Intel Announces Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme

[dagger01]

My Opinions:

1. "Core 2" is an absolute crap name, it's just Intel being lazy and not wanting to come up with a new name so they mooch (if you will) off of a name they already made.

2. I don't want to see the Intel PowerMacs with regular desktop PC processors in them. The last thing I want to do is pay $3000 or more for a Mac with a chip that I can get in a PC for half the price.

3. The Core 2 chip should go into the next generation of iMacs and Apple should use the "Woodroe" (or what ever it's called) chip in the PowerMacs

Yes, obviously what ever Apple does there will be PCs with the same chip but the Core 2 chip is just a replacement to the Pentium chip.

First, why should anyone care what Intel calls their processors? Does the name affect how good the chip or the computer built around it is? No. So, who gives a flying crap what they call it.

Second, if you don't want to buy a Mac, don't! No one is holding a gun to your head. If you want to buy an el cheapo Wintel box that will give you tons of headaches, go right ahead. I'd rather pay extra for the piece of mind that the damn thing will work right out of the box, but I'm just someone that's used (not sat at for a class, or whatever) just about every hardware and OS platform created since 1980. You can make your own educated (or uneducated) decision. Up to you.

Third, if you were so smart about what processor Apple should use where, then you'd be an Apple product manager. Again, I'm rather happy you're not because you certainly seem to lack a basic understanding of how products are transitioned between technologies.

This is the FIRST set of products to be released after a MAJOR technology switch on the hardware front. Apple is just trying to get products out the door with the new technologies so that consumers, and more importantly developers, can get used to the new platform. This also gives Apple, and Intel who has long wanted to do some nifty things with their designs that the Wintel world just wasn't able to, a chance to work with their new partner and develop some pretty ground breaking things. We are not even seeing the tip of the iceberg as far as what this new Apple/Intel partnership will reveal in the coming years. All this talk about "How is Apple going to differentiate itself in the market now that they are using the same processors as white box vendors?" is just media FUD. We have no idea what Apple and Intel will cook up, but I'm certain (and you can hold me to this in the next four years) that Intel and Apple will create a unique platform that is binary compatible with the Wintel world, yet architecturally unique.

There are a lot of things going on behind the curtain that have yet to even be speculated upon by the best of Apple watchers. Stop whining and strap yourself in, this is gonna be a fun and exciting ride!

 

[Abulia]

Awesome, but the names are terrible.

Wii terrible or just terrible?

 

[50548]

By "pizza box" I mean a horizontal system the size of home video/audio components (styled to match your DVD/TiVo as well).

The Media Centre Edition, also suitable for a desktop - give it a little stand to use if you want to mount it on edge.

I hope you are not referring to those ugly and expensive old stereo-like boxes that are used in "Media Center" PCs...those things are fuuuuugly...

 

[50548]

I know what you meant, hence my reference to the LCIII, (remember the LC was referred to as a Pizza Box).

I do see you point in the context of a Media Centre machine, but in many ways I would see this potential iMac-Mac pro filler not as a media centre, but as a machine to compete with other Wintel towers. Just as long as it is easier to upgrade than a cube and about the same price as an iMac, (if more powerful), or cheaper, (if same power), it would help sales rise.

Come on, I loved my Quadra 605 pizza box...good ol' times when Internet was still a luxury...

 

[dagger01]

Core 2 name...

Awesome, but the names are terrible.

"Core 2 Duo"? Doesn't Duo mean 2?

A little breakdown for those confused:

"Core 2" - Version of the Core processor architecture (in this case 64-bit)
"Solo/Duo" - number of Core processors on the die/chip

Better now? Make a little more sense? Still looks redundant, I know, but it's really not. Maybe they should have done "Core v2 Duo," but that's a mouthful too.

http://www.intel.com/products/processor/core2/?iid=search

 

[thogs_cave]

I don't think Intel is "Lazzy" with the naming, it's marketing. Just like the "Pentium" name, they want consumers to have a catch phrase in their heads when they go into a store. Same with Centrino, or however it's spelt.

Oh, come on. "Core 2 Duo"?

"Hello, department of redundancy department? I'd like to report a marketeer in need of a serious beating."

I honestly don't care what they call it. It can be "poop on a stick pro turbo gold extreme edition" for all I care, but I hate to see the language brought low once again by the "lazy" marketing types.

Oh, and what does an ancient grain have to do with processors?

 

[alec]

To the EXTREME!

I wonder if you pour Mountain Dew on the new chips, the chips will perform faster?

(ps. to the extreme!!!)

(ps2. who thought of adding 'extreme' is a legitimate way of naming things???)

 

[rxse7en]

I'll be first in line to pick up a 17" 'book with "crappy named" Core 2 Duo proc! Sheesh, like the "603e" was a such a killer name or how 'bout that super-sexy sounding "68040"! Again, I am STOKED that we're starting to see HUGE jumps in processing power with this transition and I'd still buy the new 'books even if they called the Merom the "****stick 3000 Turbo Extreme Chip" inside.

B

 

[MrCrowbar]

Wii terrible or just terrible?

Good point. It's "just terrible" then. <<Gimme the "Go" Back>> (http://www.notanothertechpodcast.com/podcasts/natp-ep15.mp3). I mean, the Nintendo is aimed for kids. How will they sell it with an obscene name?

It's not the number that bohters me that much. The "Core" is in the way. They Sould have called it similarly to Pentium or Itanium.

 

[shawnce]

A little breakdown for those confused:
"Core 2" - Version of the Core processor architecture (in this case 64-bit)

..and riding your coattails...

The Core 2 architecture adds far more then just 64-bit support (x86-64), of major note...

• Improved performance at the same power usage over Core (aka "Core 1").
• True 128-bit SSE support (vector units can process full 128-bit wide operations in one cycle, data paths are 128b wide now). This bumps Intel's SSE to be more like AltiVec is on PowerPC.
• 3 x 64-bit integer units up from 2 (boosting integer performance)
• One of the more advanced branch predictors available today (increases efficiency of instruction stream processing).
• 3 x Simple Decoder for Micro-op (up from 2). Allows a large amount of operations to be decoded each cycle (helps to keep the beast fed).
• Micro and Macro operation fusion (reduces the number of independent operations that needs to be tracked while doing the same amount of work)
• ...among others like enhanced VT, etc.

 

[nagromme]

Blood vessels a-poppin'

Speaking of Nintendo, I'll just be thankful it's not "Core Advance."

Advance is a VERB!

Advanced is an ADJECTIVE!

Unless you mean "ahead of time" like "advance warning." Which it not the same as "advanced"!

Now Nintendo has other companies copying this dumbed-down grammar error! You even seen mentions in print about "advance technologies" now! Do they mean "ahead of time"? No, they mean "advanced"!

EDIT: Sorry if I came off over-excited about grammar--I'm not like that.

EDIT 2: Yes! In this case I am! "Advance"? "Advance"???? Let the dumbening end!

EDIT 3: I'm fine now. Warm milk cures all.

 

[jayb2000]

...
I think "Intel Core Duo" is a catchy name. If they need to use numbers to demarcate generations -- the number should come after "Duo" As in:

Intel Core Duo 2
Intel Core Duo 3

A simple rearranging illuminates the meaning.
...
Joe

Agreed! That makes much more sense.

Core Solo 2
Core Solo 3
Core Solo 4

etc.


I just hope the MacBooks are actually pre-announced with the new chips, that would be great.

 

[shawnce]

Personally I am going to start using "C1" for Core Duo/Solo and "C2" for Core 2 Duo/Solo.

 

[MRU]

In theory when the new Core 2 chips are released, they should be able to fit into the socket of the current intel duo imacs, meaning for once a decent upgrade path, albeit one that will have to be done by an expert. Taking apart an imac looks scary

 

[Dreamail]

Agreed! That makes much more sense.
Core Solo 2
Core Solo 3
Core Solo 4

It does make more sense - and yet it potentially causes even more confusion.

The problem is the GHz number of the actual chip, where would that go? So we have the Core Solo 1.8 (GHz) and the Core Solo 2.1 (GHz). So would it then be the Core Solo 2 2? Looks like a typo to me. In order to avoid that confusion the version number had to go in between Core and Solo. Not really much choice. Core 2 Solo 2 (GHz) at least avoids typo confusions.

 

[SiliconAddict]

'til eBay in August, right?

Of '08 maybe. This thing is sticking with me a while until some other tech matures. Think OLE displays, higher capacity perpendicular HD’s, Blu-ray burners, 802.11n, a return to the PowerBook name. among other things. I’m happy with my baby right now. *snuggles*

More then anything I want to MacBook Pro with Intel Core Quatro. Mmmm quad core goodness on a laptop....its going to be a while though.

 

[SiliconAddict]

It does make more sense - and yet it potentially causes even more confusion.

The problem is the GHz number of the actual chip, where would that go? So we have the Core Solo 1.8 (GHz) and the Core Solo 2.1 (GHz). So would it then be the Core Solo 2 2? Looks like a typo to me. In order to avoid that confusion the version number had to go in between Core and Solo. Not really much choice. Core 2 Solo 2 (GHz) at least avoids typo confusions.

Intel no longer marks their chips by their clock speed. Its purly by label at this point because they fingured out that the Mhz myth was starting to die and made the appropriate changes to their marketing.
Go to their site and start looking at the Core chips. So what you might have is a Core Duo 2 T2600 which isn't all that much better.

Personally I am going to start using "C1" for Core Duo/Solo and "C2" for Core 2 Duo/Solo.

Be careful when you get to C4 though. *hears a pin drop* Fine fine. It was a bad joke.

 

[lazyrighteye]

I know - I want "HYPER" to come back!

Did it ever go away?!?

 

[thogs_cave]

Be careful when you get to C4 though. *hears a pin drop* Fine fine. It was a bad joke.

Ha! Actually, that was funny. Of course, it would've been more useful in the dot-bomb era....

Oooo, now I hate myself.

 

[Cinch]

too busy reading all the threads

someone may have brought this up already. What is the next generation Core 2 Duo going to be call assuming that there is a next generation with this naming scheme?

Core 2 Tri
Core 2 3
Core Duo 3

Who knows. I think the consensus here is that the marketeer at Intel is lazy.

Cinch

 

[THX1139]

I give this thread the award for being the most pointless ever. Imagine, arguing over the name of a computer chip! Someday you're going to want the time back that you wasted on this thread. Trust me, you will.

 

[ATG]

I prefer my names... Metro, Concord and Wooden Crate

Seriously though, those names could get rather confusing. Like, Core 2 Duo.
How many words for two do you need in that name?? Wouldn't Core Duo 2 be more appropriate anyway. I really hope that they put a "Core 2 Extreme" in the Mac Pro or even a Dual Core 2 Extreme

 

[shawnce]

Be careful when you get to C4 though. *hears a pin drop* Fine fine. It was a bad joke.

Just think the bang an Intel C4 Extreme could make!

 

[MrCrowbar]

Hard to say; on the one hand, dual-core is in these days. On the other hand... why not sell a Core 2 Solo?

I'm also curious as to whether Intel will continue its tradition of differentiating between server and desktop chips based on whether SMP is turned on or off. My guess is that they will, so Apple will have to either go dual core (may or may not be fast enough to be practical) or use woodcrest.

Well, the current Core Solo (Yonah) is a Core Duo with one disabled core. This is a nice way to sell a processor even if it's not within the yields. Believe it or not, but the Core Solo helps to keep the price of the Core Duo down. I believe only 3% of the chips on one wafer are funcitonal core duos (correct me if I'm wrong). Then there's a higher percentage (10% maybe) of chips where 1 core is functional. The rest goes to waste. If Intel did not sell the core solo, there would be 97% of waste instead of 87%.

So I'm pretty sure all Dual Core Processors (Merom, Conroe, Woodcrest etc.) will also have a Solo version.

 

[steve_hill4]

Well, the current Core Solo (Yonah) is a Core Duo with one disabled core. This is a nice way to sell a processor even if it's not within the yields. Believe it or not, but the Core Solo helps to keep the price of the Core Duo down. I believe only 3% of the chips on one wafer are funcitonal core duos (correct me if I'm wrong). Then there's a higher percentage (10% maybe) of chips where 1 core is functional. The rest goes to waste. If Intel did not sell the core solo, there would be 97% of waste instead of 87%.

So I'm pretty sure all Dual Core Processors (Merom, Conroe, Woodcrest etc.) will also have a Solo version.

It's not working much however, few machines are shipping with the Solo, which is why the chip is getting cheaper. This may actually help Apple too as lower prices mean lower manufacturing costs to them for one of the few machines that do use it, the Mac Mini and this means higher margins.