Intel’s Core i5-655K & Core i7-875K: Overclocked and Analyzed
by Rajinder Gill on May 28, 2010 5:00 AM ESTFinal Words: Not for Enthusiasts
This is another of those situations where we’ve had to make an eleventh-hour conference call with Intel to work out what and who these processors are aimed at. Our initial perception of this launch turned out to be wrong - because we thought we'd see some kind of additional overclocking overhead from the K-series SKUs that would make them stand out from the crowd.
Our perceptions changed when Intel told us that they will not be binning these processors in a special way or marketing them at die-hard overclockers, but instead at system builders who can utilize the unlocked core features to provide cheap pre-overclocked systems with minimal fuss. In the same vein, the K-series will allow users to purchase cheap motherboards that don’t need overly complex BIOS options as we only need control of core multiplier ratios and VCore to get a quick and easy overclock. Bearing these aspects in mind, it’s hard for us to be negative about this launch; however, we’d like to see Intel unlock more processors in the future.
Out of the two processors Intel have launched today, it's the i7-875K that hits the mark on price. Sure, it's not going to set the world on fire with overclocking records but it does present users who are in the market for an all-round cruncher with a viable alternative to the AMD 1090T and the Intel i7-860 without breaking the bank.
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Ph0b0s - Friday, May 28, 2010 - link
Not covered so much on these websites but I slurged on an I7 965 when I7's were new, becuase it was unlocked, even though I knew it did not have any extra head room than the cheap chips in the family. The reason I did this was so that I could use the I7's new turbo feature to overclock on demand instead of having to use static timings to overclock. With unlocked I7's and the right motherboard you can change the value of the turbo mulipliers to be more than just one or two steps.So for my chip if I have all 4 cores in use my turbo muliplier is set to x29 (3800 ghz, only using factory voltages at the moment) and higher amounts when less cores are in use. So when not doing anything my CPU clocks itself to 1.6 GHz and runs at 3.2 GHz if not doing too much and then clocks itself to 3.8GHz when extra power is needed.
So I really welcome Intel putting out these cheaper unlocked CPU's, as next time when I want to overclock using the turbo funtionality I won't have to fork out for an Extreme Edition again.
Also I would love to see more coverage of this type of overclocking that it is new with the Nathelems, Before it was only the I7 Extreme Edition chips that could do it, but now that are more options avaliable, maybe Anandtech could do an article taking about it.
Death666Angel - Friday, May 28, 2010 - link
Hello guys!I was really looking forward to Intel -K material. But the whole bunch of "i5 540" is more than an annoyance. It is downright embarrassing and I would urge you to re-read any future texts, as I am really not interested in reading stuff when so little time is put into the text. Really a shame since the content is looking good.
Rajinder Gill - Friday, May 28, 2010 - link
Sorry, blame me for that. Those skipped under the radar this morning.-Raja
Griswold - Friday, May 28, 2010 - link
If you wonder why Intel does this, it most likely boils down to two letters: BE. They were never priced as if they came straight out of Absurdistan. And perhaps Intel felt a little itch because of that...Maroon - Friday, May 28, 2010 - link
^^^we have a winner!DanNeely - Friday, May 28, 2010 - link
Where are you getting those numbers from? Software or are you using hardware to measure it directly off the mobo itself?Rajinder Gill - Friday, May 28, 2010 - link
Hardware measured using a clamp meter.Raja
DanNeely - Sunday, May 30, 2010 - link
So you were measuring the current going into the mobo via the 4/8pin 12V cpu power cable?Rajinder Gill - Monday, May 31, 2010 - link
Yes.DanNeely - Tuesday, June 1, 2010 - link
Did you also monitor the main ATX power connector to see if there was any increase in power draw there when overclocking?