Intel Nehalem System Build Pictorial ~ Comparison Galore

This particular sample was the 2.93GHz Bloomfield, which will put it in the mid-range of the three desktop Bloomfield chips expected to be due by the end of this year. One thing we immediately noticed when holding a Bloomfield next to a Core 2 Quad is how much larger the actual chip is. The new LGA1366 socket is also a bit larger, of course. As such, previous LGA775 heatsinks will not be compatible with the new CPU. Some coolers may possibly be adapted to work with Bloomfield with new mounting brackets but most will need new heat sinks.


The best performance bump was going from single to dual-channel but going from dual to triple didn’t seem to pay the same dividends. Remember, the caveat here is that more performance is likely to come as BIOS and board makers tweak for the new chip and RAM vendors tweak their SPDs. Our test, in fact, was with the DDR3 at 1333 speeds. At higher speeds of 1600, 1800 or higher, the tri-channel may pay off.