intel Core i7 Review @ Hexus.net

[WiCKeD]

Hexus gets its hands on Nehalem and provides a brief look at intel's upcoming quad-core, multi-threaded beastling:

Looking back through the numbers, the 2.93GHz Nehalem naturally comes into its own when the cores, be they physical or virtual, are pushed by the software. When this happens, it's up to 33 per cent faster than a 3.2GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770, and some 50 per cent quicker than an equivalently-clocked (Kentsfield-based) Core 2 Quad CPU.

Talking about the consumer space, Intel has enjoyed a performance lead over AMD for some time, and it's only going to continue, unabated, with the release of the Nehalem core. AMD's response will come in the form of a Phenom-upgraded processor, Shanghai, but it will need to be something special, really, really special, for it to effectively counter the Nehalem threat.

Full Review

[Cecil]

There must be a lot of traffic on the site because of this, its taking forever to load

[WiCKeD]

Hexus is always slow... Being based in the UK surely doesn't help.

Summary: It obliterates current processors in threaded apps and chokes in gaming. Anandtech was spot on... It could leave AMD the door open with gaming enthusiasts, depending on how long Core 2 sales continue. Unfortunately, that's about the only upside for AMD.

[reverandmaynard]

Originally Posted by Cecil

There must be a lot of traffic on the site because of this, its taking forever to load

Snapped up quick for me.

Seeing that this unoptimized and running 1066 high latency DDR3....this is pretty exciting. The bandwidth is outrageous. Can't wait to get my hands on this.

[Cecil]

Originally Posted by WiCKeD

Hexus is always slow... Being based in the UK surely doesn't help.

Summary: It obliterates current processors in threaded apps and tanks in gaming. Anandtech was spot on...

I missed that Anandtech article. Why doesnt it do well in gaming, and is it bad, or the same as kentsfiled/penryn?

[WiCKeD]

Referring to this: http://forums.extremeoverclocking.co...d.php?t=300852 They stated it would be slow, but no numbers to back that up. Hexus only tested two games, but results are not promising. They stated it might be driver related, so we'll see. I may be jumping to conclusions...

[Cecil]

Originally Posted by WiCKeD

Referring to this: http://forums.extremeoverclocking.co...d.php?t=300852 They stated it would be slow, but no numbers to back that up. Hexus only tested two games, but results are not promising. They stated it might be driver related, so we'll see.

Oh, well then if this is true, Ill be getting a Deneb system then
If my AMD dual can do all the non gaming stuff I do, I see no point in spending money on something thats not going to do much better then my Q6600 in gaming.

[siegen]

I wish they would have overclocked the Phenom to 3.0ghz, to get a more direct comparison to Intel quad-core's, just for comparison's sake. AMD's fault for not offering a 3.0ghz model though.

Originally Posted by Cecil

Oh, well then if this is true, Ill be getting a Deneb system then
If my AMD dual can do all the non gaming stuff I do, I see no point in spending money on something thats not going to do much better then my Q6600 in gaming.

Almost assuredly a fake. Nothing credible to back it up, and it just seems downright improbable.

I would wait until more credible information is available, and wait to see more benchmarks once i7 is available to the public and has mature drivers.

[SiXiam]

I don't like this review for a couple of reasons:

1) It's just too early and the i7 board is not complete. Drivers aren't even all loaded right.

2) I don't think it a fair comparison when 2 systems have 4GB of ram and the i7 has 3GB. I know it's a way of doing a dual-channel vs triple-channel fight to the death, but couldn't they have found some weird 1.5GB modules or something for the tests. I also think the other 2 systems have an advantage with more memory on 64-bit Vista.
Also the 3 systems are all using different memory: i7 = DDR3 1066mhz, QX9770 = DDR3 1600mhz,
and AMD = DDR2 1066mhz. Why?

It's nice to finally see benchmarks, but they are useless...

[gamer11200]

took me about 2 minutes to load that site.

[Cecil]

Originally Posted by SiXiam

I don't like this review for a couple of reasons:

1) It's just too early and the i7 board is not complete. Drivers aren't even all loaded right.

2) I don't think it a fair comparison when 2 systems have 4GB of ram and the i7 has 3GB. I know it's a way of doing a dual-channel vs triple-channel fight to the death, but couldn't they have found some weird 1.5GB modules or something for the tests. I also think the other 2 systems have an advantage with more memory on 64-bit Vista.
Also the 3 systems are all using different memory: i7 = DDR3 1066mhz, QX9770 = DDR3 1600mhz,
and AMD = DDR2 1066mhz. Why?

It's nice to finally see benchmarks, but they are useless...

For number two, what got me was they ran the AMD system ram at 800Mhz. And the i7 system was 1066 7-7-7-2x. They sould have tightend them down to 5-5-5-15.

As for 3vs4, thats not a problem, as Im sure they were only running one app at a time. No single app is going to use over 2.5gbs anyway.

Additional Comment:

Originally Posted by siegen

Almost assuredly a fake. Nothing credible to back it up, and it just seems downright improbable.

I would wait until more credible information is available, and wait to see more benchmarks once i7 is available to the public and has mature drivers.

That would be why I sad if. I highly doubt it as well, but if by some chance deneb is hitting in the 4ghz range, then that will most likely be what I go to. If not, Ill pick up a Q9650 when they drop to the $300 range, and wait for whatever comes next.

[BRONiUS]

Looks like Penryn is a nice investment for gaming after all.

[WiCKeD]

Originally Posted by gamer11200

took me about 2 minutes to load that site.

For some reason, Firefox seems to have little problems loading it. Stalled on me once today and yesterday and IE, but FF opened it immediately.

[gamer11200]

Originally Posted by WiCKeD

For some reason, Firefox seems to have little problems loading it. Stalled on me once today and yesterday and IE, but FF opened it immediately.

Firefox has issues loading some sites properly for me here.

[psykl0n]

Originally Posted by Cecil

Oh, well then if this is true, Ill be getting a Deneb system then
If my AMD dual can do all the non gaming stuff I do, I see no point in spending money on something thats not going to do much better then my Q6600 in gaming.

Too bad it doesn't have hyperthreading! I really wish AMD would make a great comeback. I remember being so excited about getting an Athlon 64 3500+, I really wish AMD could do something great and pull out ahead.

Of course, Phenom-"FX" means it will be unaffordable.

The fact that it says "Kentsfield Beater" sort of worries me, I do hope AMD can do better than that.