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Intel Lynnfield Core i5 and Core i7 Processors

Intel today launches its new Lynnfield processor based on its tremendously dominant Nehalem architecture. New Lynnfield processors bring with them a new socket that commands a new series of motherboards and both are very much on track to capture a huge share of the enthusiast computer hardware market.

Power Usage

Now that we have seen how our new Core i5 and Core i7 processors have performed, let’s have a look at how these Lynnfield processors compare to our Core i7 Bloomfield processors that we are familiar with in terms of power consumption. Undoubtedly, one of the big issues with Bloomfield processors and computer hardware enthusiasts has been keeping the Core i7 cool especially when overclocking. Lynnfield has been touted by Intel to run much cooler, and it seems as though it very much does.

Be aware that for these power numbers we are running the processors at its stock speeds. This is not a clock to clock comparison. We have also set the BIOS of our motherboards back to full default settings so all Intel power savings and scaling features should be operating properly. (Worth noting as previously mentioned that we still have not seen claimed Turbo scores as outlined by Intel though.) Also, we used the P7P55D Deluxe for our Lynnfield processors and switched to an ASUS P6T Deluxe for our Core i7 920. (The NF200 chipset on our P6T6 WS motherboard heavily skewed the power usage numbers.)

The wattages above are taken at the wall, so actually wattages should be approximately 87% of the noted values due to the extremely efficient Thermaltake 1200w PSU we use for testing. These wattages represent full system wattage. No GPU load. Prime95 was used to generate threaded loads.

The power savings here speak for themselves and are simply going to calculate into a processor that is easier to keep cool than a Bloomfield.

Processor Lineup

A lot of folks are wondering about how exactly Intel is going to implement this "mainstream" line of parts, when obviously after looking at the performance data, the LGA 1156 Core i5 and Core i7 processors are tremendous performers.

There has been a lot of talk about our beloved Core i7-920 getting "discontinued." (My own is helping me type this document right now at 3.6GHz at stock voltage with a 12GB memory footprint.) I have not heard official word on that being confirmed or denied and frankly, I have not asked either. Looking at the 3rd slide below, it is fairly obvious as to what is missing. The Core i7-920, Intel’s least expensive LGA 1366 processor for X58 motherboards, is missing from the description of X58 parts. That would seem to seal the fate of the Core i7-920 in my book. With the Core i7-920 gone from its lineup, Intel will have a lot easier time defining the Core strata to the overall marketplace. The differentiation of the remaining Core i5-750, Core i7-860, 870, 950, and 975 processors is going to be tough by anything else but price; when it comes to selling to the enthusiast reading HardOCP anyway.

Conclusions

HyperThreading

I think we have given you all the "facts" HardOCP-style, but there are some things to be discussed here that can't be quantified on a bar graph. The Core i5-750 systems that I have used here are not as fluid as our Core i7 systems. At this time I have personally tested four Intel P55 Express chipset motherboards and all of them have the same feel using the Windows 7 RC operating system. I have always been a big proponent of Intel’s HyperThreading and it is certainly a value in the Core i7 product lineup. That said, I am splitting hairs. I likely would never feel the differences if I was not working with a myriad of both Core i5 and Core i7 systems side by side all the time. The Core i7 processors’ HyperThreading still gives its user a creamy OS goodness experience that is second to none. The difference in UI feel is subtle, but it is there.

If you look at HyperThreading in terms of dollars, the Core i7-860 is showing to sell for about $85 more than the Core i5-750. That $85 will get you a bit better performance in highly threaded applications that take advantage of HyperThreading and give you a marginally better User Interface experience. For the gamer looking to OC the Lynnfield, the Core i5-750 is looking like a great deal.

Overclocking

I wanted to discuss more overclocking here, but I think it is too early to do that. We need a month or so in order for our motherboard BIOS to mature a bit. We have no new information to show you on that front, because as it is right as of writing this, nothing has changed. Our Core i5-750 Overclocking Preview from a couple of weeks ago is still very much a viable look at what can be done easily now and what we think the future will hold in terms of Lynnfield overclocking. It is worth mentioning that Thermalright is building and about to be selling LGA 1156 hold-down units for the current TRUE line of coolers. I have feeling we are going to be seeing a lot of Lynnfield processors at 4GHz using less than exotic air cooling solutions.

The PCIe Issue

On the gaming front, if you are a single GPU sort of guy, there seems to be no reason to shy away from the P55 motherboard solution if you are worried about "limited" PCIe lanes. If you have a new x16 card it is not going to be inhibited on a P55 motherboard. If you are running SLI or CrossFire on a new P55 where you are "only" afforded a two x8 PCIe slot configuration, I am going to have a hard time telling you that an X58 system is going to be needed. Given we are looking at PCIe 2, there is simply a ton of bandwidth on the P55 motherboards. We will be running some real world gaming tests soon to see if we can find at what point if any a P55 motherboard bottlenecks our multi-GPU graphics configuration. You can run gaming benchmarks on it and almost assuredly show a difference, but I will suggest those will in no way scale with the performance you will see in-game.

The Bottom Line

Coming away from all of this testing, I am most impressed by the Core i5-750 processor. The Core i5 is without a doubt going to be the new enthusiast favorite when it comes to overclocking. That said, if you are able to purchase a Core i7-920 for $200 and are willing to spend a couple of extra dollars on the motherboard (depending on the feature set), that still proves to be a great deal that obviously will not be around forever.

The Core i5-750 is going to offer huge overclocks on some very feature-rich motherboards that are looking to hit the market at about $230. So far the MSI P55-GD80 is my favorite. One thing we have not mentioned is our Patriot Viper memory that we used for this article and the ease of overclocking the Lynnfield’s new memory controller. With the right sticks of RAM, hitting 2000MHz is close to child’s play. We have seen working systems with RAM running at 2300MHz. So if dual channel memory has got you scared for some reason, given just how much we can overclock the memory bus, your fears are not justified. Triple channel memory for the most part is simply not needed on the desktop. There are so few apps that can leverage that much bandwidth. If 8GB instead of 12GB has got you worried, we have found it hard to justify 12GB on our own desktop setups. You guys that already need 8GB or more, well, already know that.

Once you overclock that Core i5-750 and fire up that latest game, you are going to have so much CPU power that it is almost a given that you just made your system video card limited. If you are first and foremost a gamer and an overclocker, the Core i5-750 makes every other solution look like wasted money.

As for the Phenom II, AMD might as well nickname the Core i5-750, the "Coffin Nailer."

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