Intel's Core i7: Blazing Fast, But Crippled O/C

[Fulmar]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/Intel-Core-i7-Nehalem,2057.html

Some story highlights I found interesting.  Both good and bad.

"Unlike the Core 2 Quads, which still consisted of two dual-core CPUs, the Core i7 is a native quad-core processor. On the whole, the new processors are more efficient, although the system does draw more power at the platform level than the previous generation.

The performance comparison with long-time rival AMD’s offerings is nothing short of painful. The fastest Core i7, the 965 Extreme, is more than 2.6 times as fast as AMD’s current flagship CPU, the Phenom X4 9550 BE. Across our benchmark suite, the AMD processors never placed better than towards the lower middle of the field, tending instead to fill the lower spots.

-------

Apparently, Intel is not so happy that buyers are purchasing inexpensive yet highly overclockable CPUs instead of the higher priced and faster models. To put a stop to the practice, Intel has ensured that only the $1,000 high-end model will operate beyond the TDP barrier of 130 W (110 A). The less expensive Core i7 versions—the 920 and 940—will begin throttling back their clock speeds once they reach this threshold. Sadly, it looks like the days in which a $150 CPU is able to reach the performance of a $1,000 processor are over—at least for now. While small tweaks are still possible, major performance increases through overclocking are no longer an option."

I bet this put quite the damper on aftermarket cooling companies...

[SIK1]

Apparently, Intel is not so happy that buyers are purchasing inexpensive yet highly overclockable CPUs instead of the higher priced and faster models. To put a stop to the practice, Intel has ensured that only the $1,000 high-end model will operate beyond the TDP barrier of 130 W (110 A). The less expensive Core i7 versions—the 920 and 940—will begin throttling back their clock speeds once they reach this threshold. Sadly, it looks like the days in which a $150 CPU is able to reach the performance of a $1,000 processor are over—at least for now. While small tweaks are still possible, major performance increases through overclocking are no longer an option."[/i]

I bet this put quite the damper on aftermarket cooling companies...

It's moves like this that give companies like AMD an opportunity to take market share away from Intel.

[Getback]

It's moves like this that give companies like AMD an opportunity to take market share away from Intel.

This is why we need competition.

[Ghosth]

I hope AMD comes out with a chip that rocks their socks off, and puts them back into the dust for a couple of years.

They forget so quickly.

[Denholm]

Amen! This is literally a miracle ordained by Heaven! Intel just dropped their bags of money on the floor and unlocked the doors. Now all AMD must do is fix their dang core issues, reduce voltage requirements, and decrease regular operating temperatures in order to take back the market.


YEEEHAWW!

[Fulmar]

I don't know.  It seems like a tall order for AMD.  Unless they can pull something magical similar to what ATI did back in the day with the Radeon 9500 card which dominated the once king Nvidia w/o much of a peep before it was released...

[Denholm]

Well, anything is possible, considering that nobody expected Intel to be this stupid.

This is a huge break for AMD.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Well, anything is possible, considering that nobody expected Intel to be this stupid.

This is a huge break for AMD.

Intel is far from stupid they're capitalizing their huge performance lead. Only a moron sells cheap when people would pay more.

[drdeathx]

Fulmar. That is old news. The 9850BE and 9950 have been out for some time. AMD simply cannot perform as well as Intel but the effort is rated good for AMD. They have helped reduce the price on Intel quads Q6670 and I think Q8850. AMD micro-architechture is much different from Intels quads and this hopefully will help AMD get back into the game with future processors. The problem is they have lost so much market share with Intel outperforming AMD they may not make it with the stocks losing so much value and our economic conditions. It looks like they may be starting to spin off to some of the company to some extent and this tells me they need cash flow for development. This will help Intel. I feel a ripping coming from  the fellas as I am an AMD fan.


Please thank AMD for keeping the prices down as usual which seemed to drop Intels prices on certain products to keep the marketshare away from AMD. The next year will tell AMD's fate.


I own the 9850BE and it is real nice. I have researched Intel and they do lead the industry but I pull for AMD everyday!

[Vulcan]

Meh Quad Core? How 20th century, 16 core is where it's at girls.

[Denholm]

No need for that Heater I suppose?

[Kev367th]

2.6x faster than the 9950BE, but nearly 6x more expensive (£135 v £800).
A good deal then.

WARNING - Upping memory voltage on an I7 system can kill your CPU.

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/intel-i7nehalem-memory-voltage,6464.html

More interested in how much the new Shaghai's will be.

Ignore post below....screw up.

[Kev367th]

2.6x faster than the 9950BE, but nearly 6x more expensive (£135 v £800).
A good deal then.
Bear in mind while upping the voltage on your memory to overclock an I7 system, you can kill the processor!!!

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/intel-i7nehalem-memory-voltage,6464.html

More interested in how much the new Shaghai's will be.

[Fulmar]

Here's another new article from Tom's contradicting their first article.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/overclocking-core-i7,2063.html

The Bottom Line On i7 Overclocking

Intel has added an Overspeed Protection to its Core i7 processors, keeping them from exceeding 130W or 100A. The company says it’s a safeguard in environments where that much power or current could result in a problem. The workaround is a BIOS switch. Overclockers will want to disable it before trying their hand at faster frequencies.

Our Core i7 920 sample is stable at 3.8 GHz and with a bit more tweaking would likely stabilize at 4 GHz as well. We didn’t really have any better luck with the 965 Extreme, which could be tweaked through its multiplier settings versus the Bclk-only, like the 920. But then again, this brief editorial was more a personal effort to address some of the comments brought up in our initial launch story.

Overclocking on Core i7 is still young, and as Intel’s Francois Piednoel points out, esteemed overclocker Fugger has already hit 5+ GHz with his 965 engineering sample. With a way around Intel’s on-chip thermal thresholds and an assumption that retail processors scale as well as our early samples, the thought of a sub-$300 Core i7 920 cruising along at 4 GHz is juicier (and more feasible) than we might have previously thought.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Here's another new article from Tom's contradicting their first article.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/overclocking-core-i7,2063.html

The Bottom Line On i7 Overclocking

Intel has added an Overspeed Protection to its Core i7 processors, keeping them from exceeding 130W or 100A. The company says it’s a safeguard in environments where that much power or current could result in a problem. The workaround is a BIOS switch. Overclockers will want to disable it before trying their hand at faster frequencies.

Our Core i7 920 sample is stable at 3.8 GHz and with a bit more tweaking would likely stabilize at 4 GHz as well. We didn’t really have any better luck with the 965 Extreme, which could be tweaked through its multiplier settings versus the Bclk-only, like the 920. But then again, this brief editorial was more a personal effort to address some of the comments brought up in our initial launch story.

Overclocking on Core i7 is still young, and as Intel’s Francois Piednoel points out, esteemed overclocker Fugger has already hit 5+ GHz with his 965 engineering sample. With a way around Intel’s on-chip thermal thresholds and an assumption that retail processors scale as well as our early samples, the thought of a sub-$300 Core i7 920 cruising along at 4 GHz is juicier (and more feasible) than we might have previously thought.

AFAIK that switch is only available in $1000 Extreme edition models.