Clarkdale Efficiency: The Perfect Clock Rate For Intel's Core i5-661

Voltage Table And Test Setup

We tested using Intel’s reference LGA 1156 cooler, which comes bundled with all Core i5 dual-core boxed processors and can handle a Core i5 at up to about 4 GHz. It has a copper core and is quiet enough for an average desktop PC. But since it's half as high as the quad-core coolers designed to tackle 95W or 130W TDPs, you shouldn't expect too much from it. We decided to use it since not everyone would want to spend another $30 to $80 for a premium cooler. We recommend getting a tray CPU and purchasing a CPU cooler separately if you want less noise and/or better cooling.

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System Hardware
HardwareDetails
Performance Benchmarks
Motherboard (Socket LGA1156)MSI H55M-ED55 (Rev. 1.0) Chipset: Intel H55, BIOS: 1.1 Beta 1 (09/08/2009)
CPU IntelIntel Core i5-661 (32nm, 3.33 GHz, 2 x 256KB L2 and 4MB L3 Cache, TDP 87W, Rev. B1)
RAM DDR3 (dual)2 x 2GB DDR3-1600 (Corsair CM3X2G1600C9DHX)
GraphicsIntel HD Graphics
Hard DriveWestern Digital VelociRaptor, 300GB (WD3000HLFS), 10,000 RPM, SATA/300, 16MB Cache
Power SupplyPC Power & Cooling, Silencer 750EPS12V 750W
System Software & Drivers
Operating SystemWindows Vista Enterprise Version 6.0 x64 Service Pack 2 (Build 6000)
Drivers and Settings
Intel Chipset DriversChipset Installation Utility Ver. 9.1.1.1025
Intel Storage DriversMatrix Storage Drivers Ver. 8.8.0.1009

Benchmarks and Settings

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Audio Benchmarks and Settings
BenchmarkDetails
iTunesVersion: 8.1.0.52 Audio CD ("Terminator II" SE), 53 min., Convert to AAC audio format
Lame MP3Version 3.98 Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min., convert WAV to MP3 audio format, Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kbps)
Video Benchmarks and Settings
BenchmarkDetails
TMPEG 4.6Version: 4.6.3.268 Video: Terminator 2 SE DVD (720x576, 16:9) 5 Minutes Audio: Dolby Digital, 48000 Hz, 6-channel, English Advanced Acoustic Engine MP3 Encoder (160 Kbps, 44.1 KHz)
DivX 6.8.5Version: 6.8.5 == Main Menu == default == Codec Menu == Encoding mode: Insane Quality Enhanced multithreading Enabled using SSE4 Quarter-pixel search == Video Menu == Quantization: MPEG-2
XviD 1.2.1Version: 1.2.1 Other Options / Encoder Menu - Display encoding status = off
Mainconcept Reference 1.6.1Version: 1.6.1 MPEG-2 to MPEG-2 (H.264) MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec 28 sec. HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG-2) Audio: MPEG-2 (44.1 kHz, 2-channel, 16-bit, 224 Kbps) Codec: H.264 Mode: PAL (25 FPS) Profile: Settings for eight threads
Application Benchmarks and Settings
BenchmarkDetails
Grisoft AVG Anti-Virus 8Version: 8.5.287 Virus base: 270.12.16/2094 Benchmark Scan: some compressed ZIP and RAR archives
WinRAR 3.9Version 3.90 x64 BETA 1 Compression = Best Benchmark: THG-Workload
WinZip 12Version 12.0 (8252) WinZIP Commandline Version 3 Compression = Best Dictionary = 4096KB Benchmark: THG-Workload
Autodesk 3d Studio Max 2009Version: 9 x64 Rendering Dragon Image Resolution: 1920 x 1280 (frame 1-5)
Adobe Photoshop CS 4 (64-Bit)Version: 11 Filtering a 16MB TIF (15000x7266) Filters: Radial Blur (Amount: 10; Method: zoom; Quality: good) Shape Blur (Radius: 46 px; custom shape: Trademark sysmbol) Median (Radius: 1px) Polar Coordinates (Rectangular to Polar)
Adobe Acrobat 9 ProfessionalVersion: 9.0.0 (Extended) == Printing Preferenced Menu == Default Settings: Standard == Adobe PDF Security - Edit Menu == Encrypt all documents (128-bit RC4) Open Password: 123 Permissions Password: 321
Microsoft Powerpoint 2007Version: 2007 SP2 PPT to PDF Powerpoint Document (115 Pages) Adobe PDF-Printer
Deep Fritz 11Version: 11 Fritz Chess Benchmark Version 4.2