Nahalem

So we're at about a month or so from Intel's Nahalem Core i7 launch and things are getting interesting. We already have tons of info from various sites across the web and we'll likely see more articles and reviews start to pop up as the November launch date aproaches.

So what is Nahalem and what does it do?

Nahalem is Intel's new micro architecture. We will see three flavors of the chip at launch. A 3.2GHz Extreme Eddition followed by a 2.93GHz and a 2.66GHz priced at $999, $562 and $284 respectively all using Intel's current 45nm technology. They will be followed by 32nm releases in Q1 2009.

So what's so special about a 3.2GHz quad core? Don't we have that already in the QX9770?

If we look at current quad core architecture we come to realize that current chips are actually 2 seperate dies tied together connected by the front side bus. A quad core is basically two two Dual-Core 2 pieces of silicone put together.

With Nahalem we will see a single die with 4 cores. With the comeback of HT technology we will now be able to see 8 threads at a time. Yes, windows will show 8 cores on your device manager. The key here though is that we now have all four cores interconnected rather thanm having them communicate through the FSB which as you can imagine will provide instant performance gains over the previous quad cores.

Bye, bye FSB!

To compete with AMD's use of HyperTransport technology Intel has develeped their own FSB replacement now known as QPI or QuickPath Interconnect. This technology will also feature a memory controller for the newly supported tripple channel DDR3. Details on how overclocking through the QPI will work out are still not fully out in the open but we do know we'll be able to set seperate multipliers for both the memory and cpu allowing one to change memory frequencies.

TURBO

One interesting feature of Nahelem will be surely be its "8 cores" but another great feature will be Nahalem's Turbo Mode. This new feauture will be able to shut down cores that are not being used and dedicate juice to active cores. We'll more than likely see huge gains in synthetic single/dual-core benchmarks such as SuperPi which will no doubt take a liking to Nahelems turbo mode. Hopefully we'll see some benchmarks soon but for now this is just personal opinion and wishful thinking.


Performance

So now we now all four cores are on a single die and directly connected so a 15-30% gain over current quad cores is really a no brainer. With Hyper Threading and Turbo mode features we might see gains in specific benchmarks even jump as high as 40-50% vs Kentsfield based quad cores.

I can't wait to get my hands on one of these.

Stock Testing Begins Today!!

The Forum Warz are now under way. Im pretty excited and know we'll be seeing some pretty crazy figures from fellow forum members.


I see a few quad Cross Fire rigs around and a few 3 way SLi GTX 280 builds roaming around the forums not to mention all the LN2 Pots and Phase units.

We'll be going for stock testing this weekend and hopefully get a better idea of where the team stands and what classes we'll be able to compete in.

Some pretty exciting times ahead of us. I cant wait.


Check the forums for more info.

-ET

Custom Chillers

A few of 411Overkill's members have been busy these last few months working on their own contraptions for massive overkill. GunslingerOCS and Buckeye have gone the way of the Phase Change while GutterZ, spfoam1 and HawaiiSuperman have taken matters to their own hands with custom home made water chillers.

Here are a few pics of what these guys are currently working on.

First, a few pics of Philly_Boy's Phase Build(1), GunslingerOCS's Phase unit (2) and Buckeye's Phase/Chiller unit (3). We fill follow those up with a few pics of custom chiller mods from GutterZ (4)(5), spfoam1, (6)(7) and finally HawaiiSuperman's 'ghetto chiller mod.'

You can visit the 411overkill Member's Rigs forum and check out each member's Rig for a more detailed log and benchmark results.

MARCAM923 HITS 24,430 IN 3DMARK06

Wow. Stayed up tonight and watched along with Soups as Marcam went past the 24K mark and took a QX9650 to 4.55GHZ. Amazing. I remember when it was a pain in the ass just being able to join the 20K+ club a few months ago.

Anywho. Here's the link to Marcam's work log and his personal record breaking run.

"Man my jaw hit the ground when I saw 24K pop-up!! I think I am still in shock!"

Marcam hits 24k!

Can't wait untill these scores are beat as new members prepare their rigs for the Forum Warz and we start to see TRI SLI runs with the GTX280s.

411OVERKILL MEMBER RIGS

A video playlist of a few videos showcasing my build, ETJUSTICEPORTOUS and other videos from fellow members YERBUDDY and BSAN89.

HWBOT - How to submit scores

So there have been a few questions as far as how to submit scores through the forum.

Here's a little video that will hopefully help some of you guys out.


HWBOT from 411Overkill.com on Vimeo.