Intel® Core™2 Extreme Processor

For Extreme Desktops

Extreme Power. Extreme Enjoyment.
With four blistering cores, the Intel® Core™2 Extreme processor delivers unrivaled performance to deliver 3D realism and game responsiveness.‡ For the über creative, performing tasks like video encoding, graphic design, and sound engineering, it’s the ultimate processor to power through those computer-intensive programs.

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Intel® Core™2 Extreme processor

What the Experts are Saying

"We imagine our infatuation with Intel's new Core 2 Extreme QX9650 processor will wear off soon, but it hasn't yet. Intel's first 45-nanometer Penryn CPU just makes for an amazing gameplay experience."

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COMPUTERSHOPPER.com | December 2007

 

Key Features

Processor
Almost too real
Get stunning realism on immersive multi-threaded games with advanced artificial intelligence (AI), particle systems, dynamic physics, and texture generation engines with four cores of pure performance.
Expect everything—and get it
Get the ultimate engine for advanced multimedia with Intel® HD Boost (Intel® HDB) built into the Intel Core 2 Extreme processor. It delivers up to 40 percent higher performance for intensive multimedia applications like HD video encoding.‡
Take control
With overspeed protection removed, you can tune your system for maximum performance to go where no gamer has gone before.Δ
Get it done fast
Maximize your system performance with the latest in cutting-edge processor technologies.

Related blog posts from The Inside Scoop


Is faster always better? Yes, but it's not always what you should buy.

So as you evaluate the performance of the components below, don't look at them independent from one another—consider them interdependent partners that make up your ideal system. And, keep in mind that your future needs—like adding software or growing your digital media collection—can have an impact down the road.

Roll over each word below to find a pop-up box. We have provided definitions you need to know so you can better understand how each technology will work together in your system.



Processor Family
Processor Family
Processor
Number
Processor Number
What is this?
Cores
Cores
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Clock Speed
Clock Speed
What is this?
Front Side Bus (MHz)
Front Side Bus
What is this?
L2 Cache
L2 Cache
What is this?
Silicon Technology
Silicon Technology
What is this?
Intel® Core™2 Extreme processor
QX9775 4 3.20 GHz 1600 MHz 12 MB 45nm
QX9770 4 3.20 GHz 1600 MHz 12 MB 45nm
QX9650 4 3.00 GHz 1333 MHz 12 MB 45nm
QX6850 4 3.00 GHz 1333 MHz 8 MB 65nm
QX6800 4 2.93 GHz 1066 MHz 8 MB 65nm
QX6700 4 2.66 GHz 1066 MHz 8 MB 65nm
X6800 2 2.93 GHz 1066 MHz 4 MB 65nm

Intel processor numbers are not a measure of performance. Processor numbers differentiate features within each processor family, not across different processor families. See www.intel.com/products/processor_number for details.


Processor Number

CLOSE

Processor models vary according to cache size, clock speed and RAM speed. If you run compute-intensive programs, the more L2 Cache you have the better. If, however, you use your PC for gaming, streaming video or watching movies, the size of your L2 Cache is not as significant as having a speedy Front Side Bus and some juiced up Clock Speed. That being said, every year, software developers design programs and applications that demand more and more of all three of these elements. So, our advice is to think about tomorrow’s needs as well as todays. Still don’t know if you should err on the side of caution or throw it to the wind? Choose the best processor you can afford. No matter what, you’re bound to be blown away.

Here is some guidance to consider when looking at our notebook processors:

Intel® Core™2 Extreme mobile processor:
QX9000 series: For the best competitive gaming and/or media performance

Intel® Centrino® processor technology:
T9000/T8000 series: Great for visually intense gaming and/or high definition media
T7000/ T5000 series: Create and store your photos, videos and music

Intel® Pentium® dual-core processor:
T2000 series: Aptly handles a variety of simple computing tasks simultaneously

Intel® Celeron® dual-core processor:
T1000 series: For when you want to run a few basic tasks simultaneously

Intel® Celeron® processor:
500 series: For when you just need the basics

Here is some guidance to consider when looking at our desktop processors:

Intel® Core™2 Extreme processor:
QX9000 series: For the best competitive gaming and/or media performance

Intel® Core™2 Quad processor:
QX9000 series: For the best competitive gaming and/or media performance

Intel® Core™2 Duo processor:
E8000 series: For creating and storing photos, videos and music

Intel® Pentium® dual-core processor:
E2000 series: Good for a variety of simple PC tasks.

Intel® Celeron® processor:
400 series: For when you just need the basics

Multi-core processors are single chips that contain two or more distinct processors or execution cores in the same integrated circuit. While independent, each core can work separately or together on one large task.

Software developers chop up their code (known as threading) and run each piece concurrently through whatever processor core happens to be most available. And, increasingly, software developers rely on Intel® quad-core and dual-core technology so their multi-threaded program can do more things simultaneously producing faster, more efficient results for you.

Tip! For exceptional multitasking, look for Intel® dual-core processors. If you’re a mega-multitasker, gaming elitist, or media maven, look for Intel quad-core processors.

The simplest way to understand clock speed is to imagine a stopwatch measuring laps. Question is, where is the stopwatch: an Olympic pool, a racetrack or a track meet?

Just like a stopwatch, a clock speed measures how fast a processor performs an activity. But which activity?

That’s up to you; how will you use your computer? Will you make a video of your child with your new HD camera? Then find a benchmark test that tells the clock speed of the processor running a media-intensive program. Do you love re-touching photos? Then look up how a processor was benchmarked running the photo software you like to use.

Tip! Yes, you will find numbers. You will see rates in gigahertz (GHz) which means a billion cycles per second.

But numbers don’t tell the story. How you use your processor is what you want to find out. After all, you wouldn’t compare a lap time from a swim meet with an Indy car, would you?

Imagine the RAM of your computer as one city, and the CPU as another. Between them is a freeway: the Front Side Bus. When you’re making calculations, developing graphics—anything you and your software demands—the Front Side Bus transfers data quickly to meet that demand.


Tip! Whatever system you choose, make sure the components work together. For example, if you’re building a media computer, having a 1333 MHz front side bus that can handle HD video is wonderful—but make sure the CPU is adequate for the challenge.

Imagine arriving at the grocery store and having all your favorite food fly off the shelves and fill the cart in minutes.

That’s L2 cache. It remembers the information accessed most frequently in your computer so you can easily get to it without those annoying lags. (Just don’t expect it to remember documents you didn’t save. It’s just a computer, not your mother.)

Tip! More L2 cache reduces bottlenecks and helps speed memory performance.

45nm – A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. Transistors on our latest processors are just 45-billionths of a meter wide. To get an idea of the size of the technology: you could lay over 2000 of our transistor gates side-by-side and almost equal the diameter of a strand of human hair. The new Hafnium-infused Intel 45nm process allows transistors to be packed more densely than the 65nm process. With the use of hafnium oxide replacing silicon dioxide (in use since the 1960s) the new transistors leak less energy, produce less heat and switch faster.

Nearly doubling the density of our processors means leaps in performance, an up-to-50-percent larger L2 cache, and new levels of breakthrough energy-efficiency. Cool—in more ways than one.

WiMAX is the next evolution in wireless Internet, offering the best available mobile broadband experience. Just like cell phones have eliminated the need to find a phone booth when you want to make a call, WiMAX turns a city into one big hotspot. With high-speed wireless broadband built in, WiMAX-enabled laptops will provide the freedom and convenience of accessing your own Internet service from anywhere within the coverage area. It provides a similar experience to Internet you get on your home broadband connection, even for data-intensive applications such as streaming media, live video conferencing, and more, and that lightning-quick WiMAX connectivity goes with you while you’re on the move around town. Intel is working with partners around the world to roll out the new WiMAX network; you can view a list of providers here.

The Intel® Core™2 Extreme processor QX9650 enables great performance on today's games, and provides extra compute engines to allow you to rock on multithreaded games.

 



The performance results shown represent overall processor performance of the new Intel Core 2 Extreme processor QX9650 compared with the Intel Core 2 Duo processor E6750 and normalized to Intel Core 2 Duo processor E4700.

The higher score demonstrates increased processor performance from the Intel Core 2 Extreme processor QX9650 which allows for a more enhanced gaming experience.

Company of Heroes* is a real-time strategy game set in World War II.

Enemy Territory Quake Wars* is a multiplayer, team-based first-person shooter set in the futuristic Quake universe.

World in Conflict* is a real-time strategy video game.

Click here for more information on how these processors were configured for these tests.‡

 

Reviews

PC World

PCWorld.com | January 3, 2008

"The $4900 Blackbird 002 LCi model we tested features Intel's 3-GHz Core 2 Extreme QX6850 CPU and comes with two Corsair Dominator 1GB RAM chips, a single 768MB EVGA e-GeForce 8800 Ultra graphics board, two multiformat DVD burners, and a 160GB (10,000-rpm) Western Digital Raptor hard drive."
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PC World

PCWorld.com | January 3, 2008

"The PGC comes with Intel's latest Extreme processor (the 45nm 3-GHz QX9650) and two sticks of 1066-MHz DDR3 RAM totaling 2GB. Strapped to the CPU is a Puget Hydro CL1 liquid cooler, whose radiator connects to a large exhaust fan situated where a power supply would normally be."
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Computer Shopper

COMPUTERSHOPPER.com | December 2007

"The CPU installed in the new Intel Bonetrail II motherboard inside the ePhex's large case (covered with alluring electric-blue automotive paint, inside and out) was Intel's new Core 2 Extreme QX9770, the latest (and fastest) in its Penryn line, and rated at 3.2GHz out of the box."Δ
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Computer Shopper

COMPUTERSHOPPER.com | November 2007

"We expected amazing performance with ABS's supercharged version of its Ultimate X Magnum Extreme, the first system we've reviewed to use Intel's new 45-nanometer (nm) processor (code-named Penryn), the Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650. After all, it's also the first processor of any kind we've experienced that was overclocked from 3GHz to 4GHz."Δ
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CNET

CNET.com | January 19, 2007

"The main reason we're giving the XPS 710 H2C an Editors' Choice award is because of what you get for the price. For $5,759, you get an Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 quad-core processor overclocked to 3.2GHz out of the box--a first for Dell."Δ
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Ratings provided by CNET. Shopping information is pulled from a third party and is provided as a convenience to you. We cannot guarantee system availability, pricing, or system configuration.