[O/C]Intel i7 2600K (Sandy Bridge) Review

01-02-11, 11:00 PM

Intel i7 2600K (Sandy Bridge) Review
by Jeremy Vaughan (hokiealumnus)

Quote:

New architectures are a blast. Not only do we get new hardware to toy with, but we see greater efficiency and new features. The gag order has been lifted on Intel's latest offering: 'Sandy Bridge'. We're only too happy to bring you all the juicy details on the i7 2600K CPU and P67 motherboard we're looking at today!

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Brolloks · 01-02-11, 11:17 PM

Very impressed with the efficiency of this architecture

Excellent review Jeremy, thanks for getting it out so early

trueplaya4ever8 · 01-02-11, 11:37 PM

So when are all the new toys going to be available for the masses?

I want one!

hokiealumnus · 01-02-11, 11:39 PM

Quad cores should be available later this week.

trueplaya4ever8 · 01-02-11, 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hokiealumnus

Quad cores should be available later this week.

Awesome! Looks like it will be upgrade time come tax returns!

geeeduck · 01-03-11, 12:21 AM

Wow, He did that whole review with that intel heatsink?
Does that mean we should be able to get the 2600k to it's max overclock with
something like a NH-D14?

trueplaya4ever8 · 01-03-11, 12:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geeeduck

Wow, He did that whole review with that intel heatsink?
Does that mean we should be able to get the 2600k to it's max overclock with
something like a NH-D14?

Miahallen did a review of the Asus Maximus IV and the 2600k. 5.1ghz

http://www.techreaction.net/2011/01/...n-p67-part-12/

beenthere · 01-03-11, 12:29 AM

It looks like no top end improvement per se, just some efficiency and improved value downstream.

wingman99 · 01-03-11, 12:56 AM

I hope that was not a cherry picked CPU by Intel.

kraven · 01-03-11, 02:23 AM

Quote:

...this thing is fast: 5.0 GHz, on air...

5 ghz on air? That's amazing! I find it odd that the lower the temp, the lower the OC. What's up with that?

hokiealumnus · 01-03-11, 07:35 AM

Thanks for the kind words Edmund!

Quote:

Originally Posted by geeeduck

Wow, He did that whole review with that intel heatsink?
Does that mean we should be able to get the 2600k to it's max overclock with
something like a NH-D14?

Max overclock, as in the 57x multiplier? Doubtful. With potential subzero problems, I'm not sure if we'll get there with this round of CPUs. Only time will tell as people have more of a chance to play with them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by beenthere

It looks like no top end improvement per se, just some efficiency and improved value downstream.

If you mean ultimate frequency maximum, that's correct. It's physically impossible to get much north of 6 GHz. But I'd say it's a lot of efficiency, not just some. This new 'mainstream' platform just beat up on an X58-based system. If you want maximum clocks and clocking flexibility and are happy with your current setup, it may be best to wait until X58's successor. If you plan on upgrading and don't use extreme cooling, this is a very tempting replacement.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wingman99

I hope that was not a cherry picked CPU by Intel.

I highly doubt it. They sent out dozens (hundreds?) of these all over the world. I wouldn't think it cost-effective to cherry pick every sample. Mine was a later ES as well as it came with the retail D2 stepping.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kraven

5 ghz on air? That's amazing! I find it odd that the lower the temp, the lower the OC. What's up with that?

No clue what-so-ever. Several people I trust implicitly in such matters say it's true. Being the stubborn person I am, you'd better believe I'll find out when I get a board for review worthy of going cold, but I don't have any reason to doubt them.

Castiel · 01-03-11, 07:51 AM

Hoping the boards atleast hit newegg today.

flopper · 01-03-11, 07:52 AM

Likely depends on how they design the chip.
lot of small transistors and strange new metal gates.

ghost_recon88 · 01-03-11, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Castiel

Hoping the boards atleast hit newegg today.

There are boards available from several sites already, Provantage and Allstarshop.com, both of which I will vouch for. Now if only they would hurry up and launch the chips

Castiel · 01-03-11, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghost_recon88

There are boards available from several sites already, Provantage and Allstarshop.com, both of which I will vouch for.

Looking for the Maximus IV. No one seems to have it in the states

freeagent · 01-03-11, 08:13 AM

Kinda kicking myself for buying a hex now. This arch. is impressive

Reading this review made wakeing up a pleasent experience today

I guess the hex would be ok for htpc duties

David · 01-03-11, 08:21 AM

Nice review hokie!

Regarding the trend between temperature and overclock: I wonder if this is a result of the silicon design? I'd need to read more into the physics behind semiconductors, but there must be some design factor at play here?

Castiel · 01-03-11, 08:43 AM

I'm blown away by the reviews. I honestly didn't expect them up for a few more days

Techboy10 · 01-03-11, 12:13 PM

Looks like I'm going Sandy Bridge (probably i7-2600k) instead of the i7-950 I was looking at

5 GHz on air?? Yes please!!!

So glad I waited to purchase my new system.

EarthDog · 01-03-11, 12:25 PM

Hokie, this is one of the best reviews I have seen at this site. Tremendous work!!!

As far as the architecture, all I can say is WOW and I suppose this answers the question if this is a sidegrade or to upgrade to Intel's new chip. For most people, it looks like a winner.

01-02-11, 11:17 PM	#2
Brolloks Benching Senior on Siesta Premium Member #8 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Land of Long Horns	Very impressed with the efficiency of this architecture Excellent review Jeremy, thanks for getting it out so early __________________ Should I get a Quad- or Dual-Core? - How about joining us in the Benching Lounge for some secrets - Want to bench sub-zero...take a look. Heatware 280-0-0 HWBOT Profile
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01-02-11, 11:37 PM	#3
trueplaya4ever8 Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Saint Cloud, FL	So when are all the new toys going to be available for the masses? I want one! __________________ Asrock Z77E-ITX \| Core I5 2400 ES \| Corsair H70 \| 2x4gb GSKill Ripjaws 1600mhz C9 \| MSI GTX 660Ti 2GD5/OC \| Dell 2312HM \| Cruical M4 256GB \| Samsung Spinpoint F4 2TB \| Corsair AX750 \| BitFenix Prodigy My Heat http://heatware.com/eval.php?id=25800
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01-02-11, 11:39 PM	#4
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01-03-11, 12:21 AM	#6
geeeduck Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Chino, CA	Wow, He did that whole review with that intel heatsink? Does that mean we should be able to get the 2600k to it's max overclock with something like a NH-D14?
	QUOTE Thanks

01-03-11, 12:29 AM	#8
beenthere Member Join Date: Aug 2010	It looks like no top end improvement per se, just some efficiency and improved value downstream. __________________ AMD 965 BE, C3 Stepping, 3.9 GHz. @ 1.4000V, 19.5 x 200 CPU-NB = 2000 MHz. @ 1.20V HT = 1600 MHz. SB/HT = 1.26V Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4 Sapphire 5770 4 GB. Corsair CMP4GX3M2B1600C8 @ 8-8-8-24 1T @ 1.65 V PC Power & Cooling Silent 470 watt Enzotech Xtreme-X CPU heatsink/cooler
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[O/C]Intel i7 2600K (Sandy Bridge) Review

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01-03-11, 12:56 AM	#9
wingman99 Member Join Date: Dec 2003	I hope that was not a cherry picked CPU by Intel. __________________ i5 2500K @5.0 GHz Motherboard Gigabyte Z68A-D3-B3 G.SKILL RipjawsX X.M.P. 1600MHz EVGA SuperClocked GTX 570
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01-03-11, 07:51 AM	#12
Castiel Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: East Coast	Hoping the boards atleast hit newegg today. __________________ Core I7 2600K - 4.6Ghz 1.320v Asus ROG Maximus IV Extreme Corsair 4GB Dominators - 8-9-8-24, DDR3 2090 1.58v Sapphire HD 5870's 1100c/1300m XFX 850W Black Edition
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01-03-11, 07:52 AM	#13
flopper Member Join Date: Mar 2004	Likely depends on how they design the chip. lot of small transistors and strange new metal gates. __________________ 6470K 4.8ghz 1.32vcore - ek supreme block - asus z87-a, 7970 reference 1200mhz 5040x1050 eyefunity 120hz gaming, corsair 750w, watercooling, crucial m4 128gb, sennheiser headphones hd600 with asus essence stx, win 7 64 bit Home edit, ;)
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01-03-11, 08:13 AM	#16
freeagent Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Winnipeg!	Kinda kicking myself for buying a hex now. This arch. is impressive Reading this review made wakeing up a pleasent experience today I guess the hex would be ok for htpc duties __________________ Xeon X5690 @ 4304Mhz 1.375v/Corsair H100/4x 38x120 Panaflo Asus Rampage III Formula @ 159/3507/3507 3x2GB STT Chrome (MGH-E) @ 797Mhz 6-6-6-20 1T 1.65v Asus GTX580 Matrix Platinum @ 900/1052 1.1v OCZ RevoDrive 120GB\|Intel 520 120GB\|WD 1TB Black Auzentech Prelude\|TT SP850M\|ZM-MFC2\|CM Stacker STC-01
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01-03-11, 08:21 AM	#17
David Forums Super Moderator Overclockers.com Lead Editor Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Hiding from Americans and making pretty colours in a drybox in St Andrews	Nice review hokie! Regarding the trend between temperature and overclock: I wonder if this is a result of the silicon design? I'd need to read more into the physics behind semiconductors, but there must be some design factor at play here? __________________ David J. Nelson MChem(Edin) PhD(Strath) AMRSC [Academia Profile] OC Forums Super Moderator // Overclockers.com Editor The Workhorse: [Lenovo W510] Intel Core i7-720QM / 8 GB DDR3 / nVidia Quadro FX880M / Crucial M4 256 GB SSD / Windows 7 The HTPC/Server: AMD Phenom X4 9650 / 6 GB DDR2 / nVidia 8300 / 5 TB of HDDs / Antec Solo II Case / Windows 7 The Gaming Rig: AMD Llano A6-3650 / 4 GB DDR3 / nVidia GTX260 / 2x 500 GB HDD in RAID0 / Antec Dark Fleet DF-85 Case / Windows 7 The Benchmarking Setup: Various LGA775 chips / Asus Rampage Formula / 2 GB OCZ 1066 MHz DDR2 / nVidia Quadro NVS 285 / 320 GB HDD / Windows 7 My research fellowship is eating all my time, so I may be slow to reply to emails and private messages.
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01-03-11, 08:43 AM	#18
Castiel Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: East Coast	I'm blown away by the reviews. I honestly didn't expect them up for a few more days __________________ Core I7 2600K - 4.6Ghz 1.320v Asus ROG Maximus IV Extreme Corsair 4GB Dominators - 8-9-8-24, DDR3 2090 1.58v Sapphire HD 5870's 1100c/1300m XFX 850W Black Edition
	QUOTE Thanks

01-03-11, 12:13 PM	#19
Techboy10 Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Massachusetts	Looks like I'm going Sandy Bridge (probably i7-2600k) instead of the i7-950 I was looking at 5 GHz on air?? Yes please!!! So glad I waited to purchase my new system.
	QUOTE Thanks

01-03-11, 12:25 PM	#20
EarthDog Senior PITA Member Overclockers.com Editor Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Stuck in Maryland...	Hokie, this is one of the best reviews I have seen at this site. Tremendous work!!! As far as the architecture, all I can say is WOW and I suppose this answers the question if this is a sidegrade or to upgrade to Intel's new chip. For most people, it looks like a winner. __________________ Should I R0 my SSD? / Sandy/Ivybridge Overclocking Guide / Haswell Overclocking Guide / AMD Overclocking Guide / Power Supply Guide SSD Reliability/Write Endurance / JOIN THE BENCHING TEAM! / Bulldozer Overclocking Guide Want to see your writing featured on the overclockers.com Front Page? PM me, I can help! "We have more information and more ways of accessing it than ever, yet seem increasingly less inclined to do so."- Michael Wilbon
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