Pentium 4 3.46 Extreme Edition and 925XE: 1066MHz FSB Support is Here
by Anand Lal Shimpi on October 31, 2004 3:00 PM EST- Posted in
- CPUs
Intel D925XECV2: Intel's Enthusiast motherboard
For this review Intel sent us their latest motherboard based on the 925XE chipset. Our own Wesley Fink gives his brief look at the motherboard:
Computer users have always admired the speed and stability of Intel motherboards. When testing other boards the standard for stock performance has been Intel brand motherboards. This has been true for both boards based on Intel chipsets and boards based on new competing chipsets. They are measured against Intel performance, as that performance has been as close to a standard in stock motherboard performance as exists in the computer industry.
However, when a Computer Enthusiast shops for a motherboard Intel is rarely on the list for consideration. The reasons are simple - Intel has not offered the kinds of control most performance enthusiasts want. This list of wants includes controls like adjustable memory timings, a full range of adjustable memory speeds, adjustable memory voltage, CPU FSB adjustments, and CPU voltage adjustments. Intel's philosophy has been to offer the safe and accepted options that would not compromise the specifications of the processor and system. This assured the Intel motherboard was not run out-of-spec, keeping failures and RMA's at an acceptable level.
Performance Enthusiasts often seem to care less about motherboard features, but motherboard makers also know a large segment of computer component buyers do care about features like high-definition audio, flexible IO options, RIAD, and flexible storage options. Intel has done a better job in the recent past in addressing these "wants", but the Performance Enthusiast often felt left out of the Intel marketing plan.
This philosophy has gradually been changing at Intel, as we have seen more talk about catering to the Enthusiast in the last year. However, directions for Intel seem to shift frequently, which leads to talk on the one-side about Enthusiast control options on motherboards at the same time the 10% overclock lock is being implemented. This performance schizophrenia also led to Intel calling some very limited efforts in the past an enthusiast board.
All of this leads to the new Intel 925XE chipset motherboard, the D925XECV2. Those who have not been following the evolving interest in the enthusiast at Intel will be surprised to find many of the things Performance Enthusiasts want are a part of the new Intel 925XE motherboard. They didn't come out of nowhere; they are just a continuation of Intel's renewed efforts to attract Enthusiasts to Intel brand motherboards.
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IntelUser2000 - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
Intel is not doing bad. They are doing terrible. So terrible that you might as well call them dead. Probably will last till 2009 before they fill bankruptcy.To those people who say people in forums don't know anything and that there are other people stupid enough to buy Intel chips(I mean all Intel chips): Uhh, yeah, get your head straight, since AMD is closing with Intel very rapidly in marketshare, in server, desktop, and laptop, and that means that gamers actually do make a difference(albeit slowly) making other people buy computers. You think other people will buy P4's because of high clock speed? That's BS, since people who is stupid enough to buy Intel chips don't even know what clock speeds does. There are only a very few that knows computers JUST enough to say clock speed is good.
Tides - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
believe me, everyone wants the best they can get for the least cash.FinalFantasy - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
Intel is not doing good right now. I know a lot of people rested their hopes for Intel to strike back with the release of this chip. But alas, we are still seeing the same problems with this chip as we've seen with it's predecessors.1. Way overpriced
2. Still getting whooped by AMD's 64-bit chips
The choice is clear here, buy an average AMD chip for a fraction of the price and still be able to outperform your friend's Intel EE based machine that he spent $2,500-3,000 on to build, while you spent about $1,500 (factor in price a person pays for an Intel EE chip and a couple of sticks of DDR2).
Pandaren - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
What the community here forgets is that the common person doesn't care for 10 extra FPS in a game or 3 seconds faster on that photoshop filter. They want a reliable, dependable computer with good support at a reasonable price.Dell provides that with Intel chips. People honestly don't care if the Intel chip is not faster.
Those of us who do care about performance and price/performance will build our own. I replaced my Dell with a homebuilt AMD box for that reason, but I don't expect everyone to do the same.
SLIM - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
"SLIMYou're forgetting DDR2 price which this needs in your so called Intel is "cheaper" comparison. If you want the same price setup you can get a FX-55 and really bring the wood."
ZEBO
Perhaps you didn't read my post correctly or didn't read the review, but the first paragraph in post #14 is a direct quote from the review (that's why there are QUOTATION MARKS around it). The two comments below the QUOTE were my views on Anand's conclusion of the 560 v 3800 comparison at the end of the review. Your comment actually agrees with what I said.
Tides - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
they would if they had itswatX - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
why doesnt intel just release a dual core platform or a 64bit chip already..gezz its like they are acting like ATI "we will release 64-vit chips only when apps start to use it" ...NotMrT - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
Last time i remember AMD domminating this much was in the time of the thunderbirdsChapbass - Monday, November 1, 2004 - link
#43:One thing that i can vouch for, being a college student: Almost every college student not "in the know" with building systems buys a dell....because theyre sold through the college. At least my college they are. DEFINITELY the most common systems around here (and it makes me sick) : P.
It seems like households are more into HP/compaq, where schools, both k-12 and college, are totally dell.
Just something ive noticed around where im from. YMMV.
-Chap
justly - Sunday, October 31, 2004 - link
I find it interesting that the page compareing an A64 3800+ to the P4 560 shows the P4 winning the multitasking content creation. Well that isn't the interesting part, but the fact that Intel only won this because it took all three SYSmark tests is (the SYSmark tests wher the only thing Intel won in this catagory). I guess what really amuses me is remembering a comment in a article a while back (I think it was Anand himself who made the comment) implying that the SYSmark scores did not reflect the rest of their testing and that it seemed to favor Intel.