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Intel Core i7 920, 940 and 965 Extreme Edition review

Amano   on 03 November 2008 - 10:20 · 10 comments & 4717 views

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Today we will be introducing you to three new Core i7 processors based on the new Intel Nehalem microarchitecture, each featuring 4-cores and operating in the 2.66 to 3.20GHz range. Like the Core 2 family, these new processors feature model numbers, designed to keep things simple.

The Core i7 965 Extreme Edition runs at 3.20GHz and features a QPI (QuickPath Interface) throughput of 6.4GT/s, which is the key difference here. The mainstream versions of the processor include the Core i7 920 and 940, clocked at 2.66GHz and 2.93GHz, respectively. These more affordable processors feature a QPI throughput of just 4.8GT/s, so it will be interesting to discover what kind of impact this has on performance.

View: Review @ TechSpot

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(5 replies) #1 Avi on 03 Nov 2008 - 10:39
Looking at those benchmarks, they all look much faster than my current E6750. I'm happy to see that.
Now... about that price...
#1.1 +King Mustard on 03 Nov 2008 - 11:54
Yeh, I will be looking to upgrade my E6750 in a few months time. I guess I'll wait until the i7 prices drop a little.
#1.2 Amano on 03 Nov 2008 - 12:53
King Mustard said,
Yeh, I will be looking to upgrade my E6750 in a few months time. I guess I'll wait until the i7 prices drop a little.

Me too. Upgrading from E6600.
#1.3 Airlink on 03 Nov 2008 - 14:20
Me Three. Upgrading from a Q6600 as soon as I have the cash.
#1.4 RAID 0 on 03 Nov 2008 - 17:39
Airlink said,
Me Three. Upgrading from a Q6600 as soon as I have the cash.


Me fourth. Well, not really. I'm gonna wait at least a year before I take the i7 plunge. I never buy into new technology, not only because of potential problems, but due to the higher cost.

The good news is prices will drop on the Core2 chips, DDR2 RAM and LGA775 motherboards.
#1.5 Vakerorokero on 04 Nov 2008 - 07:38
what kind of difference in % would you see coming from a E6400 and 4GB ram ddr2 to the cheapest option?

how about mixing it with some windows 7? supposedly the alpha release is faster than vista 64...
#2 IceBreakerG on 03 Nov 2008 - 15:27
After reading Anandtech's review, I'll be sticking with my Q9550. Looks like I made the right choice to go with that instead of waiting for Nehalem. While faster, it's not "that much" faster than Penryn. Factor in the fact that your only chipset option right now is X58 and you "have" to use DDR3 memory, the costs outweigh the benefits right now. Granted, some people might not care about saving $200-300 on a new system, but to me, I'd rather keep that extra money if possible. I'll probably upgrade to Sandy Bridge when that's released in 2yrs though, my Q9550 system should last me quite a while hopefully.
(2 replies) #3 KavazovAngel on 03 Nov 2008 - 20:23
I'll get one eventually. Not right away when they are released, but I am planning on buying a new system during the summer 09. Currently on my mind...:

MB: ASUS Rampage 2 Extreme
CPU: Core i7 920 or 940 (or something in between)
RAM: 4GB DDR3
HDD: 320GB + 1TB
Monitor: ~24-26" Widescreen
Mouse: Razer Lachesis
Keyboard: Logitech G15
Speakers: Logitech Z-5500
#3.1 Amano on 03 Nov 2008 - 21:54
KavazovAngel said,
RAM: 4GB DDR3

I guess you can't go with 4GB for Triple-Channel DDR3.
#3.2 KavazovAngel on 03 Nov 2008 - 23:07
Amano said,
I guess you can't go with 4GB for Triple-Channel DDR3.


Well, I haven't done much research on this topic, but it is still early. Many months to go before the summer.

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