The Intel Core i7 860 Review

by Anand Lal Shimpi on September 18, 2009 12:00 AM EST

Power Consumption

Idle Power Consumption

The Core i7 860's power consumption at idle is nice and low, as expected thanks to power gating and low TDP of Lynnfield.

Load Power Consumption - x264 HD Bench Pass 2

Overclocking

Gary actually handled the overclocking of the 860 before it got into my hands, thankfully this sample seemed to fare better than our first i7 860.

First, our stock voltage overclock with the retail cooler, 3.33GHz:


Four cores under load, turbo enabled, stock voltage, retail cooler

Next, max overclock with turbo enabled again using the retail cooler, 3.53GHz (four cores active):


Max overclock, four cores under load, turbo enabled, retail cooler

And finally the max overclock with no turbo. Once more, using the retail cooler:


Max overclock, single core load, no turbo

The rule of thumb with Lynnfield appears to be 3 - 3.3GHz overclocks at stock voltage, 3.8GHz+ is possible with additional voltage.

Gaming Performance Final Words
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  • blyndy - Saturday, September 19, 2009 - link

    Intel Core i7 920
    214 / $284 = 0.75 SYSmarks per $

    Intel Core i7 870
    233 / $562 = 0.41 SYSmarks per $

    Intel Core i7 860
    223 / $284 = 0.79 SYSmarks per $

    Intel Core i5 750
    217 / 196 = 1.11 SYSmarks per $

    AMD Athlon II X4 620
    147 / 99 = 1.48 SYSmarks per $
  • yacoub - Saturday, September 19, 2009 - link

    Your prices are wrong. The 860 is $230, which makes it 0.97 SYSmarks per $.
    The 750 is $160, which means 1.36 SYSmarks per $ by your measurement.
  • johnsonx - Saturday, September 19, 2009 - link

    I just love it when someone quotes some below cost, loss-leader sale price they heard about somewhere once to prove a value arguement.
  • yacoub - Saturday, September 19, 2009 - link

    You mean "on-going, still valid sale prices that you can get today".
  • stanljl - Wednesday, September 23, 2009 - link

    Most of the US doesn't live reasonable close to the 21 cities that have microcenters. In cause you haven't looked there really aren't that many locations so "on-going, still valid sale prices you can get today", really doesn't apply to the vast majority of the people in the country.
  • strikeback03 - Monday, September 21, 2009 - link

    It is a valid price, but please add the disclaimer "If you have a microcenter nearby" instead of just pretending those are widely available prices. I plan on buying a processor when I help my parents move down near Philly next month, otherwise I (like most) don't have a Microcenter anywhere nearby.
  • formulav8 - Saturday, September 19, 2009 - link

    Yeah with only 2% of the people able to get one at near that price. Quoting an obvious loss leader as valid pricing for those looking it nutty. Newegg or ZZF is a much better gauge of price.
  • NA1NSXR - Saturday, September 19, 2009 - link

    Who cares, let him pay up. Nothing on P55 has made me regret getting that $200 D0 920. Nothing. Not even close. The OC, heat, and platform pricing advantages all failed to materialize.

    The 920 is not a 2.66Mhz bloomfield. It is a 3.8GHz chip supporting the fullest featured consumer platform at the moment.
  • kilkennycat - Saturday, September 19, 2009 - link

    Where? Where? Where? From a reputable supplier and with in-stock delivery, of course.

    Newegg and ZipZoomFly: 860 $299
    850 $199
  • mgivler - Monday, September 21, 2009 - link

    Microcenter, for in-store purchase. I purchased an i7 860 last week for $229. The i5 750 is cheaper, $159 seems right.

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