Introduction
At the moment, Intel is the leader in the processor market. They have achieved this position due to the high quality and performance of their processors. But perhaps the biggest highlight of intel processors is the overclocking potential. If you buy the "right" processor you can increase its performance by 30 - 40%. This is undoubtedly a great savings. Some AMD processors allow you to unlock hidden cores, but this is essentially a lottery and even if you are lucky and unlock one or 2 cores, it is not a fact that they will work fully. While buying a certain model of intel processor, the buyer already knows what kind of performance gain he can get from overclocking.
One of these processors is the Intel Core i7-950. Its characteristics are as follows:
Manufacturer | Intel |
The lineup | Corei7 |
Model | 950 (SLBEN) |
Connector | LGA1366 |
Technical process | 45nm |
Number of cores | 4 |
Kernel (revision) | Bloomfield (D0) |
Bus frequency | 133MHz |
Factor | 23 |
Clock frequency | 3060MHz |
Cache Size | 4x32Kb (L1) / 4x256Kb (L2) / 8192Kb (L3) |
Supported instructions | MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, EM64T |
QPI bus bandwidth | 4.8GT / s. |
Supply voltage | 0.8 to 1.375V |
TDP | 130W |
Maximum temperature | 67.9 degrees Celsius |
Supported technologies | Enhanced Halt State (C1E), Intel Thermal Monitor 2, Enhanced Intel Speedstep Technology, Hyper-Threading Technology, Intel Virtualization Technology, Execute Disable Bit, Intel Turbo Boost Technology |
Memory controller:
Memory type | DDR3 (800 - 1066 MHz) |
Memory bandwidth | 25.6GB / s |
Number of channels | 3 |
Maximum memory | 24GB |
EEC | - |
In fact, our test subject differs from the predecessors Corei7-920 and Corei7-940 only in revision D0 and the multiplier and hence the clock frequency. Revision D0 indicates that the processor has optimized power consumption and increased overclocking potential.
This model is positioned as a solution for demanding users. Let's see how much the price of the new item is justified and how good it is in the field.
Packaging and equipment
The processor is packed in a "standard" blue color box. To avoid damage during transportation, the processor and cooler are placed in special plastic packaging. The package includes a processor, cooler, and instructions.
Although the standard cooling system does its job, if you want to unleash the overclocking potential of the processor, you cannot do without a good cooler.
Testing
Install the processor into the GIGABYTE GA-EX58-DS4 motherboard and run the CPU-Z utility to read the processor information. As you can see from the screenshots below, it follows that the processor is correctly detected and ready to work.
The situation with memory is especially pleasing, despite the fact that according to the specification, the processor supports three-channel operation of modules with a frequency of no higher than 1066. Three gigabyte memory modules with a frequency of 1333 feel great and work at the nominal frequencies.
The following configuration was used for testing:
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-EX58-DS4 (Intel), GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P (AMD)
RAM: 2x (AMD) 3x (Intel) 1024 MB Kingston HyperX DDR3-2000MHz
Video card: ASUS EN9800GX2 1GB GDDR3 PCI-E 2.0
Cooler: Noctua NH-U12P (Intel), Thermaltake Sonic Tower (AMD)
Hard Drive: Samsung 1000GB 32MB 7200rpm 3.5 "SATAII SpinPoint F3
Power supply: Cooler Master GX 650W
During testing, very interesting results were obtained:
Judging by the test results, we can safely say that the Intel Core i7-950 works noticeably better with high-speed memory than the Phenom II X4 965, which is partly due to the rather large difference in performance between these processors, both in 3D and in working with video. As for the younger model, the Core i7-920 turned out to be about 13% weaker than the tested processor.
The results obtained by the processor are quite good, and are sufficient for demanding gamers and 3D developers. But given the D0 revision promising good overclocking, it makes no sense to stop there.
Overclocking
As a result of a slight increase in voltage to 1.312V, the processor began to work perfectly at the bus frequency of 183 MHz and, accordingly, the processor frequency was 4209 MHz, which is a 37.6% increase over the nominal frequency. This result is more than good, considering the processor voltage remained within the specified specification. Also, special attention should be paid to the more stable operation of the processor at high core temperatures, which could not boast of more earlier processor models.
Despite the relatively high percentage of increase in the bus frequency, the RAM remained stable and worked perfectly at a frequency of 1464 MHz.
To fully appreciate the performance gain associated with overclocking the system, it is enough to re-pass all tests and compare the results.
Test package | Indicator | Result in overclocking | Growth % |
Futuremark 3DMark Vantage | PMark Score | 12697 | 4,88 |
CPU Score | 25875 | 34,73 | |
Futuremark 3DMark'06 | Mark score | 6727 | 1,72 |
CPU Score | 7310 | 35,65 | |
Futuremark PCMark'05 | Cpu | 13832 | 37,77 |
Memory | 13061 | 34,07 | |
Graphics | 10682 | 9,41 | |
WinRar, Kb / s | 3964 | 22,04 | |
Far Cry 2, 1280x1024 | DirectX 9, High | 141.25 fps | 3,04 |
DirectX 10, Very High | 106.24 fps | 3,28 | |
World in Conflict, Maximum, 1024x768 | Average FPS | 76 fps | 10,14 |
While in synthetic tests the performance of the processor and memory increased almost proportionally to the increase in frequency, in gaming tests the gain was from 3 to 10%. This is the standard picture when it comes to overclocking a system.
Output
If you are planning to migrate from LGA775 to a new platform, you will only feel the maximum performance gain with the Core i7.
Due to its high performance indicators, this processor can be safely recommended for building a powerful gaming station or workstation for 3D and video work (INTEL's advantage over AMD video and 3D graphics processing has been proven for a long time). And due to its high overclocking potential, this processor can be safely called the choice of enthusiasts and professional users.