Quad Master
Herald
Intel Pentium D Model 820 and Pentium 4 670
May 26, 2005
By Loyd Case
Read the complete report at: [rank=www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1820768,00.asp]ExtremeTech.com[/rank]
May 26, 2005
By Loyd Case
Let's get the most exciting news out of the way first: Intel is launching its Pentium D processor line today, and the price of the 2.8Ghz Pentium D is listed as $241 (in quantities of 1000)! It's likely that initial processors in the channel will be pricier, but once the early demand is filled, you should be able to find a CPU for well under $300--maybe even approaching $250. To put this in context, AMD's lowest-cost desktop dual-core processor, the Athlon 64 X2 4200+, costs about $537 (in quantities of 1000). Meanwhile, Intel's Pentium D 840, which clocks at 3.2GHz, will cost $530 in lots of 1,000 units.
Should You Buy One?
The answer is a qualified yes. In some cases, the dual-core 820 performs reasonably well, given the inherent limitations of the Prescott core. Although Intel has been trying to differentiate between the 840 Extreme Edition and the Pentium Ds with Hyper-Threading, it may have been better just to enable Hyper-Threading in the entire line. At under $300, though, the model 820 is almost an impulse buy, if you feel like experimenting with dual-core technologies.
On the other hand, the 3.80GHz Pentium 4 670 is a bit of a puzzle. It almost seems like an "Extreme Edition killer", with essentially the same performance as the 3.73GHz P4EE, but $150 cheaper. That lower price is still well north of $800, so it's certainly not a terrific value. If you need a high-performance EM64T processor, then it's probably a better choice than the Extreme Edition.
Read the complete report at: [rank=www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1820768,00.asp]ExtremeTech.com[/rank]