The overall benchmark results fit into two different camps, with the Pentium EE 955 really showing some legs in the system and multimedia tests, while falling back a bit in the game benchmarking. Intel has always offered serious media encoding performance, and the Pentium EE 955 only improves on this. It's also the same on the system and memory testing, and the combination of high clock, DDR2 and bus speeds makes Intel's latest a real architectural performance champion. On the gaming side, with the exception of DOOM 3 and Quake 4, it was an AMD show, with the high-end Athlon 64 X2 models really taking it to Intel and their new Pentium EE 955. The newest Extreme Edition processor did make some noted improvements, but there is still a long way to go for Intel to match AMD in pure gaming speed.
The appearance of a new 65nm Presler core is like ringing the dinner bell for overclockers, and it was especially intriguing as the Pentium EE 755 was totally unlocked and allowed us to increase it without pushing the bus speeds. This is a far better way to measure potential overclock speeds, as it takes the other components out of the equation. We were easily able to increase the multiplier to 14 (3.73 GHz) and 15 (4.0 GHz), but moving higher was more difficult. We finally managed to attain a 4.27 GHz clock speed at the 16 multiplier, but that was the end of the story. We could boot Windows at higher speeds, but at some point it would get a little flaky and we could not consider the OC to be a success. Keep in mind this was all performed with stock cooling, and with a hardcore setup, 4.5 GHz or higher might be in the cards.
During all this, we kept heading back to the Intel BIOS to check the processor temperatures, and we were surprised to see that it really hadn't changed that much. The Pentium EE 955 runs hot to begin with, and other than a sharp increase to the heatsink-fan, we didn't really notice a sharp jump on any of the indicators. The stock temperature at idle registered at 70-75 degrees C for the processor and 42-47 degrees C for the internal temperatures. When clocked at 4.27 GHz, this increased to 82-87 degrees C for the processor and 50-55 internal. Some of these results are high to say the least, but through all of this, the Pentium EE 955 was incredibly stable and really seems to be able to take a high thermal operating temperature.
In addition, while we are readying a more detailed look at power consumption for a future review, we can say that the Pentium EE 955 and the i975X Express platform is a definite improvement compared to the Pentium EE 840 and i955X Express combination. Not only are the power specs and usage noticeably lower, but we could also use a wide variety of UPS equipment with the latest Intel platform, without it overloading as with the i955X.
If there is one feature that we'll never expect to find on an Intel Extreme Edition processor, it's a low sticker price. Historically, Intel has priced their new EE models at $999, and it's no different with the Pentium EE 955. This compares to approximately $1.015 for a Pentium EE 840 and over $1,050 for a Pentium 4-3.73 GHz EE, while the top-end Athlon 64 X2 4800+ and FX-57 check in at around $800 and $1,015, respectively. The enthusiast end of the processor market is definitely not where you go for value, but this customer base is also not exactly worried about sticker shock either. Both the Pentium Extreme Edition and Intel 975X Express platform will be available as of January 16, 2006.
* Please note that these prices were taken at the time of review and are not meant to reflect long-term trends.
The Pentium Extreme Edition 955 is an impressive release from a number of standpoints. It offers the fastest clock speed for a dual core processor, features upgraded Cedar Mill 2MB cores, and runs on a blazing 1066 MHz processor bus, all of which translate into faster performance and higher bandwidth. The subsystem and multimedia performance results were also extremely good, and the Pentium EE 955 found itself in front of the AMD competition more often than not. Intel's Achilles' Heel continues to be high-end game performance, and although the Pentium EE 955 is certainly the fastest Intel chip, it still takes a back seat to the impressive Athlon 64 X2 models. In other areas, it is also a mixed bag, as the Presler core is looking like an overclocking machine, but we're also seeing core temperatures that are a bit higher than anticipated.
