Analysis--Triple-Channel Memory Does Not Impact Performance
Analysis: Triple-Channel vs. Dual-Channel and Single-Channel
We ran the entire benchmark suite once with each of the memory configurations. Our conclusion? It doesn’t matter much to the Core i7, with its 1 MB L2 cache and 8 MB L3 cache, whether it is running its memory in a triple-, dual-, or single-channel configuration. In everyday tasks, there is absolutely no tangible performance difference: the performance delta between a tri-channel and a single-channel configuration is only 2% on average. If you already own a dual-channel DDR3 memory kit and are planning to switch to the Core i7, you don’t need to spend the extra money on a third module to run your system in tri-channel mode.
| Benchmark | Dual-Channel | Single-Channel |
|---|---|---|
| Crysis | -1.0% | -2.4% |
| Unreal Tournament 3 | -0.2% | -0.9% |
| World in Conflict | -4.6% | -9.2% |
| Supreme Commander | -0.3% | -1.9% |
| AVG Anti-Virus 8 | 0.0% | -1.4% |
| Winrar 3.80 | 0.0% | -7.2% |
| Winzip 11 | 0.9% | 0.0% |
| Acrobat 9 Professional | 1.0% | 1.0% |
| Photoshop CS 3 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| iTunes | -1.6% | -1.6% |
| Lame MP3 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Studio 12 | -1.8% | -5.5% |
| DivX | -2.9% | -3.5% |
| XviD | -0.7% | -2.6% |
| MainConcept H.264 | 1.2% | 0.0% |
| Premiere Pro CS3 HDTV | -2.1% | -5.3% |
| Cinema 4D Release 10 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 3D Studio Max 9 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Fritz 11 | -0.1% | 0.0% |
| Nero 8 Recode | -0.4% | -0.8% |
| Overall: | -0.6% | -2.1% |
Analysis: Overclocking to 3.60 GHz and 3.84 GHz
Overclocking the Core i7 is very well worth the effort: boosting our CPU from 3.20 GHz to 3.60 GHz yielded a performance increase of 8.1%; running it at 3.80 GHz sped it up by 12.4%. Depending on the memory configurations, higher clock speeds are also possible, but we assumed a "worst case" scenario based on DDR3-1333.
| Benchmark | 3.84 GHz | 3.60 GHz |
|---|---|---|
| Crysis | 4.4% | 3.1% |
| Unreal Tournament 3 | 2.8% | 4.0% |
| World in Conflict | 4.6% | 3.7% |
| Supreme Commander | 3.3% | 1.5% |
| AVG Anti-Virus 8 | 15.5% | 9.9% |
| Winrar 3.80 | 8.7% | 4.3% |
| Winzip 11 | 15.1% | 9.4% |
| Acrobat 9 Professional | 18.4% | 11.2% |
| Photoshop CS 3 | 17.2% | 10.8% |
| iTunes | 13.1% | 9.8% |
| Lame MP3 | 16.7% | 11.4% |
| Studio 12 | 1.8% | 1.8% |
| DivX | 14.0% | 8.1% |
| XviD | 15.1% | 9.2% |
| Mainconcept H.264 | 14.1% | 10.6% |
| Premiere Pro CS3 HDTV | 14.9% | 9.6% |
| Cinema 4D Release 10 | 16.3% | 10.5% |
| 3D Studio Max 9 | 19.2% | 11.5% |
| Fritz 11 | 19.1% | 11.5% |
| Nero 8 Recode | 14.1% | 9.2% |
| Overall: | 12.4% | 8.1% |
