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Core i7 breaks all CPC benchmark records on air
A Core i7 965 Extreme overclocked to 4.27GHz takes the number 1 spot on the CPC benchmarks leaderboard
Okay, so you already know that Intel’s new Core i7 architecture is the new Lewis Hamilton of processors, being fast, overclockable and more over-whelming than a night out with Brian Blessed, but not even we knew about its benchmark-breaking abilities until now. After plenty of tinkering in the CPC lab, our overclocking guru James Gorbold (aka Lizard) has just taken the number 1 spot on the Custom PC benchmarks leaderboard with an overclocked Core i7-965 Extreme Edition, and he didn’t even need water-cooling, let alone LN2.
With a Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme RT air cooler in place on our Asus P6T Deluxe, we managed to overclock the 3.2GHz CPU all the way to 4.27GHz, using a QPI speed of 177MHz and a 24x multiplier, and a 1.575V vcore. The test system was also bolstered by 6GB of triple-channel Corsair Dominator TR3X6G1600C8D RAM running at 1.77GHz with a 1T command rate, which really helped the multi-tasking score.
It helps, of course, that we also had a super-fast disk system, and we currently have the only 32GB Intel Extreme SSD in the country, which had Windows XP installed on it. Meanwhile, we used an ACARD DDR2 RAM drive for the actual benchmarks. The result is a stunning overall score of 2,447, with the multi-threaded video-encoding portion of the benchmark getting an excellent score of 3,415. This was enough to inch in front of Benchtec’s Barron_Greenback with his overall score of 2,401 using a Core 2 Quad Extreme QX9650 overclocked to 5.35GHz using LN2 cooling.
As James points out in his name on the leaderboard: ‘Core i7 doesn't need LN2 to win,’ and with results such as this we can’t wait to see what the guys at Benchtec manage to achieve with a liquid nitrogen pot. In short, if you’re looking for the ultimate CPU, then an Intel Core i7 is currently the way to go, particularly when it’s overclocked.
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Congrats on your efforts James! I'll be back with some LN2 :-)
Comment by barron_greenback at 9:31pm 7th November 2008
It would be really nice to see even just a little competition. Is that too much to ask? I mean, was it really all over once the Q6600 came out? Cost, Stock/Overclocking Performance, Efficiency..I think that CPU ended it all for AMD. COME ON! Give them a fight!
Comment by crazyceo at 4:34pm 6th November 2008
We dont understand AMD alien speak. They are primative in comparison to intels abilities, then the overclocking world is something AMD fans can only dream... I dont see any AMD chips within the 100 of the leaderboard !
Comment by Lightning_Pete at 2:32pm 6th November 2008
Now do something REALLY impressive - unleash the power of Phenom.
Comment by woe2you at 12:17am 6th November 2008
The comparison of a core i7 with the core2 extreme doesn't seem to suggest that it's (even in its overclocked state) the sole reason for such high scores... I expect the new mobo, RAM and hardrives had a major part to play in the results.
Comment by NewParadigm at 11:49pm 5th November 2008
As mentioned by jg_tech_ed temps do get toasty on air, we stopped OCing on the stock cooler at 3.8GHz (i7 940 CPU) and switched to liquid and 4.2GHz+ is easily obtainable. Running small ftt primes does push the temps up a lot but general useage is fine (although with Hyperthreading enabled it automatically runs 8 primes at a time). They do run warmer than Core 2 Quads but they are also roughly 20% faster clock for clock - for example (from memory) 4.2GHz will obtain sub 10 seconds Super Pi, you won't get that out of a Q9650 @ 4.5GHz.
Comment by Neil_Kobalt at 1:56am 5th November 2008
well done with the overclocking, u are now out of warranty but who cares you have a great cpu :D
Comment by Trikadoc at 2:35pm 4th November 2008
2.6ghz i7 to 4.1ghz? That's impressive. I must say I was worried i7 wouldn't overclock well with the introduction of integrated mem controller.
Comment by feathers633 at 2:18pm 4th November 2008
Yup, I did miss the point. I only tend to think in terms of the distance in mhz from default. It is a good sign of what may be to come though. I have just recently changed to a Q6600 but I may upgrade to i7 when prices are reasonable. I have really missed hyper-threading, it's great to see it return. What's the default voltage for an i7? 1.575volts seems quite high to get a 45nm to 4ghz+ though but if that's what it takes then so be it! :)
Comment by feathers633 at 2:03pm 4th November 2008
Well, we did get the 2.66 Core i7-920 to 4.1GHz (+1.44GHz) in one motherboard but you'll have to read the mag to find out how. I'm really only saying this disprove all the silly stories about Core i7 being a rubbish overclocker - it's great and surprisingly easy to work with too
Comment by Claave at 2:14pm 4th November 2008
The vid of the chip is around 1.25V. Interestingly it "only" needed 1.512V to hit 4.1GHz, but needed considerably more, (1.575V) to hit 4.27GHz.
Comment by jg_tech_ed at 2:11pm 4th November 2008
You have massively missed the point of this article havn't you. This isnt about the OC but more about the processor. Given just how fast the damn thing is compared to it 'rivals'.
Comment by reashlin at 1:11pm 4th November 2008
- CSQuake, hard to be certain, but the temps were well below 100C and to get those scores I did most of day benching, i.e. it was running for several hours (working up to those final settings).
Comment by jg_tech_ed at 12:41pm 4th November 2008
Purely out of interest, how long would the chip have survived at those temps if left indefinately? Are we talking minutes, hours, days, weeks etc. I realise you can't be too precise.
Comment by CSQuake at 11:50am 4th November 2008
The previous record was with LN2 and it's been beaten by the i7 only using air. I'm sure they are looking at overclocking further but you have to be impressed with their first try.
Comment by crazyceo at 11:11am 4th November 2008
I don't get what all the excitement is about. An overclock of 1ghz on an extreme version is nothing to brag about. How about an 1800mhz overclock on an E6300 (my old 1.86ghz CPU currently on sale @ ebay) overclocked to 3.6ghz stable 24/7. Or how about 3.848ghz (OCCT stable) on my current Q6600 2.4ghz cpu? I have been to 4ghz on that but it needs to be stabilised. Now if Lizard can come back with at least a 1400mhz overclock on the regular (non extreme) version of the i7 then he may have something to get a swell head about. I don't want to hear any whining that 1ghz is good for an i7 on air. 1ghz on air is just the initial overclocking warmup as far as I'm concerned... Please go back and try again. :)
Comment by feathers633 at 10:47am 4th November 2008
All that on air - that is truly astonishing. Cascades and LN2 rigs could produce something mightily impressive. BTW Ben, the Benchtec link is broken - you got a space in the url.
Comment by Spreadie at 11:04pm 3rd November 2008
The temps hovered around the high 80s, low 90s while benching at those settings. Re the Intel Extreme SSD - you can see a full review in the next issue, along with a load of other SSDs (including the awesome ACARD RAM drive I also used).
Comment by jg_tech_ed at 10:42pm 3rd November 2008
all 10 of em . and can we now have that all important DDR3 feature to find some reasonably priced modules . jj7
Comment by kingjohn721 at 10:25pm 3rd November 2008
i'm still gonna apply for a morgage to build a new system which core i7 at the heart, hehe, then it can beat on crysis into submission even if it isn't the financial crysis
Comment by DLEProductions at 9:16pm 3rd November 2008
is that 775 compat , yws or no if so can we use the 120 tower from tuniq for the i7 . if so will the lazard be giving us a few benchies of the i7 coolers . jj7
Comment by kingjohn721 at 9:05pm 3rd November 2008
Can we expect a review of the Extreme Intel SSD soon then?
Comment by l3v1ck at 8:57pm 3rd November 2008
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=AnbMomZiCws Sub 8 second SuperPI @ .5364GHz!
Comment by Initialised at 8:44pm 3rd November 2008
That is most impressive. Although from what I've read elsewhere games-wise the price differential is a little high for it to jump straight into the mosh pit, although I've not seen anything about FarCry 2 performance on the i7...
Comment by countstex at 7:18pm 3rd November 2008
Nehalem has definately blown away my expectations. I will stick with my E8600 for another year though, build a new system when the 32nm "tock" comes along. ;)
Comment by D_Cypher at 6:40pm 3rd November 2008
Exciting stuff! beating a cpu thats on LN2 wow. Shame the games are so poorly made that they will probably still stutter etc.
Comment by erratum1 at 6:13pm 3rd November 2008
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