***Core i3 - Lets Get Clocking!***

its that time again, there are new chips about and i have been given a few bits and bobs to play with

normally i would be going for outright silly overclocks and seeing how far i can push the i3 platform

this is a brief summary of the I3-530 chip using the H55 chipset
the i3-530 is a dual core chip that hyperthreads.

H55 has onboard graphics and is generally aimed at the budget end of the market. the advantage is that this platform is good for family pc/HTPC or budget implementation,
but the onboard graphics are limited to HD playback

you wont be gaming on it essentially

however, putting something like a 5770 or a gtx 260 in the pci slot takes the load off the chips on board GPU. this means two things

• the chip overclocks further because it generates less heat from doing less work
• you reduce the boards workload too meaning overclocks should theoretically be more stable

the good thing about these chips is the manufacturing process. this means that these cheap and cheerful chips are very, very good value for money.

its incredibly cool too when you are not running the onboard GPU
our test bed is showing 20'c idle using a megahalem in a hot room. this means that an expensive third party cooler need not be an issue.
A H50 would be my choice as you could fit the m-ATX boards into incredibly small cases making for some seriously good value SFF powerhouses!

you can overclock the nuts off these chips too, the i5 670 we have in technical does a lot better than the 750 in most instances. but im not interested in mid range, Thats a grey area where percieved value is the customers choice. the difference between the 1156 i7 and the 1366 i7 is not an argument i care to discuss. but the decision is far more clear cut in this instance.

The i3 platform isnt going to set the world on fire. it isnt the best choice for a workstation, it isnt the best choice for rendering/encoding. cpu intensive, multithreaded tasks should be reserved for the high end as has always been the case.

but most people dont realistically need an i7 rig for their daily computing needs. this is where i3 really shows its potential.
for office work you could run an i3-530 at stock in a cheap board with some cheap 4gb ddr3 kit and have a truly rapid system
add in a new/old graphics card and you would have a nice backup gaming rig for LANs or just a games rig for the kids

these are all my own opinions though, i have done a few quick benchmarks to show you comparisons of all the current big hitters. its not as thourough as i wanted it to be but gives you an idea of how they are shaping up

for more indepth reviews, Azza has created a great thread in the CPU section that includes load of different sources of opinion

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CINEBENCH

Pentium E5300 @ 4GHz


i3-530 @ 4GHz


i5-750 @ 4GHz


i7-860 @ 4GHz


I7-920 @ 4GHz


i7-XXX @4.2GHz


Phenom II X3 720 Black edition @ 3.3GHz


Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition @ 3.8GHz


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wPrime [version 1.55]
bear in mind the i3 results are from a DUAL CORE CHIP

wPrime 32m Speed Test:

1. 5sec 630ms - Core i7 950 @ 4500mhz
2. 6sec 190ms - Core i7 860 @ 3976mhz
3. 6sec 350ms - Core i7 920 @ 4200mhz
4. 7sec 280ms - Core i5 750 @ 4485mhz
5. 9sec 305ms - Core i5 750 @ 4006mhz
6. 9sec 322ms - AMD 955 @ 4004mhz
7. 12sec 604ms - Core i3-530 @ 4004mhz



wPrime 1024m Stability Test:

1. 2min 48sec 780ms - Core i7 920 @ 4500mhz
2. 3min 3sec 110ms - Core i7 920 @ 4200mhz
3. 3min 10sec 160ms - Core i7 920 @ 4011mhz
4. 3min 10sec 340ms - Core i7 860 @ 3976mhz
5. 3min 54sec 760ms - Core i5 750 @ 4424mhz
6. 6min 26sec 770ms - Core i3 530 @ 4004mhz
7. 12min 26sec 650ms - Athlon II X2 245 @ 3132mhz

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Pushing Further decided to stay late tonight to get some big clocks, [all with a megahalem and an apache fan]
heres what we got...

4ghz primed on one of the cheapest boards [this is not the board featured on the ocuk bundle]


heres a quick stability run @ 4.2GHz which i think would be fine for 24/7 use


then we tried 4.3ghz to see if we could go higher


not bad...
we got 4.4 stable for 20 mins but it crashed, i am still working on that to see if i noobed something up

then i decided that sensible stable overclocks were boring
and so it begins...




and then there was this...




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in my opinion, i3 is much more than a replacement for 775 it is a whole new featureset that i think few people expected to perform as it was quoted

i must say, i am very surprised and glad that intel have finally done something like this.

Is 4Ghz all youve tried on the i3 or will it go higher?

He is working on getting it higher at the moment. These were the first set of settings he used just for some basic comparisons.

haha it that all give him chance

also can you do some nechies for games or like not white coat stuff ()

Takes time, it is being done.

And yes the chips clock higher, but we have just worked out our comercial overclocking settings over the last few days.

Have a look at this nice baby of a bundle:

*** *** *OVERCLOCKED* Intel Core i3 530 Clarkdale 4.00GHz / Gigabyte GA-H55M-UD2H Intel H55 Motherboard / Corsair 4GB DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz DDR3 Bundle @ £349.99 inc VAT *** ***



Representing the cream of the crop of today's bleeding edge performance hardware, OcUK's 'Extreme Bundles' are selected to satisfy the needs of the most demanding enthusiast.

OcUK Overclocked Bundles feature carefully selected components tested to assure compatability & stability, guaranteeing the integrity of the overclock.

We worry about the fiddling and tweaking, you just enjoy the performance.

This bundle ships pre-built and pre-overclocked direct from our Technical Department. All you need to do is attach the CPU cooler and power it up.

- Maximum Speed
- Maximum Stability
- Maximum Compatibility
- Maximum Overclocking

This Bundle contains the following components:

1 X Intel Core i3 530 2.93GHz Clarkdale overclocked to 4.00GHz!
1 X Gigabyte GA-H55M-UD2H Intel H55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard
1 X Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9)
1 X Zalman CNPS10X Extreme CPU Cooler

Note - All Bundles are built and installed on demand and usually ship within 48 hours of the order being placed. During exceptionally busy periods this time can increase by 48 hours.

Note - Please note that adding in additional memory to the spare slots will require new BIOS settings and the maximum clock speed attainable may be significantly reduced.

Note - The bundle operates above manufacturer specifications, as such it requires a quality power supply to operate with guaranteed stability. OcUK recommend a quality brand PSU for use with all our bundles such as the Corsair TX & HX range.

Note - Updating the BIOS on the overclocked bundle range will void the warranty on the overclock. If you update the BIOS we will no longer be able to provide support for configuring and maintaining the CPU overclock.

Only £349.99 inc VAT.

ORDER NOW

it runs games perfectly, fps is dependant on gpu

i ran it on a 22" monitor playing COD:MW2 for ten mins to test

i cant tell the difference between i3 using a 275 and my rig with crossfire 4890s

theres no point me testing for games as the proper reviewers have that all covered

4ghz is a nice entry level to go to market with and i am happy with our results.

plus, for the price? you cant really go wrong.

currently sat at 4.2 stable using 1.35vcore

~>Dg<~ said:

haha it that all give him chance

also can you do some nechies for games or like not white coat stuff ()

Click to expand...

nice work RJK look forward to seeing some more test and benchies

Looks great.

Time to upgrade?


Going to try with a H50 mate?

doing a stability test with the H50 [8+hrs prime stable]

the temps are much higher as i am using the on chip vga rather than a third party card

will psit that up once its done a few more hours

Do you know how much the I3 bundle above is likely to be with the H50 please.
And just out of interest what is the windows experience score for the I3 @ 4ghz cheers

OK great stuff, thanks.

That bundle seems like fantastic value, well done boyos.

Rich, the i9 cores with 6 cores 12 threads at 4.2ghz is amazing under 70C!!! nice cherry chip but I am dead jealous!

Probably not a cherry chip Bulldog, just the joys of 32nm showing themselves. Cooling isn't specified either, 70 on water wouldn't be terribly impressive.

Thanks for the thread OP. Personally I'm looking forward to a mini itx board which takes one of these. How hot does the chipset run when using the onboard gpu?

found that picture online, its nothing to do with me

just used it for comparison

i have added some new pics to the OP that may be of interest

What's with the temps on the 4.8 one?


Impressive for that motherboard as well.

Very impressive indeed, More thinking for me to do about my next upgrade it seems, as these would be ideal for me, not a heavy gamer, and don't need quad core stuff either.

Thanks for taking the time to test these rjkoneill

Si Lad said:

Do you know how much the I3 bundle above is likely to be with the H50 please.
And just out of interest what is the windows experience score for the I3 @ 4ghz cheers

Click to expand...

I am sure Yemen will sort a few variants of the bundle the H50 will be doen tomorrow I am sure.

Well impressed with that.

Nice looking OC bundle you got there too.

wowza i3 Niceee!!!!