Digital Home Thoughts: The Dynamic Duo: Intel's Core 2 Duo E6700 CPU & D975XBX2 Motherboard

Processor Specifications (or "What's Under The Hood")
The Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 processor runs at 2.66 Ghz on a 1066 mhz system bus and features 4 MB of L2 cache (and 32 kb of L1 cache). Built on the 65nm process, this dual-core processor is a monster performer. I don't have the resources to test every CPU out there, but thankfully the folks at Tom's Hardware Guide have done exactly that with this handy CPU benchmark comparison guide.

Extended Disable Bit is supported on the E6700, though I'm not sure how often that attack vector is used by spyware and virus writers - but more security is better than less. The E6700 also features Intel 64 Architecture, which includes support for 64-bit flat virtual address space, 64-bit pointers, and up to one terabyte (TB) of platform address space. What's that mean in plain English? The CPU is future-proof for 64-bit platforms, but there are still so many compatability problems (and general headaches) with 64-bit Windows XP and Windows Vista that I can't suggest it to anyone unless they have a very specific application scenario where the advantages of 64-bit computing (namely support for 8 GB and up of RAM) can be brought to bear.

Getting back to benchmarks for a moment. As a reviewer, I'm put in the uncomfortable position of not having great tools for benchmarking this CPU: most of the tools for benchmarking CPU and system performance aren't yet Vista-compatible, so I was left with the choice of going with XP to benchmark it properly, or going with Vista and coming up with my own benchmarking methods. Ultimately, since I'm using Vista day to day myself, I chose that route - Vista is here to stay, with almost all new consumer-level computers shipping with it. The second factor is that because I don't review CPUs and motherboards regularly here, ultimately there's not much to compare this CPU to. So instead, I'm going to focus more on real-world performance, how the motherboard and CPU felt in day to day testing, and what the installation and configuration process was like.

What's in the Box
The Intel D975XBX2 motherboard came in an attractive retail box, and out of all the motherboards I've worked with over the years, it had the most comprehensive setup help and guides. There's a well-written 116-page colour manual that breaks down everything about the motherboard in plain English - this is a welcome change from the "Engrish" I've seen in so many manuals from Asus, Abit, and Shuttle over the years. There's also a poster-size fold-out "Integration Guide" that covers all the basics of installing components onto the motherboard. The back of this guide has a life-sized photo of the motherboard with arrows pointing to every component on the board - you don't have to wonder what that port or header on the motherboard is anymore. Intel did a superb job with this guide. A Quick Reference guide has a more detailed visual guide about how to connect each component to the proper spot on the motherboard. There are also several stickers that go on the inside case panel to serve as a reminder of what you're looking at when you open it next - again, a great idea from Intel and not something I've seen before. One thing missing, though, is any documentation related to the BIOS. I looked and looked but couldn't find anything describing some of the BIOS functions, which was quite frustrating.

Other things included in the box: a Serial ATA power cable, a rounded floppy cable (who still uses those?), a rounded ATA-66/100 cable, audio jack covers, four 20 inch-long Serial ATA cables with the very helpful security clips at one end (I've long thought that the person who designed the flimsy, disconnection-prone SATA connector should be pummeled), an I/O shield, a 2x2 to 2x4 power adaptor, and a two-port USB expansion "card" that connects to the motherboard if the four back ports and two front ports aren't enough for you. There are two floppy discs: one with the Intel Matrix RAID drivers, and one with the Marvell SATA controller RAID drivers.

Bundled applications on the "Bonus Applications Software" CD include Diskeeper Home Edition (a defrag program), FarStone RestoreIT Gold (a system-level restore/rollback program), Intervideo MediaOne Gallery (a media browsing program), Intervideo WinDVD (DVD playback), Kapersky Antivirus (in Russian), Kingsoft AntiVirus 2006 (Chinese), Kingsoft Powerword (a multi-lingual dictionary and translation program in Chinese), Norton Antivirus, Norton Internet Security 2006, Ulead Pocket DV Show (a brain-dead easy video camera to DVD burning program), and Ulead VideoStudio 9 SE (a video editing and DVD burning program). I always have mixed feelings about bundled applications - I'm never quite sure which are full versions of the program, which are demos, and which are useful. I'd be more impressed if only one or two programs were included, but they were full versions of useful programs: Photoshop Elements 5? ACDSee 9? Something that a customer could really benefit from, and not something that's so crippled it's almost useless (like many "SE" versions).

There was one serious software problem I couldn't seem to entirely overcome, and strangely enough it involved Intel's own Viiv software suite.


Figure 4: No installation of Intel's Viiv software for you!

The downloadable version of Intel's Viiv software is version 1.6 - but it's only an upgrade, and when you try to install it, you're taken to a Web page explaining in confusing terms that version 1.5 of the Viiv software needs to be installed before 1.6 can be installed. What the Web site doesn't say, however, is how you go about getting version 1.5. I dug around manually on the bundled driver CD - the auto-run program wouldn't work on Vista - and eventually found version 1.5 of the Viiv software inside the drivers folder on the CD.

I manually ran the eisetup.exe file, and after a few moments it gave me a vague error: "An unknown error occured." I next tried installing it with Vista's "recommended settings" (XP legacy mode) and that worked - but then I was presented with an installer that was offering to install chipset drivers, Viiv technology, Intel PRO network connetions software, and Quick Resume technology drivers. Some of these are likely older than the drivers I downloaded from Intel's site (like the chipset installation utility), but what about the Quick Resume Technology driver? I don't think that's on my system at all - nor is the Network Connections Software. I knew that the Viiv Software wasn't on my system, so I tried installing it - I thought it was going to work, but then it coughed out an error simply stating that it failed to complete the installation. So how am I supposed to get the 1.6 update on my system if the 1.5 software won't install? After the install failed I was surprised to see that two other components apparently did install: the Intel Pro Network Connections and Quick Resume Technology Drivers were listed as "Succeeded". The Chipset Installation Utility was listed as "Unknown". After a reboot Windows Update found an update for the Intel Quick Resume drivers. Quick Resume definitely works - from suspend to fully functional takes five seconds.

This situation with the Viiv software is a complete mess. It's understandable that Intel can't have their bundled CDs updated with the 1.6 version of the Viiv software yet, but that means that they should offer a full version of 1.6 on their Web site for Vista owners, something that works smoothly with the Vista drivers people have already downloaded and installed on their systems.