The Pentium D: Intel's Dual Core Silver Bullet Previewed

By Patrick Schmid
published

Test System: Anchor Creek Platform / 955X With DDR2-667

The test system was based on the 955X chipset (Anchor Creek platform) which is expected to be launched in the May time frame. It will add support for DDR2-667 memory, RAID 5 and Serial ATA II support, thanks to an AHCI device (Advanced Host Controller Interface). Dual PCI Express graphics will be an option, enabled via a small switch.

Intel Desktop Board D955XBK

Patrick Schmid
2 Comments Comment from the forums
  • DaveF1953
    How much can the Extreme Edition be had for now? $40? Sounds like a deal to me. Although, older, hotter, and slower in the long run. Best bet now. No?
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  • wild9
    I'd just go AMD or Core 2, the former having a much lower power draw and great overclocking potential than what you have here. My relative used to run Intel Extreme Editions like this, and the power draw was immense, he had to use water cooling. In the end he ditched it and got AMD. Not trying to say one is better than the other all the time (ie for media encoding the Intel was great), just some ideas to consider. Cheap dual-core AMD's based on AM2 are hard to beat at the moment.
    Reply