| Review Summary |
Intel's Core 2 Duo E6700 offers the best price-to-performance ratio we've seen in a desktop chip. For half the cost of AMD's top-of-the-line chip, you get identical if not superior performance and better power efficiency. AMD surprised us last year with its completely dominant dual-core chips, but Intel regains the crown with Core 2 Duo. |
Thanks to an expensive new motherboard requirement, Intel's new Core i7 desktop processors will remain enthusiast and professional-level parts until more affordable complementary hardware comes out later next year. Speed never comes cheap, however, and if you're willing to spend for it now, you'll find yourself in possession of the fastest CPU on the market. |
AMD's new high-end dual-core CPU offers plenty of bang for the buck, outpacing Intel's Pentium 965 Extreme Edition, which costs $200 more. Sounds like a good deal, but wait to see what Intel's next-gen Core 2 Duo chips have to offer when they debut later this year. |
Intel's Core 2 Duo line marks the end of AMD's run of dominance through the dual-core desktop-processor landscape. Not only are Intel's new chips fast, efficient, and well designed, but they're also aggressively priced and sure to send ripples though the desktop PC industry. If you are buying or building a new computer, we recommend that a Core 2 Duo chip be at its center. |
AMD's Athlon 64 FX line has worn the desktop CPU performance crown for over a year. The king is dead. Intel's new flagship Core 2 Extreme X6800 not only hands AMD a defeat on all of our benchmarks, but it's also a more efficient, better designed chip overall. |
