Intel Core i7 Hands-On Preview

November 2, 2008 11:49PM PST

By SarjuS

Intel has been unchallenged on the desktop and laptop front since launching the Core architecture in 2006. The Core architecture trounced AMD at the high-end, forcing the Phenom manufacturer to fight back with aggressive value pricing. For the better part of two years, AMD has struggled to compete with Intel's mainstream processors, leaving the performance and extreme categories completely unchallenged for Intel. Now with the release of Intel's newest Core i7 CPU and the Express X58 chipset, the gap widens ever further.

Intel Core i7

The Core i7 CPU lineup will be released in three flavors: Core i7-965 Extreme Edition, Core i7-940, and Core i7-920. All of the processors will arrive with four CPU cores, Hyper-Threading, 8MB of L3 cache, and they will be built on Intel's 45nm manufacturing process. All of the processors will run on a 1066MHz front-side bus. The 965 Extreme Edition will run at 3.2GHz, and like other Extreme Edition processors, it will come with an unlocked multiplier that allows for easier overclocking. Intel's Core i7-940 and Core i7-920 will run at 2.93GHz and 2.66GHz, respectively. The new CPU architecture brings with it a new LGA 1366 socket; older LGA775 motherboards that supported the Core 2 CPUs won't be compatible with the Core i7.

Like the other Extreme Edition processors before it, the Core i7-965 will cost $1,000. The Core i7-940 and Core i7-920 will cost $562 and $284, respectively.

The return of Hyper-Threading might be a surprise to some. We haven't seen Hyper-Threading on a CPU since the Pentium 4 days. Intel left the feature out of the original Core architecture but decided to bring it back in the Core i7. Similar to the original technology, Hyper-Threading in i7 gives each core a second executable thread, which gives the operating system the impression that it has a total of eight processing cores.

The biggest features to come with the new CPU architecture and chipset, aside from Hyper-Threading, are the Quick Path Interconnect (QPI) and an integrated memory controller. AMD has had an integrated memory controller for ages, and now Intel has finally gotten around to adopting it. The Core i7 CPUs will come with an on-die three-channel memory controller. The built-in memory controller reduces latency and adds a tremendous amount of memory bandwidth that allows the Core i7 to better feed its cores.

The QPI is basically the interface that the CPU uses to communicate with the motherboard chipset; a rough equivalent would be AMD's HyperTransport. QPI will function at 6.4GT/s on the Core i7-940 and at 4.8GT/s on both the Core i7-940 and Core i7-920.

Other features of note include new SSE4.2 instructions, better branch prediction, improved loop streaming, additional caching hierarchy, faster virtualization, deep buffers, and improved lock support. Combined, the improvements lead to more efficient performance on a clock-for-clock and per-watt basis.

Intel's Express X58 chipset, and the accompanying DX58SO motherboard that uses the chipset, comes with numerous improvements. The board comes with six SATA ports, two eSATA ports, two 1394a ports, 12 USB 2.0 ports, onboard Intel High Definition Audio, and dual PCI Express slots capable of ATI CrossFire. The motherboard supports three channels of DDR3-1333 memory but comes with four slots for RAM. To make the best use of the motherboard, we recommend populating three of the slots and keeping the fourth empty.

We decided to test the Core i7 against Intel's eight-core dual CPU Skulltrail setup. The matchup is about as close as we can get to a competitor for the Core i7. Skulltrail should have an advantage with its eight real cores, but we found that the Core i7-965 beat on our old high-end setup mercilessly in our head-to-head tests.

core i7

The Core i7-965wins Valve's particle test by a wide margin, and even the slower 2.66GHz Core i7-920 manages to outperform the dual-CPU 3.2GHz Skulltrail. The fact that a $300 CPU comes close to outperforming two former flagship processors that once cost a combined $2000 reminds us of how much we love the pace of innovation in the microprocessor market. Lost Planet's Cave Test further demonstrates the superiority of the Core i7, as both of the new CPUs leave Skulltrail behind by forty and sixty frames per second. In our custom simultaneous video encode and Crysis test, the Core i7-965 finished the encode almost a full minute ahead of the Skulltrail and managed to get an extra 10 frames per second on Crysis. The slower Core i7-920 didn't quite keep up with Skulltrail, but it came close.

Intel's done a marvelous job with the Core i7, a feat made even more impressive by the fact that the company is largely competing with itself. The Core i7 CPUs provide outstanding performance gains over processors based on the original Core architecture. Be on the lookout for the new CPUs later this November.

System Setup: Intel Core i7-965, Intel Core i7-920, Intel DX58SO, 3GB Qimonda DDR3 RAM, Intel SATA SSD X25-M 80GB. Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9775, Intel D5400XS, 4GB FB-DIMM (2x2GB), 3GB Corsair XMS Memory (1GBx2)(2x512MB), 750GB Seagate 7200.10 SATA Hard Disk Drive. Windows Vista 32-bit. GeForce GTX 280. Video card driver: beta Forceware 180.42.

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