Intel has once again outdone itself with the brand new Intel® Core i7 Processors.
These new CPUs from Intel® are so incredibly fast that they make even Intel's own immediate preceding generation of
Processors look slow, and the completely put AMD solutions to shame (at the time of this writing, the performance comparison with AMD is nearly unbelievable, with
the fastest Core i7, the 965 Extreme, comping in at 64% faster than AMD’s current flagship CPU, the Phenom X4 9950 BE,
on Benchmarks - per Tom's Hardware Core i7 testing).
We will be offering both high-efficiency Xeon procesors and the new Core i7 Intel® chips in our Workstation and Desktop solutions. As always, we remained focused on maximum computing horsepower-per-watt in our energy efficient computing workstations.
Currently, there are three announced and available Core i7 processors.
The Core i7 is a native quad-core processor (as compared to the prior Core 2 Quads, which consisted of two dual-core CPUs to create a "Quad" processor), and the Core i7 reintroduces Intel's Hyper-Threading technology (which leads to 8 virtual cores per processor).
The new CPUs (processors) are more efficient, but thus far (from various technical review information), the overall Core i7 systems generally draw more power at the platform level than the previous generation (Core-2 based platforms), due to power requirements of other motherboard and supporting chipset components.
This is the current Intel Core i7 CPU lineup, from highest-to-lowest processing performance and price:
- Core i7 965 Extreme - 3.20 GHz model
- Core i7 940 - 2.93 GHz model
- Core i7 920 - 2.66 GHz model
Each of these new EM64T VT Core i7 Intel Processors is manufactured using Intel's latest 45nm manufacturing process
and requires Socket 1366 (i.e., LGA1366 socket) motherboards, which likewise require a new heat sink / cooling solution.
And, the new Core i7 CPUs only work on boards implementing Intel’s current high-end chipset, the X58 (and also exclusively
requires DDR3 memory (and, implements 3-channel memory where DIMMs are now installed in sets of three vs. sets of two),
which may command a bit of a premium - though it is falling quickly in price from our recent
observations). Another new technology introduced with the Core i7 is the Intel QuickPath Interconnect (aka, "QuickPath" or "QPI"; similar concept to AMD's "HyperTransport"),
which replaces the front side bus and works with processors that have integrated memory controllers (like the new Core i7).
In addition, the native instruction set of the CPU now includes the latest SSE4.2 commands.
Each of these processors has a TDP (Thermal Design Power) maximum of 130W, and slows itself down if that level of power is exceeded.
"Modern Visions for Technology" (MV4T) is the DBA ("doing business as") and branding under which Intersoft Development, Inc. markets modern hardware and software products and solutions. Intersoft Development, Inc. is a technology solutions and consulting corporation headquartered in Cleveland, OH that has been in business since 1995 serving Fortune-100 and smaller firms throughout the USA.
Modern Visions for Technology was a natural extension of our existing successful software development and technology consulting business that allows the family of Intersoft Development, Inc. companies to deliver complete technology solutions to its clients.
Our hardware focus is centered almost exclusively on leading-edge power-efficient solutions that include low-power CPUs / processors, high-efficiency servers and workstations, highly efficient power-supplies, extremely low-wattage and low-heat small-form-factor (2.5-inch) disk drives and SSD (Solid State Drives - like the Intel X-25M and X-18E series) storage, power-optimized graphics cards, and virtualization technologies (VMware ESXi, Workstation, and the like). High efficiency and high performance combine in our optimized custom solutions.
Our software offerings leverage the abilities of the efficient and powerful processing delivered by our servers, workstations, graphics cards, and storage solutions. We are the United States VariCAD reseller, and as the USA VariCAD reseller we can deliver both hardware and software optimized for your 2D / 3D CAD needs. We also implement "bare iron" virtualization through VMware ESXi, and promote and encourage Virtual Machine usage adoption via VMware Workstation and the like. In addition, we offer custom software development and consulting services through Intersoft Development, Inc., especially SQL-Server Database design and optimization. Again, our ability to deliver highly-optimized multi-processor servers and computers equipped with high-speed SAS/SATA/SSD/RAID storage, allows us to tailor hardware to meet the demanding needs of SQL-Server and software development.
Workstations
