The INQ guide to choosing your Intel desktop chip

IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS, chip giant Intel has totally re-drawn its roadmaps for 2006 and for 2007 and as Microsoft Vista approaches, future buying decisions will be based on a number of factors rather than GHz, now that the Megahurts Wars are over.

So in the spirit of INQuiry, we offer a 2006 style crib sheet to the offerings you can expect from now. Life is no longer system. The days when AMD and Intel leapfrogged each other with sheer clock speeds are gone. They both might be bragging these days about additional features such as virtualisation and management features as well as just how many cores they want, but this, we can assure you, is going to make it even harder to figure out which chip you want, and when you should buy it.

Jane and John Doe need to be aware of these additional features rather than raw clock speeds, because in any retail outlet, the saleswoman or salesman may not have the high level of initiation required to explain VT or the benefits of multithreads to you. It will be interesting to watch this in action, and the INQ will be around to report on the conversations we've overheard.

First - Intel dual cores. These will dominate the marketplace by this time next year and you will have to distinguish between what's available now and what's going to be around then. We'll spare you the technical details - because we've been spared the technical details too.

Dual Cores

	Number	MHz	Sys	Cache	30/04	Q3 06
PPXE	965	3730	1066	2x2	Bosh!
	955	3460	1066	2x2
	840	3200	800	2x1
Coint	E6700	2670	1066	4		Bosh!
	E6600	2400	1066	4		Bosh!
	E6400	2130	1066	2		Bosh!
	E6300	1860	1066	2		Bosh!
Pres	960	3600	800	2x2	Bosh!
	950	3400	800	2x2
	940	3200	800	2x2
	930	3000	800	2x2
	925 -VT	3000	800	2x2		Bosh!
	920	2800	800	2x2
	840	3200	800	2x1
	830	3000	800	2x1

* THE PHRASE Bosh! means a new introduction on or around the date. Coint (Cointreau) means Intel Conroe (CNR). Pres (Presley) means Intel Presler.

Single Cores
Essentially, Intel is moving swiftly to get rid of single core desktop processors just as soon as possible. Those include the 6** and the 5&& series. These single cores basically came with 2MB of cache or 1MB of L2 cache. But their days are numbered, so there may well be lots of bargains around. The same is and will be true for notebook processors, but that deserves a separate article.

The Pentium Ds are a different matter, and will have a longer life than these now antiquated microprocessors. µ

See Also
The INQ guide to desktop graphic chips
The INQ guide to personal shredders
The INQ guide to boffins and voles
The INQ guide to silencing a PC
The INQ guide to Intel model numbers
The INQ guide to navigating the INQUIRER
Rules of the INQUIRER garage
The INQ guide to Zillas and Gates
The INQUIRER guide series