Dual core reviews arrive: Opteron PEE, P D, X2

SIM TECHNOLOGY and John Reynolds compares a Pentium EE 840 with a Pentium D 820 to an AMD FX 55 and a X2 4800. SimHQ actually uses Games Simulations rather than other business types. And here, the winner is no wonder, the AMD X2 4800+. Intel really needs to get a new cat out of the bag before it is too late.

GamePC checks the 5AMD Opteron Dual Core 275 on various benchmarks. Opteron 248, 250, 252, 265, 270 and 275 were used and well. There's nothing much to say, if you can spare around £2500, then you will get a quad core computer which will squash Dual processors like a blood filled mosquito on a hot summer day. GamePC comments: "AMD looks to have a huge lead with their multi-core products, and I don't think Intel has any product in the near future which can slow them down".

Guys from Digit Life have a review of the A64 X2 4800+. Loads of professional software (read Maya, Adpbe Premiere) and games like Pain killer and DOOM III were tested and the top results were heavily skewed towards AMD. But it seems that as the number of CPU-intensive processes is increased, Intel has the upper hand.

Yet another Dual Core review, this time from 3DVelocity. They give out two possible conclusions to suit everyone for the Athlon X2 they tested. No good overclocking but dual core does, according to the reviewer sends computing experience to a new level.

Cooltechzone has a review of the Ultra new XL PC3200 DDR which uses low latency memory using TCCD from Samsung. Can a second-tier manufacturer compete with the likes of Crucial or Corsair? Slightly awkward situation they found themselves in though. Is it too little to late?

Viperlair checks some Mushkin memory. It is a twin 1GB modules packed in a kit called HP3200. They include blue heat spreaders and are geated towards the enthusiast market. The kit gets a stamp of approval. Also don't blink your eyes in disbelief at Viperlair's graphs, they are not what they seem to be. Most differences are within a 5% margin of error.

More Mushkin memory testing, this time from Xtremeresources. They push the envelope again with the Redline XP4000 DDR SDRAM. They are rated at DDR500 at 2-2-2. Awarded a 9.5/10 and a Xtremeresources Xtreme peformance award.

Phoronix has a look at the OCZ EL DDR-3200 Dual Channel Titanium which is a 400MHz part with a copper heat spreader. What separates this component from others apart from performance is the fact that it comes with a special powerswap warranty - you can increase the memory voltage without invalidating the lifetime warranty. µ