Intel Core i7-875K And Core i5-655K Battle Beyond 4 GHz

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Do you like the idea of an unlocked clock multiplier, but don't want to pay $1,000 for an Extreme Edition? Intel's K-series CPUs bring overclocking down to the mainstream. The question is: can these scalable parts keep up with AMD's Black Edition CPUs?

Test Setup And Benchmarks

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Test Hardware
ProcessorsIntel Core i7-875K (Lynnfield) 2.93 GHz, LGA 1156, 8 MB L3, Hyper-Threading enabled, Power-savings enabled
Row 1 - Cell 0 Intel Core i5-655K (Clarkdale) 3.2 GHz, LGA 1156, 4 MB L3, Hyper-Threading enabled, Power-savings enabled
Row 2 - Cell 0 AMD Phenom II X6 1090T (Thuban) 3.2 GHz, Socket AM3, 4 GT/s HyperTransport, 6 MB L3, Power-savings enabled enabled
Row 3 - Cell 0 AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE (Deneb) 3.4 GHz, Socket AM3, 4 GT/s HyperTransport, 6 MB L3, Power-savings enabled
MotherboardsASRock 890FX Deluxe3 (Socket AM3) 890FX/SB850, BIOS 1.40
Row 5 - Cell 0 Asus Maximus III Formula (LGA 1156) P55 Express, BIOS 1706
MemoryCrucial 8 GB (4 x 2GB) DDR3-1066 7-7-7-20 @ DDR3-1333
Hard DriveIntel SSDSA2M160G2GC 160GB SATA 3 Gb/s
Row 8 - Cell 0 Intel SSDSA2MH080G1GN 80GB SATA 3 Gb/s
GraphicsAMD Radeon HD 5970 2 GB
Power SupplyCooler Master UCP 1100W
HeatsinkNoctua NH-D14 w/ LGA 1156 and Socket AM3 Brackets
System Software And Drivers
Operating SystemWindows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
DirectXDirectX 11
Platform DriverIntel INF Chipset Update Utility 9.1.1.1015
Graphics DriverCatalyst 10.4
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Benchmarks and Settings
Audio Encoding
iTunesVersion: 9.1.1.12 (64-bit), Audio CD ("Terminator II" SE), 53 min., Default format AAC
Video Encoding
TMPGEnc 4.7Version: 4.7.3.292, Import File: "Terminator II" SE DVD (5 Minutes), Resolution: 720x576 (PAL) 16:9
DivX 6.9.2Encoding mode: Insane Quality, Enhanced Multi-Threading, Enabled using SSE4, Quarter-pixel search
Xvid 1.2.2Display encoding status=off
MainConcept Reference 2.0MPEG2 to MPEG2 (H.264), MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec, 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG2), Audio: MPEG2 (44.1 KHz, 2 Channel, 16-Bit, 224 Kb/s), Mode: PAL (25 FPS), Profile: Tom’s Hardware Settings for Qct-Core
HandBrake 0.9.4Version 0.9.4, convert first .vob file from The Last Samurai to .mp4, High Profile
Applications
Autodesk 3ds Max 2010 (64-bit)Version: 2010 Service Pack 1, Render Space Flyby Scene at 1920x1080 (HDTV)
WinRAR 3.90Version 3.90 (64-bit), Benchmark: THG-Workload (334 MB)
7-ZipVersion 4.65, Built-in Benchmark
Adobe Photoshop CS4Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates filters
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
3DMark VantageVersion: 1.02, GPU and CPU scores
PCMark VantageVersion: 1.00, System, Memories, TV and Movies, and Productivity benchmarks, Windows Media Player 10.00.00.3646
SiSoftware Sandra 2010CPU Test=CPU Arithmetic/Multimedia, Memory Test=Bandwidth Benchmark, Cryptography
Games
CrysisHigh Quality Settings, No AA / No AF, 4xAA / No AF, vsync off, 1680x1050 / 1900x1200 / 2560x1600, DirectX 10, Patch 1.2.1, 64-bit executable
Just Cause 2High Quality Settings, No AA / 16xAF, 4xAA / 16xAF, vsync off, 1680x1050 / 1920x1200 / 2560x1600, Desert Sunrise Benchmark, Steam Version
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2Ultra High Settings, No AA / No AF, 4xAA / No AF, 1680x1050 / 1920x1200 / 2560x1600, Second Sun, 450 second sequence, Fraps
DiRT 2High / Ultra High Settings, No AA / No AF, 8xAA / No AF, 1680x1050 / 1920x1200 / 2560x1600, In-Game Benchmark, Steam Version
Chris Angelini
Chris Angelini
Chris Angelini is an Editor Emeritus at Tom's Hardware US. He edits hardware reviews and covers high-profile CPU and GPU launches.