Intel Core i5-7600: Power Consumption And Temperatures
Just like the Core i7-7700, Intel's Core i5-7600 doesn’t have an unlocked multiplier, and it has a much lower base clock rate than the Core i5-7600K. It also shares the same fate as the Core i7-7700 when it comes to other stock settings that render BCLK overclocking a pointless endeavor. The few megahertz that might be accessible just aren’t worth the effort.
The stock base frequency is rather low at 3.5 GHz. Under a heavy load, though, all four of the Core i5-7600's cores can maintain 3.9 GHz via Turbo Boost technology.
Core Voltage (Vcore)
The Core i5-7600’s power consumption is low enough that it uses the same voltages during our gaming and FPU-intensive benchmarks. Only Intel’s Power Thermal Utility imposes a voltage drop to minimize leakage currents.
Normal Load: Gaming
Under our Watch Dogs 2 sequence, we measure an average power consumption of 42 to 43W across the entire CPU. Nice. On their own, the execution cores consume just 32W.
Again, the CPU’s power consumption increases along with its temperature, though this happens more slowly than in the previous tests. The additional leakage current bumps our power measurement up by 1.4W.
Once again, the rate of the temperature increase over time depends on the position of the sensor. This time around, our measurements stabilize after just 18 minutes. And, for the first time, we see the highest readings from the CPU's diode.
Heavy Load: Stress Test (Floating-Point Unit)
AIDA64's stability test results in an increased power consumption of 49W. Temperature and leakage current increases are similar to what we saw during the gaming power consumption benchmark.
The temperature increases substantially up to 61°C. But even simple air coolers should have no problem dealing with this amount of waste heat.
Maximum Load: Intel Power Thermal Utility (100%)
One last time, we use the Intel Power Thermal Utility to push the Core i5-7600 to its limits. Power consumption rises quite a bit, leaving us with a reading between 72 to 73W. As the CPU heats up, further power losses attributable to leakage current remain below 1.5W.
A look at the temperature results shows us that the CPU diode, which ran hot during our previous benchmark, stays far below the four cores’ average temperature under maximum load. As usual, the CPU package sensor reports the highest readings, which are in line with the CPU cores’ highest temperatures.
The most mainstream CPU in our line-up is also the most economical and efficient. That's not just because of our sample's quality, either. Rather, the Core i5-7600’s frequency range is a lot closer to the processor’s sweet spot. This makes the quad-core model ideal for applications that put a premium on minimizing waste heat. Consider it for small form factor builds or other environments with limited cooling capacity.
