Core i7 Models and Temperatures

[onthelistbaby]

Hi all, I have a couple of questions that I hope someone can answer: I have read that the various models of 1366 Core i7s are essentially the same processor but with diferent clock timings or multipliers (and unlocked something or other for the extremes). The idea being that a core i7 920, for example, once overclocked, is basically the same as, say, a core i7 960, but for far less money?

My questions, then, are a) Is this true? and b) Do the higher stock-clocked models have the same temperature profiles as the overclocked lower models?

In otherwords, If I have a 930 OC'd to 3.33 GHz (Which I do), and the core temps run around 67c does that mean that the 975, which comes stock-clocked at 3.33GHz will run stock at around 67c in my system?

I guess what I want to know is if the higher level processors somehow run cooler at thier higher stock speeds than an overclocked lower model??

 

[onthelistbaby]

OK, I just realized that my example was bad because the Extremes have higher QPI throughput and larger cash so substitute a 960 for the 975 in the example.

 

[welshmousepk]

Hi all, I have a couple of questions that I hope someone can answer: I have read that the various models of 1366 Core i7s are essentially the same processor but with diferent clock timings or multipliers (and unlocked something or other for the extremes). The idea being that a core i7 920, for example, once overclocked, is basically the same as, say, a core i7 960, but for far less money?

My questions, then, are a) Is this true? and b) Do the higher stock-clocked models have the same temperature profiles as the overclocked lower models?

In otherwords, If I have a 930 OC'd to 3.33 GHz (Which I do), and the core temps run around 67c does that mean that the 975, which comes stock-clocked at 3.33GHz will run stock at around 67c in my system?

I guess what I want to know is if the higher level processors somehow run cooler at thier higher stock speeds than an overclocked lower model??

basically yes.

not all chips are the same, and they all have slightly different OC abilities and heat levels as well as requiring deifferent voltages to run at those clocks.
Intel 'cherry pick' the best processors and bin them as higher level i7s, but you are still getting the same processor and paying a huge premium to have it pre-overclcoked. since they are cherry picked to run better at those clocks, its quite possible you end up being able to run at lower voltages/temps than an overclocked 920, but the end result is near identical.
so yes, you may be getting a slightly better chip with more OC headroom or lower thermals, but in reality this advantage is not worth alot.

 

[Lmeow]

What welshmousepk said. The i7 920 D0, 930, 950, 960 and 975 EE are all the same chip. However, the higher the number, the higher 'quality' it is essentially. A Core i7 920 @ 3.33GHz compared to a 975 EE @ 3.33GHz would run hotter than the 975, as the 975 as said before are cherry picked by Intel, and having better thermal capacities.
So, to answer your question: yes.

Apart from how they are binned, the only difference between the range is that the 965 EE and 975 EE have unlocked multipliers which makes them incredibly easy to overclock. The difference between the i7 920 - 960 is that the 920 has a max multiplier of 20, 930 has a max multiplier of 21, 950 = 23 (I skipped the 940 and 965 because of their steppings, their multipliers are 22 and unlocked respectively), 960 = 24.

 

[vvhocare5]

I think we are overanalyzing the OP's question and giving him some indepth answers. The current i7's are mainly Bloomfield parts (the i7 980x is a Gulftown - essentially a shrink with improvements).

If these processor are in the same 130W TDP package, then they will deliver about the same temp at the same clock, voltage and cooling device. Yes there are differences for the the QPI bus and cache, but they will all be fairly close. These processors are essentially the same chip and Intel fuses features off based upon testing - and demand. They go into the same motherboard.

Was your 67C while you were running something intensive or was it idling? At idling that 67 is too high. Under load, not too bad, but too high for my taste .

My 975XE at 4.1G in games runs about 67C - but we are not comparing apples to apples. Case design, fans, cpu cooler, psu all change the cooling profile of your system.

But to answer your question, a 975 at 3.33GHz will run very close to the same speed 920, 930, etc - doing the same work.