Zardon

Read The Review Here
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Join us for our review as we cover why the Core i7 is such a great improvement over Core 2 as we put it though numerous tests against the best of the socket 775 CPU’s, the QX9770. Testing includes real world comparisons in Photoshop, media encoding, 3d rendering, gaming and high definition playback to name but a few areas. In addition to this we will also look at the best motherboard you are likely to see in some time and if that is not enough, how about some overclocking of the new platform thrown in for fun, can we hit 4GHZ on air? Time to find out...

humonous

a bit confused. i was over at hardocp reading their one page article (pretty poor too) and they are running results from the 2.9ghz CPU at 1600mhz ram settings. why did DH not do that?

Veridian3

HI, good question.

Basically the reason for this is that in retail 940 samples there will be a lock on the memory multiplier which will limit the memory to 1066MHz operation. You will be able to use memory past this but not without overclocking the main system clock which impacts the whole i7 architecture.

How did H use it without impacting the CPU? Well that is due to them using the 965EE underclocked to mimic the 940. The 965 doesn't have the multiplier lock and I guess they haven't thought through the whole process and instead used memory and detailed performance that no end user will ever be able to recreate.

There is a little bit more on it here: http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews....=656&pageid=17

longhorn1000

The DH review is miles better than anything up today. Looks to me like Hardocp couldnt even be bothered trying.

I think a lot of sites nick your ideas to be honest guys. I notice even hexus today are using flash graphs for presentation! DriverHeaven was the first site to do that years ago and even guru3d copy DriverHeaven now (even with driversweeper etc).

You guys lead the way, the people that matter realise this, us !!!

Erroneus

Wauv epic fail Intel!! Overspeed protection is BS and clearly because AMD hasn't been able to deliver lately. Guess the time when buying a cheap CPU and clocking the hell out of it is gone, I'm not gonna buy an Extreme Edition aka EE aka Expensive Edition cpu, to get rid of Overspeed protection.

And yeah going from 2.66GHz to 3,8 GHz as you did is pretty nice, but it doesn't remove the fact that the choice to use Overspeed protection is a disappointing move. Hopefully AMD will be back in the game soon and deliver some much needed competition on the CPU market.

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macbiter

bandwidth figures are impressive, and im sure at 4ghz the cpus are smoking fast. I still would hope that Intel release a dual CPU configuration and going on DriverHeaven's interview they will do that. I love the skulltrail setup I have.

With regards to other reviews on the net today, surely I cant be the only one to see the memory issues. Hardocp's is staggeringly bad both technically and indepth. I know Intel brought the date forward but if Driverheaven can produce something so high quality in such a short time then im stunned as to why there are so many shoddy reviews up today.

This site is quickly getting the name as one of the best review sources on the net. Your competitors dropped the ball today.

brutusmaximus

Spent the last hour reading reviews on this, and without a doubt I have to agree with the general consensus here. DH have the best article up. It has the most information, the most thorough and accurate testing and covers aspects of the hardware many of the other sites missed.

Running a few games on this platform is by no means a "review". and I think just to include sandra benchmarks (like a few big sites did today), is lazy.

Nice job.

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IvanV

Wow! First, I didn't expect a Core i7 review so that alone was a surprise, second, the performance is great, and the article is top notch, leaving me really impressed!

A thing I have noticed is that, for now, Intel's decision to limit the memory clock on weaker CPUs to 1066MHz might not be that important. Looking at the memory performance page, it can be observed that while Sandra's purely synthetic bandwidth test clearly shows the difference in available bandwidth, the two real world apps perform identically even on the strongest of the upcoming CPUs.

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mike2h

thx guys!! great work! appreciate all the effort.
i was going to get a quad core for my rig in the next 2 months. think ill wait another 2-3 & see if i can copnvince the wife she needs an upgrade. that way she can have my mb & i can get a X58 setup with i7 cpu. think she will go for it? lol.

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ChaosMinionX

Great review guys...


Really looks like i7 is helping with the bottleneck X2's were experiencing on the Core2 platforms with CrossfireX, apparent in the Crossfire test the difference it makes between framerates going from X9770 to the 920.

Looking forward to the maturation of this platform and seeing how well it does after the BIOS's and things are fine tuned.

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Judas

I'm a little unhappy that there is a solid lock on the memory now....... not a HUGE problem... but it's a bit imo, limiting considering that i can understand locking the multiplier on the cpu.. but on the memory... that's kinda dictating what memory i can use and cannot and that if i get better memory i'm stopped without having been forced to overclock which obviously doesn't make much sense.


anywho.

otherwise..

I'm looking forward to building 2 machines on the cheaper i7. I'm itching for availibility as well as cost value.

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swimtech

From the review I'd have to conclude that media production specialists should switch platforms now. Gosh, the time they'd save - and Lord yet knows how this architecture will work with OSX on a Mac (when they refresh...) - ought to set those folks mouths a'drooling...

Outstanding review, thank you so much - I learned a lot! Twice to triple the memory bandwidth, and an easy overclocker too. A 6G kit of tri-channel memory (at 1600 speed!) is $300.00 now - a 920 system looks to already be a good value!

I'm gonna have to read this over again a time or two - to get it all in...

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zaim

can't wait to not get one!

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Zardon

For the cost factor certainly, but people with dual CPU systems like skulltrail wont be moving. Obviously its two processors so its not really a "fair" comparison, but skulltrail for example at 4.5ghz delivers a score of over 35,000 in cinebench R10 which is vastly more than the overclocked nehalem extreme edition system.

I can't see high end media production specialists moving from a system like this, not until the dual cpu Nehalem systems arrive anyway.

dj_stick

i'm almost regretting buying my dual xeon now...

great review - waiting until nehalem based macbooks arrive now, may be tempted to get one...

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swimtech

Indeed, yes - my comment does paint with quite the broad brush - my apologies - the context of my vision was undefined...

In the market I work in, Higher Education (and this would likely apply to in-house Corporate production quite a bit as well), video production is being done on Macs (exactly like DJ's at the very best, for instance) and PC's with dual quad core Core2 processors at the very best in a minority of cases - and certainly never overclocked. Most often single quad Core2s or two dual core Core2s - be they called Core2s or Xeons - basically good gaming systems to most of us here at DH.

There is even much more 2D graphics work with Photoshop and such being done with such systems in those markets, for web production (actually much less elaborate than DH itself, but using similar tools and techniques) and print process (brochures and other marketing materials). Knowing your deep expertise in this area, I'd appreciate your impression of the relative productivity gains you think would be realized by moving quickly to the new architecture the Nehalem processor and X58 platform introduce at basically the same cost (or even slightly less) the machines in service now were between 1 and 2 years ago...

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Judas

i'll wager a score of nearly 50,000 with a skulltrail like i7 system

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Morisato

How were you able to obtain 1600 memory speeds on the i920 with locked multiplier? I know raising it to 200 and all but were you using 1066 memory speeds as stated by the intel board suggestion or limited speed factor given? I mean I would love to reach the 3.8ghz area but not sure how you o/c it with the given memory. I read already that you can only use higher memory speeds only if you o/c the cpu itself...

Veridian3

Hi, the 920 was tested with 1066mhz memory on every page other than overclocking because, as stated in the review, the speeds are limited on a non EE cpu. The only scenario where this is not the case is where an increase in the base clock of the CPU/motherboard also has a knock on effect on the memory. So 200MHz base is required for DDR3-1600 and if you have 1800, 2000mhz memory etc then you need to overclock the base clock/cpu/motherboard even higher.

There is no way to run 1066+ on a 920/940 without OC the CPU/motherboard.

swimtech

...and it was that performance with the 1066 (relatively slow and inexpensive DDR3) memory with the 920 that struck me as such a great value - not overclocked...

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BlueMak

Extensive review as always.


One question:
56C with that big third party cooling option...Is Intel going to provide that Thermaltake cooler with each CPU or does a customer have to buy one? Else, with the stock one, what temperatures would it reach/does it reach?

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Knight_Breed

Nice review and dugg this one forgot to digg Nathan's been busy but will after this post he is doing a great job

As for Intel the Core 2 stuff runs cool and easy to O/C and this looks like a nice migration to the next level. Nice to see more attention directed towards the Northbridge (MCH) which also includes your PCI-E bus.

Something that caught my eye on this review and this is off topic kinda but had to mention it. I am reviewing a new case for NZXT and I may include the DH Photoshop test. I will of course give credits here and going to check it out tonight

@Judas we have memory ratios on a quality mobo so any issues with that I think are apparent

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Morisato

Thanks for the brief education
Just for clarification, are you saying if I do increase the HCF to 200mhz, only then am I able to use memory speeds of 1600 and not just 1066? If so, then I'll just have to grab myself a pair of 1600 instead of 1066 which was original plan.

Veridian3

I have tried 1600mhz with the 920 on 2 motherboards (rampage 2 extreme and P6T) and increasing the base clock to 200 on both allowed my memory to run at this speed. I cant say for sure if that will work on all boards but it should do, in theory.

What cooler are you thinking about using?

Morisato

Sorry for the late reply Viridian3. I am just going to use my old Swiftech Watercooler since the CPU copper base is pretty big so I think it'll fit the new chipsets just fine.

http://www.swiftnets.com/assets/imag...-packaging.png

That is, if the fittings are the same size as they were on 775 which left headroom to begin with. Wondering if it'll be the same for the 1366. If not, there are some adapters i heard for use with 1366 chipsets.

Veridian3

HI, the 1366 holes are much further apart than the 775. I would suggest you contact Swiftech to see what they recommend. Good Luck.

Morisato

Will do my friend, will do. Thanks for all the help and info provided on the o/c. I know now what to purchase for my next rig and in theory hopefully it goes all as planned :P

Btw, did you experience any issues of any sort with the new chipsets and drivers for the 1366? Usually new boards and such have quirks and bugs that are usually sorted out later if not sooner on bios updates and so on.

Veridian3

The DX58SO board still has a few things to be worked out but the Rampage 2 Extreme was absolutely fine. Its been through quite a few revisions now, as has the P6T which also seems fine but hasn't been fully tested by us yet...that board is on bios 0804 already.

Morisato

Thanks a lot Verdian3. I am all set for my new build ^^

kodanda

Sorry for repetition and total noobness, but I want to be completely sure.

So, how exactly do I get the 1600MHz memory + ~4GHz i7-920 working? I just get myself some ( 6Gb? ) 1600MHz DDR3 memory @ 1.65V or lower and the i7-920? Will the memory work ( underclock itself automagically or something like that ) before changing the base clock of the CPU to 200MHz, and if not, will I be able to change BIOS without any RAM? And 1066MHz memory will work fine with an overclocked Nehalem, right?

And another question, isn't it possible to just change the base clock to 200MHz, lower the multiplier and use 1600MHz or 1800MHz memory with CPU clock around the stock settings (2.8GHz for example) ? I think I'll be clocking it all the way up to around 4GHz, but in theory, could that work?