Intel Core 2 Duo/Extreme processor review

Any reader with a passing interest in consumer-level CPUs will have noted that Intel has

been planning to release a new range of desktop processors in mid-2006. Known to many by the

codename given to the performance series, Intel's Conroe has been making waves since March

of this year. We brought you initial benchmarks, which you can find here, and further

numbers on our usual testing platform here.

Up until today, though, Intel didn't want many to talk about what made Conroe tick. However,

with the pesky NDA out of the way, we can reveal how and why Intel is going to reclaim the

performance crown it, arguably, lost to AMD since the inception of the Athlon 64 series,

some 3 years ago.

We've taken a look at Intel's Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme processors and pitted them

against AMD's finest. Read on to see what you'll be buying this summer.