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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  • marsspirit123 - 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."

    Yeah with 8.5 % tax that price is $250 + how much for gas?
  • afkrotch - Tuesday, September 22, 2009 - link

    For online purchases, you may still have to factor in sales tax and shipping. There's also the cost of having to wait.

    Between your current computer and the upgrade, what is the performance gap? For that gap, how much time could have been saved in your work? Because you saved time at work, how much $$ was saved?

    Things can become complicated or we can just stick with the retail pricing at these stores and leave out the other factors.
  • marsspirit123 - Tuesday, September 22, 2009 - link

    The I7 860 is $290 at newegg with free shiping and no fees of any kind.In microcenter you have $230 + $20 tax + gas .The point is the differance is less than $40 with microcenter .You should always compare final price for the purpose of being fair. How long have you been waiting for I7 860 cpu to come out ? How much have you lost for that time ?So if you have been waiting 8 months how is 3 days going to be bad?If that is so bad how come you din't get 920 before?
  • BlueBlazer - Saturday, September 19, 2009 - link

    I think he's referring to this?

    http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results....">http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results....

    Core i5 750 = $159.99
  • BlueBlazer - Saturday, September 19, 2009 - link

    As well as this...

    http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results....">http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results....

    Core i7 860 = $229.99


    My +/- 1 cents..
  • Ninevah - Monday, September 21, 2009 - link

    Or this, for that matter:

    http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results....">http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results....

    Core i7 920 = $199.99
  • vol7ron - Saturday, September 19, 2009 - link

    This doesn't even factor in the savings on Watts used.
  • jordanclock - Saturday, September 19, 2009 - link

    But how many LOCs per fortnight can they process? Could you please provide your metrics in more understandable formats. At the very least I would like to see how many TuxRacer compiles per hogshead of cider (the good stuff, not the end-of-season stuff) we can expect.
  • BlueBlazer - Saturday, September 19, 2009 - link

    Skewing the numbers? Try..

    Intel E5300
    142 / 69.99 = 2.02 SYSmarks per $
  • BlueBlazer - Saturday, September 19, 2009 - link

    Where in the review is the PII X4 620?

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