Intel Core i7-3770K Review: A Small Step Up From Sandy Bridge

[mayne92]

Great review Chris!

 

[ern88]

[citation][nom]sublime2k[/nom]Now I'm happy for buying 2500K instead of waiting for IB.[/citation]
Yep as am I man!!!!

 

[hellfire24]

I still have a Q6600, should I upgrade to ivy bridge or sandy bridge? I kinda do want pcie 3.0...

if you can then why not?you will notice a good boost.

 

[neon neophyte]

the grass is greener on the tock side of the clock, imo

 

[ojas]

Good, in depth review!

Was wondering, do you think you could compare the PCIe 3.0 video memory bandwidth (Using sandra, for example) b/w SB-E and IB?

I'd also like to see what effect memory bandwidth has on the HD 4000 IGP.

[citation][nom]oxiide[/nom]I don't personally think anyone was recommending waiting for Ivy Bridge because they expected a huge performance gain. I think the idea was that for the same price as Sandy Bridge's equivalent, you could get a little more performance, a little less power use and some preferable features.[/citation]
+1

 

[gonchuki]

You should have tried the A8 with the discrete 6570, that would show whether the CPU was the bottleneck on the HD4000 vs integrated 6550 comparison on quite a few of the benches.

 

[darkchazz]

Time to upgrade my 955BE
You have served me well since 2009, but it's time for you to rest.

 

[brett1042002]

Good review.

Looks like the 2500k is still the gamer's best bang for the buck.

Crazy how much the AMD CPUs bottleneck a GTX 680.

 

[bustapr]

im really not impressed with the decision to keep HD2500 graphicson the core i5s. nor am I impressed with the HD4000 performance. as a laptop user, I try to look for the best laptop with the best gaming vs baterry vs price performance. looks like ivy bridge wont be a viable option for when I decide to upgrade my amd a6 laptop since the skyrim performance from the HD4000 is very similar to it and the HD2500 performance is worse.

CPU-wise, Im not impressed either. sure theres a slight performance boost from similar sandy bridge cpus, but it isnt really worth upgrading and spending lots of money on. ivy bridge IMO was a bit overhyped because of the "groundbreaking" transisters. but wasnt really a failure either.

this might be a slow CPU advancement year if AMD doesnt improve significantly on their CPUs soon. i feel like intel is going to take a nice long break like they did right before athlon 64 slapped them in the face.

 

[travish82]

[citation][nom]oxiide[/nom]I don't personally think anyone was recommending waiting for Ivy Bridge because they expected a huge performance gain. I think the idea was that for the same price as Sandy Bridge's equivalent, you could get a little more performance, a little less power use and some preferable features.[/citation]

That's all well and good and makes perfect logical sense. But here's the thing: If you wait six months to buy any tech hardware, you will almost always get better performance, smaller size, lower price, or a combination of those things (barring a tsunami of coarse!)

I don't understand why people wait for stuff like this. Doesn't it make more sense to make static price/performance requirement for your future purchases? i.e. "I will buy a new CPU when a four core 3+ ghz version costs less than $200" It's logic like that which causes me to buy almost exclusively on the "tock" phase. Also why I have owned the 8800GT, and now have the 460GTX. If you set a moving target, you'll never upgrade.

 

[verbalizer]

I went with the 2500K too...but I kinda wish I'd gone with a 2700K...even if it is just for gaming. IB is beyond what I need right now...this month at least.

i7-2600K or i7-2700K for gaming is overkill..
i5-25xx all day.

 

[mowston]

[citation][nom]gonchuki[/nom]You should have tried the A8 with the discrete 6570, that would show whether the CPU was the bottleneck on the HD4000 vs integrated 6550 comparison on quite a few of the benches.[/citation]
Also could add the crossfire mode for the 3850+6570. Could be very interesting.

 

[Guest]

If it wasn't for the CPU cooler, my AMD 965 would be running away from home 3770k seem worthy!

I planned on a 2600 with Z68, but might as well get newer. Im wondering on the stock clock temperatures for the 3770K. Hope to see temps with different CPU coolers.

 

[-Fran-]

Great balanced review Mr. Chis!

I would have loved a few more games thrown in the mix, but great job non the less.

I'm really waiting for the "fine tune" review of the IB OC. I'm really expecting that it will be around 4.5Ghz, making it just a tad better than the current SB's.

cheers!

 

[monsta]

I waited for nothing.....my bad

 

[alekkomar]

The "sweet spot" for Ivy Bridge was always laptops ... especially ultrabooks. Real curious what we see there with the reduced power/thermal requirements ... plus semi-decent built-in graphics.

CHRIS: Nobody has mentioned it yet, but was I the only one who caught this comment of yours when talking about Power Consumption and Efficiency: "I also have data for the -2550K, but I’m working on a surprise with that information." I was surprised we didn't see less power consumption on the desktop comparisons.

 

[Hupiscratch]

Well, my Athlon 64 FX-60 is standing until now, so I think I can wait for the next tock, Haswell.

 

[dennisburke]

[citation][nom]d4rkr4in[/nom]I still have a Q6600, should I upgrade to ivy bridge or sandy bridge? I kinda do want pcie 3.0...[/citation]

I upgraded from a Q6600 to the i5-750 and it was very much a "Tock" in the upgrade schedule. If hyperthreading is not that important to you, and your comfortable with overclocking, I would look at the i5-2500K when the prices drop after the release of the new Ivy Bridges. My i5 does everything I need it to do, it overclocks like my Q6600 never could, and I'm just going to sit tight until Intel's next architecture comes along. My recommendation is based on trying to save some money, but I'd also take a look at the i5-3570K when it comes out and see how it compares to the 2500K.

 

[verbalizer]

Well, my Athlon 64 FX-60 is standing until now, so I think I can wait for the next tock, Haswell.

socket 939..?

 

[pharoahhalfdead]

Awesome article. I was considering switching from my Phenom to this, but I will wait a while longer. I expected the power saving to be much better, but since the focus was on the gpu, I'll wait a bit longer. Thanx.

I know you are doing us a courtesy by giving a way a system, but could you please use a Captcha(?) that is easier to use. I don't think I'm the only one who has to reset a dozen+ times to find one that is somewhat readable, only to be told "incorrect." After four failed attempts and dozens of resets I gave up. I'm not whining just constructive criticism.

 

[Guest]

I went with the 2500K too...but I kinda wish I'd gone with a 2700K...even if it is just for gaming. IB is beyond what I need right now...this month at least.

No need for i7 until games start using hyperthreading.

 

[Uni-duni-te]

What cooler was used for overclocking tests? I could not see it on the system description.

 

[confish21]

Awesome job! Looking forward to more!

My AMD Altlon 64 5000+ told me its scared.

 

[hannibal]

Well, well In desktop we get better GPU... Hmm... I really wan to see how this manages in laptop usage. Low electric usage would be the main reason to use Ivy. How does it work in laptops? Do you get better battery time? Do you get better temperatures? The first should be ok, but how much. The later is big questionmark so far are the temps actually worse? or is the problem only when you overclock IVY...

 

[cangelini]

Thanks for checking out the stories guys. Taking all of the feedback into consideration, as always!

@Uni-duni-te: Used a Thermalright MUX-120 running 100% duty cycle for overclocking.