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Intel® Core™2 Processor Family: Performance and Energy Efficiency
 
Energy-efficient performance overview
 
With energy efficiency, it's not about volts, amps and watts, but performance, dollars and sense.
In the past, CPU evolution usually meant a bigger and better CPU that delivered more performance, but also consumed more energy. The Intel® Core™2 processor family turns that notion upside down, delivering significantly more performance, while actually consuming less energy. The highly-efficient Intel® Core™ microarchitecture, coupled with Intel's leading-edge 65-nanometer manufacturing technology brings you the best of both worlds: the best performance and significantly greater energy-efficiency than previous generation processors.
When considering energy efficiency in a PC platform, what matters is a level of delivered performance/productivity, and the energy bill cost to deliver it. Intel introduced a platform evaluation method that measures just that. Using BAPCo* SYSmark* 2007 Preview Edition, an industry-standard application-based system benchmark and a daily usage model, this method shows both delivered performance, and its annual energy cost.
Energy-Efficient Performance
You will notice that the SYSmark 2007 Preview Edition score for the Intel® Core™2 processor E6700 is lower on this page compared to the score shown in the Digital Office section of the Performance site. There are two reasons for the lower score. First, the configurations are different with the EEP configurations selected to reflect cost-optimized systems in contrast to the performance-optimized systems measured in the Digital Office section. The EEP systems use DDR2-667 memory and Intel® GMA X3000 graphics instead of the more costly DDR2-800 memory and discrete graphics. The second consideration is power management. The EEP systems are configured to use power management permitting Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology to reduce the clock frequency of the processor when the CPU is at idle or not heavily used. The performance-optimized systems are configured to maintain full clock-speed for maximum performance.
 
Test details
 
This EEP methodology models an eight-hour workday, broken down into two four-hour work periods. During each period, SYSmark* is run three times. After the first run completes, there is a 15-minute break during which the system is at idle. Then two more SYSmark runs are executed. After this, the system is idle for 30 minutes, and then goes to sleep, and remains so until the end of the four-hour period. This progression is then repeated for the afternoon work session. The system is assumed to be asleep during the lunch hour, and is also put to sleep at the end of the workday. More information about this method can be found in the Energy Efficient Performance white paper (PDF 132KB). Intel also provides an energy cost calculator to be used in connection with this EEP methodology.
 
¹ Based on $0.07705/KHh, which is the U.S. average of commercial and industrial energy cost. Source: U.S. Department of Energy (http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/table5_6_a.html)

Performance tests and ratings are measured using specific systems and/or components and reflect approximate performance of Intel products as measured by those tests. Any difference in system hardware, software, or configuration may affect actual performance. Buyers should consult other sources of information to evaluate system or component performance they are considering purchasing. For information on performance tests and performance of Intel products, visit Benchmark Limitations.
 
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