Benchmark results of new Intel Core i7 870 (Lynnfield) CPU did appear a month ago along with some announcements about new CPUs (Core i7 870, Core i7 860 and Core i5 750) and new chipset (P55). We managed to get our hand on fully functional configuration based on Intel Core i7 870 CPU paired with Gigabyte GA-P55-UD5 motherboard.

One of the new features of new chipset and CPUs is support for SLI and CrossFire. Of course we were very interested in SLI performances on an Intel based motherboard so we used two ASUS GTX260 Matrix models because those present optimal combination of price and performances. Hard drives can be “bottleneck” so we used two WD 500GB disks in RAID 0. Memory used was 2 x 2GB Kinston HyperX DDR3 that operates at 1600MHz in dual channel mode (Intel Core i7, Core i5 and Core i3 LGA 1156 CPUs don’t have triple channel support).
New Chipset

Intel P55 chipset continues the development path set by X58 chipset. Instead of north and south bridge, there is one chip – P55 Platform Controller Hub. Memory controller is integrated into CPU which allows it direct access to memory and eliminates bottleneck that FSB can create. We should underline that although P55 has nothing to do with memory, on Socket 1156 (Lynnfield) motherboards only DDR3 memory will be supported starting from DDR3 800 up to DDR3 2000 and even faster. Intel P55 Express chipset also grants control of 16 PCI Express 2.0 lines to CPU, while the rest 8 will control chipset (Hub). Since the majority of motherboard will have 3 PCI Express slots that will operate in x16/x4 or x8/x8×4 mode, only real difference are first two slots that will be controlled by CPU. This should minimize latencies in GPU-CPU communication.

We already mentioned that new P55 motherboards will have support for SLI and CrossFire. These are good news since Intel users will no longer be restricted to ATI graphics cards when creating multi GPU systems. By moving memory and PCI Express controller into CPU, chipset no longer needs fast QPI interface used in X58, so slower 2GB/s DMI connection is used instead. Data and media support are now similar to well known ICH10R south bridge: 14 USB ports, 6 SATA with support for RAID (0/1/5/10), audio and gigabit LAN.



New CPU

First CPU models that were announced for Socket 1156 are: Core i7 870 (2.93GHz), Core i7 850 (2.80GHz) and Core i5 750 (2.66GHz). First two models have 4 cores that will be presented to OS as 8 thanks to Hyper Threading technology, while Core i5 doesn’t support Hyper Threading and will be recognized as standard quad-core CPU. On the other side will be Core i3 CPUs with their two cores with support for Hyper Threading thanks to which OS will register 4 cores. In our configuration we found Core i7 870 CPU at 2.93GHz – fastest CPU in this group. CPU is made in 45nm manufacturing process with TDP set at 95W which is better result compared to 130W Core i7 CPUs for LGA 1366 socket. CPU has 256KB of secondary cache per core and 8MB L3 cache which allows similar performance levels to Core i7 9XX models. Turbo Boost technology is also supported (Turbo Mode) that allows CPU cores to operate at higher frequencies than default. Thanks to this technology individual active cores can raise their frequencies in 133MHz steps but within limits of maximal voltage and TDP (Thermal Design Power).



Benchmarks

Two NVIDIA graphics cards in SLI allowed us to test how new features operate on new chipset in combination with (also) new CPU. All benchmarks were conducted on Windows 7 with performance levels similar to those achieved by Core i7 920. Of course direct comparison cannot be made since sockets are different, but Core i7 920 proved that it works better with memory since it supports triple-channel mode. Unfortunately we had the system just for few hours so thorough testing of SLI and CrossFire performances are lacking. We even didn’t have enough time to dismount cooler, clear it from thermal paste residues, take a picture of it and put all back together. More detailed and comparative benchmarking will be done upon official presentation of new chipset and CPUs.
Conclusion

If price of new Core i7 870 CPU will be around 500€ (as we were told) than is seams that Core i7 920 is much better solution. With very similar results CPU that costs the half of that amount offers better price/performance ratio. Even when you add up price of expensive X58 motherboard Core i7 920 still looks as better purchase. Nevertheless, users that go for “the best of the best” when it comes to new LGA 1156 CPUs, Core i7 870 is the only real choice. For everybody else we suggest you to wait a bit for Core i7 860 that should cost around 250€. On the other side there will be also Core i5 750 that will be priced below 200€ and will be great choice for cheaper gaming rigs. Lack of Hyper Threading will be important to users that work with 3D rendering applications and for transcoding, while gamers will enjoy in high FPS values.
Intel Core i7 870
Frequency 2.93Ghz
BUS Speed (FSB) 133Mhz
Multiplier 23
L2 Cache 4 x 256KB
L3 Cache 8M
Manufacturing process 45nm
TDP 95W
Intel Core i7 870 – Results
Everest
Memory read / write / copy [MB/s] 16,111 / 13,809 / 16,174
Memory Latency 50ns
7-Zip x64 Compres / Decompress [KB/s] 16,066 / 208,733
WindRAR x64 3,238KB/s
Nucleraus Multicore v2.0.0 rc1 20,894
Blender 2.48a 8-threads 32,4
Cinebench R10 xCPU 18,913
1920 x 1080 Max AA and AF
3DMark 06 – CPU / Score 5,653 / 15,902
Crysis Very High 28.85FPS
Unigine Tropics – Score / FPS 571 / 22.6
Unigine Sanctuary – Score / FPS 1,210 / 28.5
Call of Juarez – min / avg / max [FPS] 16.7 / 27.3 / 42.1
Cryostasis – min / avg / max [FPS] 32.1 / 78.9 / 171.5
Street Fighter – Score / FPS 7,183 / 74.8
Test configuration:Intel Core i7 870 2,93 GHz, Gigabyte GA-P55-UD5, 2×2GB Kingston HyperX 1600 MHz, 2xAsus GTX260 Matrix 896 MB DDR3, 2xWD 500GB, Cooler Master UCP 800W


Source : http://activextream.com.my

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Added on September 1, 2009, 9:22 pmcool ya~?

This post has been edited by thesunz: Sep 1 2009, 09:22 PM

CooL....
thx feR sharinG it

thanks for the info

that proc costs ~2k a pop

How come Sep 1 thread then you guys bump it up today?

2k?!
haish...2years more only than can get my hands on it la like that
but this is very2 cool

why not i7 860 instead? cheaper..

ouch.....im speechless when i saw those mobo....damm nice~

stylish and cool blue