VR World » lga-1366

Core i7 is much bigger than Core 2 or Phenom

Theo Valich — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:00:59 +0000

During the past couple of days, quite a few friends and acquaintances asked me about the differences in packaging between Core 2 and i7 series of processors. It seems that there is belief that there is no need to replace the motherboard (huh? New CPU Socket people – yes, you have to replace the motherboard).

But also, I failed to find a good Core 2 vs. i7 vs. Phenom shot on the internet, so there you go.
On the left, we have AMD Phenom X4 9850+ Black Edition, middle spot is taken by Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6800 and Core i7 Extreme 965 is on the right. As you can see in the picture above, this is one of largest Intel CPUs, if we exclude Slot 1 processors.
But even more important than Socket LGA-1366 is the fact that this baby packs some serious horsepower. I will deploy this Core i7 as the main rig from now on, and my Spider system (Phenom 9950BE, ASUS 790GX) is going to take a role of development server for the new site. This weekend will be fun, putting 64-bit Windows Server 2008, Adobe’s Creative Studio 4 Master Collection, .NET 3.5, Eclipse and Silverlight 2 SDK and other shenanigans.

The post Core i7 is much bigger than Core 2 or Phenom appeared first on VR World.

Intel Core i7 965 Gallery – from Silicon to Benchmarks!

Theo Valich — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:00:48 +0000

Following my yesterday’s article, I received news that GTX280 kicked the bucket so my friend decided to install the ATI Radeon HD 4870X2 as a replacement, and the machine is now working like a clockwork.

I won’t go into fashion decisions, as I am not a big fan of acrylic cases, but I wish my friend all the best when it comes to cleaning up.

When it comes to the CPU itself, Intel Core i7 965 (codename: Bloomfield) works at 1.6 GHz in SpeedStep mode, and works at 3.4 GHz by default. E.g. it works in ASUS motherboard at 3.4 GHz by default, since the board came with Turbo mode on.

Intel Core i7 965 works at 1.2 Volts, the board was feeding the CPU with 1.208V, bus speed was supposed to be 133 MHz, the board was giving out 135.9 MHz (which means QPI is clocked at 3.23 GHz instead of 3.2 GHz), but if you want, you can turn the Turbo mode off. Since Core i7 Extreme is made for overclocking anyways, expect that this system will undergo a nice air cooling upgrade and then target 4 GHz on air.

One thing is certain: somebody is really, really lucky

You are free to use images from the gallery, just please link to this post. If there are interested, resolution is 2048×1536, since all pics were taken with a Sony Ericsson phone. And yes, my Nokia N93i would make way better ones

P.S. If you wonder why Intel chose the name 965 for its Core i7 series, reason is very simple: company wanted to revisit its failed NetBust marchitecture and relive the glory days. Pentium EE 965 was a 150W consuming (that was advertised, reality was a bit different… for the worse) monster that failed to beat AMD processors that worked at much less clocks… now, Intel is challenging AMD with the new 965.

The post Intel Core i7 965 Gallery – from Silicon to Benchmarks! appeared first on VR World.

World, meet Nehalem e.g. Core i7 965 pixellated

Theo Valich — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 23:00:40 +0000

This coming monday (Nov 3rd), Intel will officially unveil Core i7 line-up. The line-up is consisted out of i7 920, 940 and 965, which will retail as the “Extreme Edition” and feature a lot of overclocking-friendly technologies.
I’ve just received word that a buddy of mine got his Core i7 in Croatia. He and decided to assemble a system for ultimate gaming and Photoshop action. The system will be consisted out of Core i7 Extreme 965, Corsair DDR3 memory kit, ASUS Rampage II Formula motherboard and EVGA GeForce GTX280.
But for starters, this is his majesty, Core i7 965, formerly known as Nehalem:

The King is dead, long live the king

Also, this is a short gallery (pictures are 1024 pixel wide) of the stuff he is using right now – have to admit, motherboard looks like a really good one. CrossFire and SLI support in one place – one has to ask what kind of politics kept this for so long.

Now, AMD has a mountain to climb with its upcoming 45nm Deneb processors. I wish them all the best, since my main gaming rig will continue to be AMD-powered, with a hope of replacing Phenom 9950BE with the 45nm one. My workstation will continue to be Intel powered, with QX6800, until I get my hands on these babies.

The post World, meet Nehalem e.g. Core i7 965 pixellated appeared first on VR World.

Noctua proves its focus on consumer happiness

Theo Valich — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:00:58 +0000

Friends at TechPowerUp! recently reported that Noctua, well-known firm in the cooling business decided to give a very pleasant present to the owners of their CPU coolers.
With the arrival of Intel Core i7 processors, Noctua announced that the company is giving away free mounting kits for LGA1366 socket. Named SecuFirm2, this socket adapter is compatible with all Noctua coolers since the company arrived on the market, three years ago.

Adapter for upcoming Core i7 CPUs...available free of charge

As soon as Nehalem processors and motherboards reach the stores, you can go and visit Noctua’s website and file an online request. You have to give out proof of purchase of either Noctua cooler or Nehalem motherboard or the CPU. For those that can’t provide the invoice for any of those three, Noctua will make this kit available at a low charge through its distribution network. This move is even more generous that SecuFirm for Intel Xeons, which didn’t reach high numbers, but the company earned a lot of kudos from Xeon users about it.
All in all, I consider this to be a really good deal, and evidence that the company is taking care of its customers. We hope that more companies will show this amount of goodwill. Now, if only NH-U12P would fit in my Hiper Anubis case… ah, nothing is perfect in this world…

The post Noctua proves its focus on consumer happiness appeared first on VR World.