[Bobnova]

I don't think anybody knows yet.
That said, we all need to remember what TJMax really is: TJMax is the temp that Intel thinks the CPU can run at 24/7 for three years. If they didn't think the CPU could survive that they would have a lower TJMax, to prevent Grandpa's Dell's CPU from dying within the warranty period when he never cleans the heatsink.
That, of course, is at stock volts and clocks.
Overclocked nobody knows yet that I am aware of, the only way we find out is when (if) CPUs start dying.

That's the fun(?) of being an early adopter.

[Brolloks]

I guess we will know as soon as we see the 1st one die off.

[bmwbaxter]

Great review!!!! now I just need to find somewhere to purchase one... or two

As I read it, it sounded like the 3960X was run at stock for the benches correct?

[EarthDog]

Anywhere on the 29th it seems.

[Janus67]

So it looks like if you are going to be OCing one of these puppies it wouldn't hurt to spend the extra $25 on the super-warranty-thingy that Intel offers, especially for those of us going sub-ambient.


Here's hoping that Microcenter has a good deal on these chips like they have for the majority of SB's lifetime (granted the cost differential is pretty much covered in the taxes but at least it is instant gratification over waiting a few days for shipping)

[Brolloks]

29th is a Sunday? 27th sounds more practical

[Frakk]

Originally Posted by hokiealumnus

Yep, that's about my view as well. Good summation of my ~6,000 words.

I hate long winded goings on....

[Bobnova]

Z77 NDA dropped on easter sunday, I wouldn't be at all surprised if IB went retail on sunday.

[diaz]

Originally Posted by hokiealumnus

Undervolting and Overclocking on Ivy Bridge.

4.5ghz @ 1.1v @ ~ 65c = fantastic..

Im good with that!

[rogbur22]

Awesome article, I was at work all day thinking about the launch and reading all the benchmark goodies and such.

Im thinking I want a 3770 NOW !!!

[xsuperbgx]

Good review Hokie! Very informative. Can't wait for cpu and LN2!

[Creep-DK]

Very nice review Hokie

[clash]

Guess i'll be the Debby Downer... Hard to believe this is what everyone has speculated and got so hyped over, I see no reason to upgrade.

[azuza001]

Excellent review. Looks like I'm going to be sticking with my G850 until the SB 2500K's drop to "omg, that low?" prices or start to become scarce. Unless IB turns out to be cheaper in the end (I doubt it, when has the older stuff ever turned out to be more expensive than the newer stuff in the long run? What's that? Socket 939? I don't remember that )

[Genchoppa]

So now i'm totally confused. I currently am running a I7 950 set up. I have been itching to to move to another platform to play with and enjoy some improvements. Now i just don't know if its worth moving forward...sigh

[wingman99]

Originally Posted by LoneWolf121188

The regular person is NOT an OCer. The stock temps are fantastic, as is the GPU performance. Not to mention the insane Quick Sync performance. When the mobile chips drop, the regular person is going to love their new laptops.

Don't forget we aren't even 1% of 1% of Intel's market. The fact that they ship unlocked chips at all is still surprising to me. Intel made some solid improvements that paved the way for Haswell, and those improvements came at a reduced tolerance to Vcore, something that's the least of their worries.

Originally Posted by xander89

I think that is a massive understatement. The % of people buying a high end unlocked processors are people like us. What percentage of intel's processors sold do you think are high end processors like this? The people who fork out in the 300 mark are generally those who either have an insane amount of cash or are enthusiasts. I doubt well be seeing many dell desktops with this processor in it.

I am not bad mouthing the whole line but rather this specific processor. The majority of people forking out for processors like these are people like us. And of those people only a very small percentage are sub zero over lockers.

I do see where you are coming from. But I think you are also taking my gripe the wrong way. As an indervidual chip this will not sell. Unless they mark it at the same price as the 2700k. Laptops out of the picture here. Also I'd be interested to see temps compared to old i7 laptops considering they would literally burn a hold in your lap after 15 mins XD

I agree with xander89 a little, I think the enthusiasts nowadays accounts for a big margin for the K model for intel. OEM's like dell are selling notebooks, there is not that much need for desktops anymore for most people.

The k model is intels flagship for desktops with enthusiasts around the world.

I feel the % of people buying the k models is much higher than 1% in the desktop world. Just a small sample newegg's top seller is SB k models.

The review here was great and i have read the other reviews on the net for IB and it looks like if you don't overclock allot keep it 4.3GHz to 4.5 GHz on air that will be safe for most people. The core voltage going up seems to be the factor on IB compared to SB.

Even though i don't like IB i think it is a fail for overcloking on air for me, i will get one for the fun of just getting something new.

[I.M.O.G.]

Originally Posted by Brolloks

29th is a Sunday? 27th sounds more practical

Just to clarify, Intel very recently confirmed very specifically that the "on ad and sales embargo" is the 29th. Indeed a Sunday. There had been a lot of confusion about the dates for the media versus retail channels, and that is the reason they clarified this.

Fortunately, I'm driving from Cincinnati back home to NE Ohio that Sunday for work. They have a 1 processor limit in the stores, but I can just buy one from Microcenter Cinci and then another from Columbus on the way home.

With the travel ahead, I'm picking up 150L of LN2 tomorrow morning so it will be ready when I come home Sunday night with the goods.

[Robert17]

Thanks for a very nice review. Glad the NDA folks got to go home early too.......

[hokiealumnus]

First, thanks to everyone for the kind words. Sorry I've been busy for a couple hours. If I miss anything requiring a response, don't hesitate to point it out.

Originally Posted by Jman13

But it's not a correct statement. Sure, you can say the number in C is 46% higher...but that's a meaningless statement. Let's say you'd measured in F (a scale most of your readers are very familiar with). Your numbers would have been 180F for IB and 133F for SB. So that means the measurements are 35% higher. Which one is correct?

If you don't want to use Kelvin in your article because you think your readers would look at you with a blank stare, then don't use percentage increase on heat, just say that IB runs 26C hotter. It's not a difference in stating things, it's a flat-out inaccuracy. I mean, let's say we had processors that ran at 1C at load, and a new processor had the EXACT same heat increase as IB (7.8%). That would yield a Celsius temperature of 22.4C...an increase of 21C. Would you then write in your article that the new processor ran over 22 times hotter? That it measured 2,200% higher? How misleading would that be? Just because the wrong numbers are less sensational due to the slightly higher starting temperature doesn't mean that they're any less wrong in this case. In this example the actual increase in temperature is identical to the real IB vs SB numbers.

This is not a discussion of 'choice of units' it's a flat out incorrect (or, due to the way you worded it, a horribly misleading) statement.

Anyway, I'm sorry I'm being the adamant jerk here. The review was very well written overall, and I quite enjoyed the article. It's just the engineer in me that has to speak up when I see something like this.

You're not being a jerk, and I do get it. I was thinking a mere increase in measured temperature, as a percentage. You're only partially correct though. Even your logic is flawed if you really want to take it a step farther. There is probably very little increased heat, if any, from SNB to IVB. The reason temperatures have increased is because of the new transistor design, compared with the fact that it's manufactured at 22nm. Size is a large part of the temperature problem, as Michio Kaku pointed out in the video posted earlier by ElDonko.

So, truthfully, there is (likely) an equal or lesser amount of actual heat produced; but because of the design and transistor size, temperatures are higher. Thus (in a roundabout way that I didn't get into because the layperson isn't necessarily concerned about these details - and I truthfully didn't even consider it at the time), I might have actually been correctly referencing only the change in temperature, because that's what changed - not the amount of heat produced.

So there.

Originally Posted by jd101

so will a i7 3770k do 4.2 with a h80 with out cooking its self ?

Yes, that should be fine. The voltage increase for 4.2 is very minimal and most likely won't lead to the high temps you saw in this and other reviews. ~4.5 GHz is where you start to see the greater increases.

Originally Posted by bmwbaxter

Great review!!!! now I just need to find somewhere to purchase one... or two

As I read it, it sounded like the 3960X was run at stock for the benches correct?

Yes, that's correct. I didn't see the point in running clock-for-clock vs. a hex-core CPU.

Originally Posted by Genchoppa

So now i'm totally confused. I currently am running a I7 950 set up. I have been itching to to move to another platform to play with and enjoy some improvements. Now i just don't know if its worth moving forward...sigh

IMHO, it's a solid step up depending on what you do with the system. If all you do is game, you're good. If you do things that require more processing power, this would be a solid upgrade - complete with lower power consumption.

[PolRoger]

Thanks for the review Hokie!...

With the IB temp wall constraining air/water clocks... I'm not feeling so much now that I need to head over to Micro Center on the ~29th. Still it is always fun to test out new tech.