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Bjorn3D: Intel Core I7 940 (Nehalem) Review

B3D writes: "It's that time again. Intel is releasing its Core I7 940 2.93GHz CPU, code named Nehalem. While it might be hard to remember and spell, it's a true joy to drive. The Core I7 940 processor we'll be taking a look at today impressed us on so many levels that it's hard to capsulize the effect it had on us. From the moment we popped it into it's larger socket 1366 home we were blown away by the increase in performance we saw.

With it's native Quad design incorporating an Integrated Memory Controller, and sharing a huge 8MB L3 cache, it was love at first bench. We know that you're all aching to know if they overclock. That's probably the number one question we've been getting. You'll be glad to know they overclock better and easier than any quad we've ever had our hands on. If you've got an existing quad, be afraid, be very afraid. If you're not driving one of these beauties, you're not going to be happy until you are."

Pros:

+ Great Performance
+ Overclocks Really Well
+ Kicked the Q6600 To The Curb
+ Reasonable Temps
+ Very Stable
+ Easy OCing
+ Much Higher Video Encoding Performance Than Previous CPU's

Cons:

-Price

FantasyStar6034d ago (Edited 6034d ago )

What? It's released already?! Wow...I just bought a Q6600 3 days ago too.

(UPDATE) I want to set some ground-info for you guys out there. While the Core i7 is impressive. I wouldn't go off to buy one at your local retailer/e-tailer so soon. Even though Virtualization allows for 8 threads now, in our age, barely 2 threads are even used for CPU processing. Very few games offer multithreaded support, and even fewer games offer full quad core support. The most we get sits around 1.5 to 2.5 logic, always floating around Core 0-1 and sometimes 2. I'm sure others have told you already, but I'll say it again. Quad-Core is useless if there's no software to use the available hardware to its fullest. That being, said. If you're a heavy multitasker like me, then Quad-Core is definitely a consideration and so is Core i7. However there's more than one factor to this equation.

Quad-Core is indeed a beast, and the benchmarks for Core i7 has pushed the limits again. However, regardless of the integrated DDR3 Memory Controller, regardless of DDR3 memory: the only true way to embrace the raw power of Quad-Core, we need Solid State Disks(SSD) to come down in price to mainstream audiences. There's no point in buying into Core i7 if you're still operating on standard mechanical hard-drives as they can't deliver enough data to really feed the beast. Limited by mechanical hardware, random seek times, and actual access times, 40 MB/s read/write speed is hardly anything to be proud of and that's data that can be handled by 1 core alone. That's 7 cores sitting on its ass and $500+ being wasted. With a SSD, the read/write times are exponentially increased, and seek times are drastically reduced to nothingness which opens the floodgates and removes the bottleneck towards allowing full-tapping of the potential that is Core i7, or any Quad-Core for that example. If you want to enjoy new-tech, you need new-tech to compliment it. That said, if you're planning to buy the Core i7 at launch, chances are money isn't an issue and you already have Intel X25-M's set up in a RAID 0. (I prefer RAID 0+1 for insurance)

With that said, I just want to forewarn people to not feel bad about their systems being outdated and whining because really there's nothing to whine about much. Cores will still sit on its ass. Power will be drawn wastefully due to HDD limiting factors, and overall the prices will definitely need to hit around the $300 for the PC gamer market to pick up on it. If you're planning on picking up Intel's newest toy, I hope you have an a capable SDD or the new Intel X25-M to compliment the core nicely. For the rest of us that rather wait until SSD's technology is more refined and we start seeing 250GB SDDs at the $150-mark, I'd take this news with a grain of salt and just wait for Core i7 to come down in price as well. To all those feeling buyer's remorse: Don't. You have no reason to.

Chiao.

My Rig

-Intel Q6600 G0 3.0Ghz 1.40V (equipped with Zalman 8700)
-4GB DDR2 800 Patriot+Corsair(Set in DDR2 667 3-3-3-10 for 1:1)
-ASUS P5k-VM (Rev. 902 BIOS)
-ThermalTake LANBox (Black)
-ThermalTake 500W PSU 12V-18A (sad I know, but it works!)
-MSI RX3870 OC Edition 800MHz/1126MHz
-Seagate 250GB SATA I 8MB Cache(Due to mechanical constraints, no real benefits between SATA I vs. SATA II unless RAID)
-LiteOn DVD-R/RW LH-20A1S SATA

If you have any questions, PM me.

moja6033d ago (Edited 6033d ago )

I respect your philosophy, but I disagree on the hard drive aspect. First, I don't believe SSD is a factor at this point for the general desktop masses. It has even been proven in other credible articles that RAID is a desktop performance placebo, although I am not hating - 2 systems ago I had a RAID 0 array that seemed pretty snappy, but it was only a minor system performance boost. I myself would love to get into a roomy SSD, but I think at this point it's fiscally irresponsible.

Technically, mechanical drives aren't fast enough to feed the past several beasts, but there's more to overall performance than that. I do agree with you that SSDs are much more apt to saturate the bus, but there's only so much right now that will benefit from super fast reads aside from better responsiveness. A hard drive will never unlock the potential of a processor anyway, that's architecturally absurd.

moja6033d ago

I just upgraded to an E8400 Wolfdale pushing 3.6 easy, and I'm already salivating at stepping to 4 cores with this. It'll be next year sometime easy, though, playing the price-point waiting game.

50°

Panel Images From The Magic The Gathering/Final Fantasy Line From PAX East

Skewed and Reviewed have posted panel images from the big reveal at PAX East.

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New Virtua Fighter Game Reveals the Return of Wolf Hawkfield

Today, during the Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. tournament at EVO Japan, Sega revealed a character returning to the New Virtua Fighter game.

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simulationdaily.com
Deathdeliverer1h ago

I know Gannondorf when I see him. Seriously though, wolf is a cool character. He’s not Akira Yuki, but he’s cool.

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Deadzone Rogue: Co-Op Gameplay

Here is a look at the Co-Op gameplay for the new FPS.