Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Preview

Throughout all of our benchmarking tests, regardless of what we are reviewing, testing is done in a clean and stand-alone version of Windows XP Professional with SP2. The exception is in our SYSmark 2007 tests, which uses Windows Vista Ultimate. No Windows Updates are applied for the sake of time, unless one is required for a piece of hardware on the computer.

We’ve recently updated our methodology, to reflect a more real-world experience. Instead of tweaking Windows to a minimalist state, we leave all initial processes running, as it is a realistic scenario. The primary form of computer latency is a network, so all network devices are disabled prior to any testing. This is done in addition to:

• Desktop and scrap files are cleaned up, including emptying of recycle bin.
• No virus scanner or firewall is installed in the stand-alone installation.
• Computer has proper airflow and room temperature is 80°F or less.

Games that are used for benchmarking have their average frames per second recorded with the help of FRAPS 2.82. Here is the specs of the machine used for todays testing:

• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66GHz
Compared Processors
• Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.40GHz
• Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.40GHz
• Motherboard: ASUS P5K3 Deluxe WiFi-AP
• Memory: Kingston 2GB KHX11000 (DDR3-1333 7-7-7-20 1.7v) *
• Video: ASUS 8800GTX 768MB (NVIDIA 158.22)
• Sound: Onboard HD Audio
• Storage: Seagate 7200.9 320GB
• Etcetera: Windows XP Professional SP2, Windows Vista Ultimate
• Cooling: Corsair Nautilus 500
  * 1066FSB processors are run with DDR3-1066 6-6-6-15 1.6v

The refreshed line-up is consists of mere speed bumps, so this preview will not be as long as it would be if it were a complete architecture change. Also, throughout our testing we are comparing only three CPU’s since that’s all we have on hand. The Q6600 is a Quad-Core processor so it will no doubt beat the other two in almost every test.

SYSmark is an industry leading system benchmarking tool, which is completely automated but utilizes real-world tests. It installs common applications such as Microsoft Word and Excel, Photoshop CS2, 3DS Max, SketchUp! among others.

SYSmark grades the performance of the system with various methods, but most notably how well it could handle different operations. Systems with more than one core will benefit in the tests, since there is a lot of multi-tasking throughout. Once the test is completed, it will provide you with an overall score, in addition to showing areas where the computer excelled.

SYSmark can offer some odd results, but overall they scale accordingly to having a better CPU. The 3D test confuses me as the exact same GPU is used, however the E6600 scored far less. Our E6750 performed as expected though, beating the E6600 by two points overall. Not surprisingly, our Quad-Core beat the others in most of the tests, especially the VideoCreation.