Conclusion

As impressive as the DivX results are, you have to take that with a pinch of salt. After all, the SSE4 support is still experimental. You should also remember that applications have to be optimized for SSE4 before you can start seeing such performance boosts.

With that said, many video and graphics applications as well as games will eventually be optimized for SSE4. It is just a matter of time. Until these SSE4-optimized software appear, you can still count on the new Yorkfield and Wolfdale processors to deliver a nice performance boost of 5-20%.

Update : Pat G (apparently, that's what they are calling him at Intel!) told me that the 45 nm server processors like Harpertown and Wolfdale-DP should see a much larger speed boost, due to the improved write-combining. He didn't go into the details, but he was probably referring to the MOVNTDQA instruction in the SSE4 which allows for up to 7.5X higher memory throughput for streaming loads.

With the exception of the 3.16 GHz Core 2 Duo E8500 to be launched in January 2008, Intel does not seem to be interested in raising the clock speeds of the new 45 nm processors even though they have been shown to be capable of far higher clock speed. So, any performance boost from these 45 nm processors will be mainly due to the 50% larger L2 caches as well as SSE4 (in applications that have been optimized for SSE4).

Architecturally, the new 45 nm processors are similar to their 65 nm predecessors. The main differences are the inclusion of SSE4 instructions, a 50% larger L2 cache and of course, a smaller 45 nm process technology. What this means to the user is a moderate performance boost at the same TDP for non-SSE4 applications and a tremendous boost in performance for applications that are optimized for SSE4. Eventually, the smaller process technology will allow Intel to deliver higher clock speeds as well as low-wattage processors for lower power consumption.

Intel is currently on a roll. They are about to deliver 45 nm processors when their competition is set to deliver their latest processors still built on the 65 nm process technology. Although a die-shrink to 45 nm will not give the new Yorkfield and Wolfdale processors any real performance advantage, it allows Intel to fit a larger L2 cache and yet keep the size down. It will also allow these processors to run faster and cooler.

If you ask me, you should NOT buy a processor merely because of its process technology. We should all look beyond the technical aspects and buy processors that meet our performance requirements and offer us the best value for money. Moving to the 45 nm process will allow Intel to do just that. The only question is will they?

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