Merom Prices Posted!

Do I get some major props for posting this or what?!

Read full article at:
http://www.digitimes.com/mobos/a20060529A6027.html

 

nice...pisses me off that im buying a laptop now though...

 

I hope they mean early August, as in ready in time for Back to School sales...

 

I know what you mean.
Looking at that T7200.. it's the equivalent of the T2400 in price right now. (In a week once the price drops, it will be equivalent of T2500..)

But let's consider:
T2400 - 1.83 Ghz Yonah
T7200 - 2.0 Ghz Merom (20% faster than yonah at same speed.) So this T7200 should run like a 2.4Ghz Yonah... Which is absolutely crazy for just 294$.

 

Hi

What is all this hype about Meron. can somebody explains me in real terms what it will do better then Dual Core. I know Dual core is only 32 bit, but I am not sure what that means neither. Will it better in gaming, multimedia, DVD watching, etc. Please let me know

please do not post links to Intel website, because I have been there, I just want to know simple answers

Thanks,

 

Besides 64-bit (which is important with OS and programs down the road), Merom offers performance improvements. Here are some links for more info:

- Detailed differences between Yonah and Merom: http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=25623

- Some sample benchmarks for comparison: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=95935

 

The nice thing about Merom is that it works with the current Intel 945 Napa platform, so any laptop you buy today could technically be upgraded to Merom from Yonah if you're so inclined.

A lot of people who are waiting for Merom are probably going to want to wait for Santa Rosa to be available as well, which won't be until 1H 2007...

 

Just thought of something, can you actually utilize the 64bit extension part of the CPU if you are still using a 32bit Windows XP OS?

I know one key benefit of the 64bit is the capability of having more then 4 GB of ram. But if you still use a 32bit OS, thats not possible. And if a game is coded for 64 bit, can you even run it on a 32bit OS?

I'd assume that you'd need to upgrade the OS to 64bit version in order to utilize any 64bit function of the CPU and apps/games.

 

I think it's possible. I'm not sure about the rest of your questions.

 

Apparently abaxter posted this about a month ago in another post:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=52952

But back then, the prices were only a speculation. Now these are the REAL prices. The source is about 99% sure.

 

Yeah, the prices doesn't make sense, the T7200 is SO cheap!
Are there going to be a major price drop for Yonah after mermon comes out then?

 

No, it doesn't work that way. The Yohan prices will stay where they are until they are all gone.

Intel has 5 price levels. For example right now (after the price drop of the 28th) the T2300E is at the lowest level (although not available in the channel right now) and then the T2400, then T2500, then the T2600, with the highest level vacant at this time. It would be occupied by the T2700 but that has not been released yet...and may not be depending on how quickly the MEROM is actually released.

So, when the MEROM comes out it will fill those same 5 pricing levels.

 

Any chance of the W3j or other Asus notebooks being released? How long will it take to hit the market? I don't want to sink big bucks in a notebook now if Merom is right around the corner....

 

Well if Merom is launched mid August, then, say within 2 months, ASUS produces a merom laptop, another month for manufracture, half a month for transportation to North America.. So Hopefully by Christmas time/New Years we could be looking at the first ASUS laptop out there. (In my opinion, that's a very unrealistic time. I'd estimate ASUS Merom laptops will be filling up the market by February or so next year, but maybe I'm wrong)

Of course, users will probabily mod their W3J/A8Jm/S96J/Z96J's with Merom's probabily by sometime in september already... But they'll void warranties by flashing bios and changing cpu (only for ensemble units), etc.

 

... and the waiting game begins...

~ Brett

 

Mystery, are are just about dead on with your timing with one exception. That exception is that I don't think you will actually see the processors shipping until well after September as well.

In addition, since Vista won't be out until next year, there is really no advantage to upgrading to the MEROM processor before the Ensemble warranty runs out. Why upgrade to a 64 bit processor, void your warranty, and then have to wait several months to be able to really use it in 64 bit applications?

 

Exactly, you can buy Napa/Yonah today and upgrade to Merom down the road when the warranty expires and 64-bit is actually needed/useful--good advice.

 

Mystery and paladin44,

I'm having a hard time understanding why Asus will delay notebooks with the Napa Core 2 Duo. They have notebooks now that will run this CPU. Are you thinking they are going to build other new Napa based notebooks when they have notebooks with the exact same chipset that will run them all ready? I thought this was the strategy of Intel with the Napa version of Merom, kind of a stop gap until Santa Rosa. Is there another chipset coming out that only supports the napa version of Merom? I was not aware that there was a platform between Napa and Santa Rosa.

I really thought that the Napa version of Merom was just a refresh of CPU with the same chipset (945). I thought there was no new platform until Santa Rosa which also features Merom but with a new chipset (Crestline and ICH8M) as well as a new wireless solution called Kedron. Merom will also be given a faster FSB on the Santa Rosa platform (most likely 800MHz or 1066MHz).

 

The new 64 chips won't ship in time for the back to school sale. So for us university students, we're stuck buying the 32-bit.

 

I'm heading off to college but I'm gonna wait for Vista/Merom/Santa Rosa. I want this thing to last for a while so it just seems to make sense to me. I'll live with a 3 year-old Dell until February-March or sometime around then. Hmm... Now that I think about it, that takes me almost all the way through freshman year... --- reconsidering...

~ Brett

 

Vista isn't completely 64-bit. You can still run it no problem, and I doubt the whole 64-bit will take off dramatically within the next 3 years. This is especially since Santa Rosa will come out 2 years from now and that will be the actual "True 64-bit" that we all expect. Add another 6 months after Santa Rosa comes out and we might see Santa Rosa Laptops. We never know however, we should always expect the unexpected in the computer world.

Fliptwister, I don't think they're delaying the Core 2 Duo intentionally. Just like I don't think they're going to ship Merom CPUs on the same motherboards as the S96J/Z96J, with just a simple bios flash. I have a feeling they will build a new motherboard from scratch to support 800Mhz FSB for future proof, but I may be wrong. It also takes a long time untill Meroms will be delivered to Taiwan for production, then ASUS engineers take a while to figure out what they need to build and then they do their plans, their first models, they announce their future models, and after about 4months after the first prototype, they will finally have tested and mass produced enough to ship to North America.
Adding +- a month delay, and another few weeks transportation, I really think we're looking at somewhere in February 2007..

Consider this: Last summer Yonah cores came out. The most anticipated Core Duo laptop awaited was W3J, and it came out just this May. It took them about 9 months after Core Duo was released to come up with an esemble unit for the Yonah. It is a lot more work than you can imagine to build a laptop design from scratch, new motherboard, more features, etc.

Keeping that in mind, to all of you waiting for Merom, I suggest buying a laptop now and upgrading down in the future if you really want the 64-bit architecture. The price is unbeatable for the performance we'll get with those T7200/T7400 Merom CPUs, but we still have a long while till we see them.

 

I tried to add to your reputation, Mystery, but it seems I've doled out too much as it is. Your post was very convincing. I think it would be stupid to buy Merom without Santa Rosa since the two will come out so close to each other and compliment each other so well. But if buying within the next few months, it's not worth waiting. Thanks!

~ Brett

 

Thanks mate, the intention counts

Cheers, enjoy your new laptop.

 

Just get a laptop right now. There are some pretty good deals going around, especially Dell and Asus. You can get a really good one for 1200 dollars, which will last you 2-3 years. Then get a new one with Vista after that. It's pointless to get the 64 and Vista when they first release because within the first several months they have no use. The market wouldn't adjust to 64 right away on the day they release.

 

For all of you still debating on buying Yonah now or waiting another half a year for Merom, when you really need a computer now?

Well, here's what will push you over the edge of buying it.
I've made a lot of self talk with myself, so I've come to this conclusion. If you guys disagree, feel free to post your opinions so I can trash them back at you Chances are, I probabily thought exactly what you have been thinking too. You have no idea how much I've thought about this.

If you've read my last article, here's some other proof.

Chances are, you're interested in a Merom CPU because you are involved in gaming. There is no other reason why you'd want to squeeze out 20% more performance, when it really doesn't make a lot of sense. Vista runs fine on 32-bit CPUs and I don't know many applications (especially for students) that require 64-bit CPUs.

Considering that you like playing games, and you're thinking about buying a Yonah, and updating your CPU 1yr down the road to Merom. Here's the problem. Next year, a new line of video cards will come out. Since games are mostly video card dependent, it won't make sense to upgrade just the CPU, as it will give you a very marginal boost in performance.

And then you will be looking at a new video card and waiting for that to come out on an ASUS model. And after that video card comes out, you will learn that Santa Rosa will come out within a few more months. So you will decide to wait for Santa Rosa as well.

You are probabily going to wind up playing the waiting game more or less for many months to come untill you reach a decision: I should have just bought it when I needed it.

In my opinion, buy something that really attracts you, use it for 3-4years untill its obsolete, and then buy a new one. Upgrading just isn't worth it on these notebooks. Something new is always coming out and it's not worth upgrading piece by piece. In the end, you'll end up wasting a lot of money and time with not a lot of performance gained from it.

 

There is a significant difference. The platform (Napa) exists for the CPU. They do not need to build the laptop design from scratch. Are you saying that someone besides Intel will come up with a chipset/platform that supports the Napa version of Merom and also the Santa Rosa version? I'm also unclear on why Asus or another manufacturer would invest money on new designs (with no real benefit). I can see offering some new models with better GPUs but they will still be Napa based. Santa Rosa offers some huge benefits and is coming out in the first half of 2007.

edit: I'm not saying that people should wait until Core 2 Duo. Obviously I did not. I just think it will be very likely that people will be able to upgrade their CPUs.

edit2: Mystery, I do agree with your buying logic but I use my notebook 80% for work so a CPU upgrade alone is an atractive option.

 

Actually the expected date for Santa Rosa is Summer 2007. Meaning it's probabily going to end up in about August 2007 like most Notebook launches. Add another few months untill motherboards for that come out, another few months till manufracturers get their plans, then prototype, then production, then transportation. It's gunna be a long time till Santa Rosa comes out man. Who knows what will happen by then?


Apparently, yes, people will be able to upgrade their CPUs, but I don't see much of a point unless you buy a barebone in like Octomber/November with the S96J and no CPU. Then you go on newegg/ncix and you order a T7200/T7400, flash the bios, void warranty, and put a Merom in there. I'd only do it if i were a hardcore gamer, and If that was the case, I'd look for a more powerfull GPU rather than X1600.


EDIT: I gotta hit the hay. Promise to argue with u guys later