14 DAY TRIAL // Unless you have been living under a rock, you must have heard of Intel's Skulltrail platform, the only dual-processor architecture that does not fit in the Server class of computers. The Skulltrail is scheduled to kick in during the first quarter of 2008, and will replace the media creation platform V8, intel's response to AMD's 4x4.
There have been some public displays of platform's true power, such as the the Consumer Electronics Show demonstration, when Intel chose an Alienware gaming rig for showcasing the eight-core monster. The platform is already high on top in various multithreaded benchmarks, but it can perform way faster, since it easily reached frequencies of 4 GHz using mere air-based cooling solutions. There are forums that claim a CineBench 10 score of 34 839 points, achieved with an Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9775 processors running at 4.8 GHz.
Skulltrail is extremely different when compared to other parts of its kind. Two 45-nanometer Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9775 CPUs allow the platform to reach impressive clock frequencies, since the 45-nanometer technology dissipates less residual heat because of its increased energy efficiency. Since enthusiasts tend to overclock everything (I wonder how their mobile phones look like), they will have a great time raising the processors' clocks to an infernal limit using mainstream cooling solutions.
Unlike the previous V8 platform, Skulltrail supports up to four graphics cards, linked in either Quad-SLI or CrossFire X configurations. Recent reports on the enthusiast forums claim that the users who managed to snatch a piece found two very long SLI bridges.
They might be the result of the motherboard maker having increased the safety area between the PCI-Express 2.0 slots in order to facilitate the air flow. Video cards are already heating up in the flames of the overclockers' hell, and lack of constant cool air will severely reduce their performance. Imagine four dual-GPU Radeon 3870 X2 cards linked in a CrossFireX configuration and you will understand what I am saying.