Now we’ll look at the full efficiency workload, which includes most of the benchmarks presented above.

The total runtime is shortest on the two fastest overclocks. Core i5-750 gets beaten here.


The total power used is lowest at 4.0 and 4.2 GHz on the Core i3-530. Interestingly, the stock speed for this processor also produced the highest total power requirement.

Runtime related to total power used yields our efficiency score. The winner is the Core i3-530 at 4.2 GHz, which delivers the best performance per watt, and hence represents the most reasonable overclock. The 3.8 and 4.0 GHz clocks are similar, but both 3.6 and 4.4 GHz reduce power efficiency. Our Core i3-530 processor actually gains a lot of efficiency with the first overclocking setting (2.93 to 3.33 GHz).
- Cranking Up Core i3 To 4.4 GHz
- Intel's Core i3-530 CPU
- Gigabyte's P55A-UD7 Motherboard
- Overclocking Settings: 2.93 GHz To 4.4 GHz
- Test Setup And Overclocking Table
- Benchmark Results: Synthetics
- Benchmark Results: PCMark And 3DMark Vantage
- Benchmark Results: Applications And Archiving
- Benchmark Results: Power Consumption
- Benchmark Results: Single- And Multi-Threaded Efficiency
- Benchmark Results: Overall Efficiency
- Best Overclock And Conclusion
