Intel Core i7 Hands-On Preview
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 performance results
Related posts:
