The Sandy Bridge Review: Intel Core i7-2600K, i5-2500K and Core i3-2100 Tested
by Anand Lal Shimpi on January 3, 2011 12:01 AM ESTThe Lineup
I don’t include a lot of super markety slides in these launch reviews, but this one is worthy of a mention:
Sandy Bridge is launching with no less than 29 different SKUs today. That’s 15 for mobile and 14 for desktop. Jarred posted his full review of the mobile Core i7-2820QM, so check that out if you want the mobile perspective on all of this.
By comparison, this time last year Intel announced 11 mobile Arrandale CPUs and 7 desktop parts. A year prior we got Lynnfield with 3 SKUs and Clarksfield with 3 as well. That Sandy Bridge is Intel’s biggest launch ever goes without saying. It’s also the most confusing. While Core i7 exclusively refers to processors with 4 or more cores (on the desktop at least), Core i5 can mean either 2 or 4 cores. Core i3 is reserved exclusively for dual-core parts.
Intel promised that the marketing would all make sense one day. Here we are, two and a half years later, and the Core i-branding is no clearer. At the risk of upsetting all of Intel Global Marketing, perhaps we should return to just labeling these things with their clock speeds and core counts? After all, it’s what Apple does—and that’s a company that still refuses to put more than one button on its mice. Maybe it’s worth a try.
Check Jarred’s article out for the mobile lineup, but on desktop here’s how it breaks down:
| Processor | Core Clock | Cores / Threads | L3 Cache | Max Turbo | Max Overclock Multiplier | TDP | Price |
| Intel Core i7-2600K | 3.4GHz | 4 / 8 | 8MB | 3.8GHz | 57x | 95W | $317 |
| Intel Core i7-2600 | 3.4GHz | 4 / 8 | 8MB | 3.8GHz | 42x | 95W | $294 |
| Intel Core i5-2500K | 3.3GHz | 4 / 4 | 6MB | 3.7GHz | 57x | 95W | $216 |
| Intel Core i5-2500 | 3.3GHz | 4 / 4 | 6MB | 3.7GHz | 41x | 95W | $205 |
| Intel Core i5-2400 | 3.1GHz | 4 / 4 | 6MB | 3.4GHz | 38x | 95W | $184 |
| Intel Core i5-2300 | 2.8GHz | 4 / 4 | 6MB | 3.1GHz | 34x | 95W | $177 |
| Intel Core i3-2120 | 3.3GHz | 2 / 4 | 3MB | N/A | N/A | 65W | $138 |
| Intel Core i3-2100 | 2.93GHz | 2 / 4 | 3MB | N/A | N/A | 65W | $117 |
Intel is referring to these chips as the 2nd generation Core processor family, despite three generations of processors carrying the Core architecture name before it (Conroe, Nehalem, and Westmere). The second generation is encapsulated in the model numbers for these chips. While all previous generation Core processors have three digit model numbers, Sandy Bridge CPUs have four digit models. The first digit in all cases is a 2, indicating that these are “2nd generation” chips and the remaining three are business as usual. I’d expect that Ivy Bridge will swap out the 2 for a 3 next year.
What you will see more of this time around are letter suffixes following the four digit model number. K means what it did last time: a fully multiplier unlocked part (similar to AMD’s Black Edition). The K-series SKUs are even more important this time around as some Sandy Bridge CPUs will ship fully locked, as in they cannot be overclocked at all (more on this later).
| Processor | Core Clock | Cores / Threads | L3 Cache | Max Turbo | TDP |
| Intel Core i7-2600S | 2.8GHz | 4 / 8 | 8MB | 3.8GHz | 65W |
| Intel Core i5-2500S | 2.7GHz | 4 / 4 | 6MB | 3.7GHz | 65W |
| Intel Core i5-2500T | 2.3GHz | 4 / 4 | 6MB | 3.3GHz | 45W |
| Intel Core i5-2400S | 2.5GHz | 4 / 4 | 6MB | 3.3GHz | 65W |
| Intel Core i5-2390T | 2.7GHz | 2 / 4 | 3MB | 3.5GHz | 35W |
| Intel Core i5-2100T | 2.5GHz | 2 / 4 | 3MB | N/A | 35W |
There are also T and S series parts for desktop. These are mostly aimed at OEMs building small form factor or power optimized boxes. The S stands for “performance optimized lifestyle” and the T for “power optimized lifestyle”. In actual terms the Ses are lower clocked 65W parts while the Ts are lower clocked 35W or 45W parts. Intel hasn’t disclosed pricing on either of these lines but expect them to carry noticeable premiums over the standard chips. There’s nothing new about this approach; both AMD and Intel have done it for a little while now, it’s just more prevalent in Sandy Bridge than before.
More Differentiation
In the old days Intel would segment chips based on clock speed and cache size. Then Intel added core count and Hyper Threading to the list. Then hardware accelerated virtualization. With Sandy Bridge the matrix grows even bigger thanks to the on-die GPU.
| Processor | Intel HD Graphics | Graphics Max Turbo | Quick Sync | VT-x | VT-d | TXT | AES-NI |
| Intel Core i7-2600K | 3000 | 1350MHz | Y | Y | N | N | Y |
| Intel Core i7-2600 | 2000 | 1350MHz | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Intel Core i5-2500K | 3000 | 1100MHz | Y | Y | N | N | Y |
| Intel Core i5-2500 | 2000 | 1100MHz | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Intel Core i5-2400 | 2000 | 1100MHz | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Intel Core i5-2300 | 2000 | 1100MHz | Y | Y | N | N | Y |
| Intel Core i3-2120 | 2000 | 1100MHz | Y | N | N | N | N |
| Intel Core i3-2100 | 2000 | 1100MHz | Y | N | N | N | Y |
While almost all SNB parts support VT-x (the poor i3s are left out), only three support VT-d. Intel also uses AES-NI as a reason to force users away from the i3 and towards the i5. I’ll get into the difference in GPUs in a moment.
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Kevin G - Monday, January 3, 2011 - link
There is the Z67 chipset which will allow both overclocking and integrated video. However, this chipset won't arrive until Q2.Tanel - Monday, January 3, 2011 - link
Well, yes, but one wonders who came up with this scheme in the first place. Q2 could be half a year from now.teohhanhui - Monday, January 3, 2011 - link
I've been thinking the same thing while reading this article... It makes no sense at all. Bad move, Intel.micksh - Monday, January 3, 2011 - link
Exactly my thoughts. No Quick Sync for enthusiasts right now - that's a disappointment. I think it should be stated more clearly in review.Another disappointment - missing 23.976 fps video playback.
has407 - Monday, January 3, 2011 - link
Yeah, OK, lack of support for VT-d ostensibly sucks on the K parts, but as previously posted, I think there may be good reasons for it. But lets look at it objectively...1. Do you have an IO-intensive VM workload that requires VT-d?
2. Is the inefficiency/time incurred by the lack of VT-d support egregious?
3. Does your hypervisor, BIOS and chipset support VT-d?
IF you answered "NO" or "I don't know" to any of those questions, THEN what does it matter? ELSE IF you answered "YES" to all of those questions, THEN IMHO SB isn't the solution you're looking for. END IF. Simple as that.
So because you--who want that feature and the ability to OC--which is likely 0.001% of the customers who are too cheap to spend the $300-400 for a real solution--the vendor should spend 10-100X to support that capability--which will thus *significantly* increase the cost to the other 99.999% of the customers. And that makes sense how and to whom (other than you and the other 0.0001%)?
IMHO you demand a solution at no extra cost to a potential problem you do not have (or have not articulated); or you demand a solution at no extra cost to a problem you have and for which the market is not yet prepared to offer at a cost you find acceptable (regardless of vendor).
Tanel - Tuesday, January 4, 2011 - link
General best practice is not to feed the trolls - but in this case your arguments are so weak I will go ahead anyway.First off, I like how you - without having any insight in my usage profile - question my need for VT-d and choose to call it "lets look at it objectively".
VT-d is excellent when...
a) developing hardware drivers and trying to validate functionality on different platforms.
b) fooling around with GPU passthrough, something I did indeed hope to deploy with SB.
So yes, I am in need of VT-d - "Simple as that".
Secondly, _all_ the figures you've presented are pulled out of your ass. I'll be honest, I had a hard time following your argument as much of what you said makes no sense.
So I should spend more money to get an equivalent retail SKU? Well then Sir, please go ahead and show me where I can get a retail SB SKU clocked at >4.4GHz. Not only that, you're in essence implying that that people only overclock because they're cheap. In case you've missed it it's the enthusiasts buying high-end components that enable much of the next-gen research and development.
The rest - especially the part with 10-100X cost implication for vendors - is the biggest pile of manure I've come across on Anandtech. What we're seeing here is a vendor stripping off already existing functionality from a cheaper unit while at the same time asking for a premium price.
If I were to make a car analogy, it'd be the same as if Ferrari sold the 458 in two versions. One with a standard engine, and one with a more powerful engine that lacks headlights. By your reasoning - as my usage profile is in need of headlights - I'd just have to settle with the tame version. Not only would Ferrari lose the added money they'd get from selling a premium version, they would lose a sell as I'd rather be waiting until they present a version that fits my needs. I sure hope you're not running a business.
There is no other way to put it, Intel fucked up. I'd be jumping on the SB-bandwagon right now if it wasn't for this. Instead, I'll be waiting.
has407 - Tuesday, January 4, 2011 - link
Apologies, didn't mean to come across as a troll or in-your-face idjit (although I admittedly did--lesson learned ). Everyone has different requirements/demands, and I presumed and assumed too much when I should not have, and should have been more measured in my response.You're entirely correct to call me on the fact that I know little or nothing about your requirements. Mea culpa. That said, I think SB is not for the likes of you (or I). While it is a "mainstream" part, it has a few too many warts..
Does that mean Intel "fucked up"? IMHO no--they made a conscious decision to serve a specific market and not serve others. And no, that "10-100X" is not hot air but based on costing from several large scale deployments. Frickin amazing what a few outliers can do to your cost/budget.
Akv - Monday, January 3, 2011 - link
I didn't have time to read all reviews, and furthermore I am not sure I will be able to express what I mean with the right nuances, since English is not my first language.For the moment I am a bit disappointed. To account for my relative coldness, it is important to explain where I start from :
1) For gaming, I already have more than I need with a quad core 775 and a recent 6x ati graphic card.
2) For office work, I already have more than I need with an i3 clarkdale.
Therefore since I am already equipped, I am of course much colder than those who need to buy a new rig just now.
Also, the joy of trying on a new processor must be tempered with several considerations :
1) With Sandy Bridge, you have to add a new mobo in the price of the processor. That makes it much more expansive. And you are not even sure that 1155 will be kept for Ivy Bridge. That is annoying.
2) There are always other valuable things that you can buy for a rig, apart from the sheer processor horsepower : more storage, better monitor...
3) The power improvement that comes with Sandy Bridge with what I call a normal improvement for a new generation of processors. It is certainly not a quantum leap in the nature of processors.
Now, there are two things I really dislike :
1) If you want to use P67 with a graphic card, you still have that piece of hardware, the IGP, that you actually bought and that you cannot use. That seems to me extremely unelegant compared to the 775 generation of processors. It is not an elegant architecture.
2) If you want to use H67 and the Intel IGP for office work and movies, the improvement compared to clarkdale is not sufficient to justify the buying of a new processor and a new mobo. With H67 you will be able to do office work fluently and watch quasi perfectly, with clarkdale you already could.
The one thing that I like is the improvement in consumption. Otherwise it all seems to me a bit awkward.
sviola - Monday, January 3, 2011 - link
Well, the IGP non being removable is like having on-board sound, but also having a dedicated soundcard. Not much of a deal, since you can't buy a motherboard withou integrated sound nowadays...Shadowmaster625 - Monday, January 3, 2011 - link
You say you want Intel to provide a $70 gpu. Well, here's a math problem for you: If the gpu on a 2600K is about 22% of the die, and the die costs $317 retail, then how much are you paying for the gpu? If you guessed $70, you win! Congrats, you now payed $70 for a crap gpu. The question is.... why? There is no tock here... only ridiculously high margins for Intel.