Core 2 Extreme QX6700 Quad-Core Kentsfield Performance Preview – Hot Hardware 
Intel’s quad-core processor, code named “Kentsfield” is going to be launched in volume this November. It is targeted at raising the bar once again, potentially doubling the performance level of the Core 2 Duo architecture that was marked clearly as the most successful processor product launch in Intel’s long history. Kentsfield is in fact an integration of two dual-core Core 2 Duo die on a single package substrate and those cores then share a common front side system bus. That’s a pair of dual-core CPUs in a single LGA775 socket and on paper the specs are more than promising.
But can we really exploit the available throughput of a quad-core Intel Core 2 processor? Will this new high-end CPU aimed to woo the hearts of the computing enthusiast, with its subtly-sexy “QX” branding, really make good on its perceived benefits in the benchmarks and real-world usage scenarios? Intel allowed us some behind closed doors private time benchmarking systems based on their new Kentsfield Core 2 Extreme QX6700 processor. The following pages are intended to offer you some insight into what a “controlled” benchmarking effort with Kentsfield was able to yield for us in various performance metrics. Though Intel furnished us with all the test system configured in the following benchmarks, we’re very confident in the numbers, as we were at last year’s IDF when we first saw Core 2 Duo in action. This time around, it’s a quad-core assault. [Go here for Specs/info]