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i7 low power options

I would personally just get a 4790k, you can clock it as you please then to suit your needs. Saves you the hassle of having to buy another CPU if you ever decided to overclock.
 
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Purchase the i7 4790 (standard version).

Then under-volt the CPU.

Use a stable PSU with good regulation so you can under-volt more.
 
Thanks for those suggestions, although I would prefer a fit and forget option hence considering one of the two I mentioned.

They're both about the same price I'm just wondering how much performance you lose going for the T chip.
 
http://ark.intel.com/compare/80808,80809

The performance difference is just the clock speed difference. The S will be about 16% slower at base clocks.

From a back of the envelope calculation this S is probably running about 10% less voltage than a non-S, combined with the 16% drop in clock speed for a 30% drop in power. As others have said, nothing you couldn't do yourself with the K version, but the K version can go up as well as down should you need it.

If saving 20W is absolutely critical then the S makes sense, otherwise it's a bad idea IMO.
 
http://ark.intel.com/compare/80808,80809

The performance difference is just the clock speed difference. The S will be about 16% slower at base clocks.

From a back of the envelope calculation this S is probably running about 10% less voltage than a non-S, combined with the 16% drop in clock speed for a 30% drop in power. As others have said, nothing you couldn't do yourself with the K version, but the K version can go up as well as down should you need it.

If saving 20W is absolutely critical then the S makes sense, otherwise it's a bad idea IMO.

What about compared with the T chip, I think I've read they work differently by having different turbo speeds per core or something.

It's the T or S I'm considering, not the standard 4790.

Cheers.
 
This is the passmark performance of the CPU's

i7 4790T

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i7-4790T+@+2.70GHz

i7 4790S

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i7-4790S+@+3.20GHz

i7 4790 (standard version)

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i7-4790+@+3.60GHz

The reason the S and T versions are slower is due to lower Turbo frequency. However there not any more efficient on power over the standard version. The S and T versions are useful where there is thermal limitations, say the CPU is being used in a compacted space for example the entertainment system on an airline, or compact server rack.

Think of a task such as compressing a video. The S and T version of the CPU will use less peak power, however because the CPU's are slower they will stay in Turbo boost longer, so overall there is no power saved over the standard version.

As mentioned, the only way to be more efficient is to under-volt the CPU, and as the S and T are not any more efficient (only gain reduced peak thermals) you may as well choose the standard version and under-volt that.
 
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