Test System and Methods
Christmas came early for Gotfrag Hardware this year, really early. When the boxes arrived on the doorstep two weeks ago, they contained more than just the pieces for our brand new test bed. Amongst the boxes was one that contained a wealth of pink foam and three engineering samples from Intel: 1x Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 Processor, 1x Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 Processor, and 1x Intel D975XBX (revision 304) motherboard. Let’s take a look at the specific list of features for the new processors (taken directly from Intel).

Intel Core 2 Extreme processor X6800

• 2.93 GHz dual core processor
• 1066 FSB
• 4MB unified L2 cache
• Intel Virtualization TechnologyΔ
• Execute Disable Bit*
• Intel Extended Memory 64 Technology (EM64T)Φ

Intel Core 2 Duo processor E6700

• 2.66 GHz dual core processor
• 1066 FSB
• 4MB unified L2 cache
• Intel Virtualization TechnologyΔ
• Execute Disable Bit*
• Intel Extended Memory 64 Technology (EM64T)Φ

Δ Intel Virtualization Technology requires a computer system with a processor, chipset, BIOS, virtual machine monitor (VMM) and for some uses, certain platform software, enabled for it. Functionality, performance or other benefit will vary depending on hardware and software configurations.
* Enabling Execute Disable Bit functionality requires a PC with a processor with Execute Disable Bit capability and a supporting operating system. Check with your PC manufacturer on whether your system delivers Execute Disable Bit functionality.
Φ Intel EM64T requires a computer system with a processor, chipset, BIOS, operating system, device drivers and applications enabled for Intel EM64T. Processor will not operate (including 32-bit operation) without an Intel EM64T-enabled BIOS. Performance will vary depending on your hardware and software configurations.

The actual Installation of the processors was no different than that of any LGA775 processor from Intel. However, we cannot say that the entire installation experience was as hitch-free as installing the processor. After initial connections were made and we attempted to power up the system, it became apparent that something was wrong. After a lot of testing and a little bit of panic, we traced the problem back to the 12V power connector on the motherboard. Unlike most 8-pin 12V motherboards, the D975XBX absolutely requires dual 4-pin 12V adaptors, aka full EPS12V compliance from the power supply. After resolving this problem, we had a tremendously difficult time installing Windows XP. After a considerable amount of time and running through a complete hardware diagnostic, we found that the problem was actually with the motherboard. It turns out that either our particular board had a bunk voltage regulation module, or Intel needs to do a little bit of BIOS tweaking in their next revision. Either way, after manually setting the core voltage as per Dan Snyder’s suggestion (thanks Dan!), the computer was up and running just wonderfully.