The Professional S3 ships with a dual-core Intel Core 2 Duo processor on board. For years we have been preaching the benefits and inherent superiority of the Intel platform to Mac die-hards limping along on their under-powered G5, over-heating systems. It seems like someone at Apple was reading and taking note. Apple Computer has seen the light and left the darkside. We extend a hearty welcome into our back yard. Now let's see who can make the fastest, best equipped, most powerful PC for music producers.
Pumping up the clock speed indefinitely is no longer the only option to delivering the super speeds musicians demand. Intel has opted to build on the Hyper-Threading technology it deployed a few years ago with a new generation of true dual physical core processors. The Core 2 Duo is the latest product. The performance increase over the single core Hyper-threading processors is dramatic and will be even more pronounced when the major applications are optimized.
Intel Core 2 Duo
Based on revolutionary Intel® Core™ microarchitecture, the breakthrough Intel® Core™2 Duo processor family is designed to provide powerful energy-efficient performance so you can do more at once without slowing down. With Intel® Core™2 Duo desktop processor, you'll experience revolutionary performance, unbelievable system responsiveness, and energy-efficiency second to none. And, you won't have to slow down for virus scan, multiple compute intensive programs, or multimedia downloads - these desktop processors are up to 40 percent faster and over 40 percent more energy-efficient.
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It should be noted that even single threaded applications will benefit from dual-core technology as the second processor can continue to run computer applications even when the first is maxed out running a function. However, you want a multi-threaded application running on a multi-core computer. Cakewalk SONAR is the first of a line of such applications, but you can be sure that other are coming.
Delivering the best overall performance. Period.
With Intel Core 2 Duo processors powering your desktop and laptop PCs you'll get the latest arsenal of performance-rich technologies, including up to 4MB of shared L2 cache, up to 1066 MHz Front Side Bus for desktop, and up to 667 MHz Front Side Bus for laptop, you've got the future of computing now, and only from Intel:
- Intel® Wide Dynamic Execution, enabling delivery of more instructions per clock cycle to improve execution time and energy efficiency.
- Intel® Intelligent Power Capability, designed to deliver more energy-efficient performance and smarter battery performance in your laptop.
- Intel® Smart Memory Access, improving system performance by optimizing the use of the available data bandwidth.
- Intel® Advanced Smart Cache, providing a higher-performance, more efficient cache subsystem. Optimized for multi-core and dual-core processors.
- Intel® Advanced Digital Media Boost, accelerating a broad range of applications, including video, speech and image, photo processing, encryption, financial, engineering and scientific applications.
Energy Efficient, Multi-Tasking Power Plant
The Intel Core 2 Duo processor-based desktop PC was designed from the ground up for energy efficiency, letting you enjoy higher performing, ultra-quiet, sleek, and low power desktop PC designs.
Do more at the same time, like playing your favorite music, running virus scan in the background, and all while you edit video or pictures. The powerful Intel Core 2 Duo desktop processor PCs provides you with the speed you need to perform any and all tasks imaginable.
Don't settle for anything less than the very best. Find your perfect desktop powered by the Intel Core 2 Duo processor and get the best processing technology money can buy.
65 nm Manufacturing Process
The Intel Core 2 Duo is the second generation of Intel dual-core processors and it is much better than the first. Part of the secret is the 65-nanometer technology which happens the be the most advances chip-manufacturing technology in the world. The Core 2 Duo is built on the 65 nanometer process which means reduced size, reduced noise and reduced heat than the previous generation and also the ability for the processor clock speeds to grow. Each processor core houses 376 million transistors. The large level 2 cache on each processor [2MB each] allows the processor to nullify some bottleneck issues with the FSB and RAM. The result is very, very fast operation.
Intel's Virtualization Technology is a new computing environment that allows a computer platform to run multiple operating systems and applications in independent partitions. So a single computer can function as a full-blown recording system tweaked for performance and then within another partition exist as a personal system for surfing and productivity uses. The upside of this is that the sensitive music side can be isolated from the virus threathened personal uses side. It is also possible to see down the road several PCs running as consolidated systems which would deliver incredible amounts of processing power. And afterall, our business is about computing power with productive stability.
1066 MHz Front Side Bus
The front-side-bus speed is a critical to the overall performance of the computer. As processors have become faster and faster, the system bus has become one of the chief bottlenecks in modern PCs. Some examples of bus speeds are 1066 MHz, 800 MHz, and 533 MHz. If the processor clock speed is approaching 4 or 5 times the FSB speed then the CPU is running into bottlenecks as it spends time waiting for the FSB. The Intel 975x provides support for 1,066 MHz front side bus architectures. This means that the Core 2 Duo is the platform that moves media producers into the next level of computing power. As the ducks line up - 65nm process, dual-core technology, 1066 FSB - you can see that as a platform, Intel is the right place to bet your studio on.
Intel Extended Memory 64 Technology
The Professional S3 supports 8MB of RAM. This is due to the 64-bit Core 2 Dou breaking the 4MB ceiling of previous chips that shipped in MusicXPC computers. The Professional S3 comes standard with 2GB of RAM and this should suffice for 95% of applications. However, in an age of 30GB pianos and 50GB orchestral libraries, it is not hard to see that the more RAM you have, the merrier the music-making will be.
FEATURE |
BENEFIT |
|---|---|
| Dual-Core Processing | Two independent processor cores in one physical package run at the same frequency, and share up to 4 MB of L2 cache as well as up to a 1066 MHz Front Side Bus, for truly parallel computing. |
| Intel Wide Dynamic Execution | Improves execution speed and efficiency, delivering more instructions per clock cycle. Each core can complete up to four full instructions simultaneously. |
| Intel Smart Memory Access | Optimizes the use of the data bandwidth from the memory subsystem to accelerate out-of-order execution. A newly designed prediction mechanism reduces the time in-flight instructions have to wait for data. New pre-fetch algorithms move data from system memory into fast L2 cache in advance of execution. These functions keep the pipeline full, improving instruction throughput and performance. |
| Intel Advanced Smart Cache | The shared L2 cache is dynamically allocated to each processor core based on workload. This efficient, dual-core optimized implementation increases the probability that each core can access data from fast L2 cache, significantly reducing latency to frequently used data and improving performance. |
| Intel Advanced Digital Media Boost | Accelerates the execution of Streaming SIMD Extension (SSE) instructions to significantly improve the performance on a broad range of applications, including video, audio, image and photo processing, multimedia, encryption, financial, engineering and scientific applications. The 128-bit SSE instructions are now issued at a throughput rate of one per clock cycle effectively doubling their speed of execution on a per clock basis over previous generation processors. |
| Intel Virtualization | Intel VT allows one hardware platform to function as multiple "virtual" platforms. For businesses, Intel VT Technology (Intel VT) offers improved manageability, limiting downtime and maintaining worker productivity by isolating computing activities into separate partitions. |
| Intel Extended Memory 64 Technology (Intel EM64T) | An enhancement to Intel's 32-bit architecture to enable the processor to access larger amounts of memory. With appropriate 64-bit supporting hardware and software, platforms based on an Intel processor supporting Intel EM64T can allow the use of extended virtual and physical memory. |
| Execute Disable Bit | Provides enhanced virus production when deployed with a supported operating system. The Execute Disable Bit allows memory to be marked as executable or non-executable, allowing the processor to raise an error to the operating system if malicious code attempts to run in non-executable memory, thereby preventing the code from infecting the system. |
| Intel Designed Thermal Solution for Boxed Processors | Includes a 4-pin connector for fan speed control to help minimize the acoustic noise levels generated from running the fan at higher speeds for thermal performance.3 Fan speed control technology is based on actual CPU temperature and power usage. |
| Better Acoustics | Intel Core 2 Duo processors are equipped with a new Digital Thermal Sensor (DTS) that enables efficient processor and platform thermal control. Thermal sensors located within the processor measure the maximum temperature on the die at any given time. Intel Quiet System Technology, included in the Intel 965 Express Chipset family, uses the DTS to regulate the system and processor fan speeds. The acoustic benefit of temperature monitoring is that system fans spin only as fast as needed to cool the system, and slower spinning fans generate less noise. |
| Platform Support | A platform based on the Intel 965 Express Chipset family with an optimized memory engine for improved system performance is the ideal compliment for the Intel Core 2 Duo processor. New and enhanced technologies in the area of graphics, sound and manageability offer an array of capabilities. This combination of processor and chipset brings an unparalleled level of performance to the desktop. |
| Intel® Core™ 2 Duo | |
| Processor Type | Intel® Core™ 2 Duo |
| Processor Instruction Set | Extended Memory 64 Technology (EM64T) • Execute Disable Bit • Dual Core • Virtualization Technology |
| Processor Socket | LGA 775 |
| Bus Speed | 1066 MHz |
| Processor Class | Intel® Core 2 Duo |
| Processor Speed | 2.13 GHz |
| Chipset Compatibility | Intel P965 |
| Thermal Design Power | 130W |
| Thermal Specification | 68.6°C |
| Manufacturing Process | 65 nm |
| Bus/Core Ratio | 16 |
| CACHE | |
| Level 1 Cache | 2x16KB |
| Level 2 Cache | 2x2MB [Total 4MB] |
| Level 2 Cache Speed | 2.13 GHz |
