHz to 400 MHz? With the processor overclocked to 4 GHz using each of the FSB speeds, thw faster FSB only showed a performance improvement of a meagre 0.5% - on average! The front side bus apparently has a negligible influence on performance, even at these high clock speeds. The performance delta measured here is so small that they may just as well be due to margin of error and fluctuating benchmark results.
The clear answer to our question is therefore, that the FSB speed increase does not translate into any kind of performance advantage for the end user.
