How does the Intel naming work????

[p3ndldqny2]

Ok i used to think i7 was best, 9xx then 8xx, i5 etc, but then i saw this:

Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz, 200 GBP
Intel Core i5 670 3.46GHz, 220 GBP
Intel Core i7 860 2.8GHz, 245 GBP

Does this mean for straight core performance i would prefer the i5 670? Is this model for those who dont want 4 cores, 8 hyper threads and just do number-crunching etc? Correct me if im wrong, but thats the fastest freq ive seen.

 

[p3ndldqny2]

Corrected that for you.

Yes, the i5 670 has a fast stock clock speed.

But I can't honestly think of a reason to get it...

The i5 750 is a superior chip, very easily overclocked to that level without having to increase voltage and it's cheaper.

In fact it's so much cheaper that with the spare cash you could buy a graphics card better than the IGP on the i5 670 to go with your i5 750...

Thats just how weird the position of the i5 670 is.


The chips you want if you are the i3 range or possibly the i5 750.

Edited

What makes you suggest i3 (ive never really looked at i3 before, know next-to-nothign about them). I looked up clarkdale and the memory timings are ugly, referring to the i5 670 i mentioned.

The i7 860 looked good, especially if i could get it to 4GHz on water.

 

[p3ndldqny2]

I suggested i3 because they are dual cores similar to the i5 670 you were talking of but priced a lot more logically. The clarkdales do have a worse memory controller than the lynnfields but worse is relative and it doesn't ruin them by any means.

Did you want a quad core with hyperthreading or were you after a fast dual core?

Lets just say i dont need lots of cores, 2 would be fine. I would prefer more speed in a single core?

Edit ive seen an i7 870 for 160GBP which looks very tempting!! Ii must admit i probably won't make a purchase for 6 weeks.

 

[p3ndldqny2]

Looking at this (the single threaded benchmark) the i5 670 is faster in the single threaded benchmark. However, clock-for-clock the i5 750 is faster even in this benchmark - so if you OC both to 4GHz then the 750 would perform faster even when single threaded. Considering this, and the far superior multithreaded performance, I think the quad core still makes more sense considering the price. Also, the i3 aquits itself well considering its much lower price.

However, if you can get an i7 870 (stock 2.93GHz, hyperthreading enabled) for less than the price of an i5 750 (2.66GHz stock, hyperthreading disabled) then I say snap it up. Its a great chip, similar excellent performance in single threaded applications and loads of overclocking headroom.

Hey thanks

Could you recommend good OCing gear to compliment it? I dont mean to burden you but i dont really know much, my last mobo was an ASUS P5W Deluxe but im thinking of watercooling this time. I also probably know JS about PSUs and memory for OCing.