Core 2 Quad vis Core i7 vis Core i7 overclocked

The processor we tested was the 3.2 GHz Intel Core i 7965 Extreme edition. This one being the fastest of all the three in the Core i7 family is also the most expensive. But before we could start running all benchmarks on the new processor'. we needed a benchmark for comparison. Therefore. we decided to turn this review into a full scale battle between the Core i 7 Extreme and another similar processor.

The 2.66 GHz Core 2 Quad 6700. Also. another thing that was way too tempting and we couldn't resist doing was the idea of pushing the envelope. better known as overclocking a processor: the Core i7 in this case. What initially raised eyebrows. proved to be quite fruitful and informative at the end.All tests were carried first on the older Quad core to set a benchmark. Then the Core i7 was grilled by the same procedure. And finally, after overclocking was over, the act was repeated again a number of lines.

The test bed

The bigger new chip was run on the Intel Extreme DX58S motherboard with 4GB of DDR3 RAM. a Sapphire Radeo 5. 1950 XTX graphics card and a 400GB HOD at 7200 rpm Spindle speed. A similar setup was used to run the older quad core proce: 15 sor. The motherboard used for the Core 2 Quad was the Gig, byte EP 45003 P with 4GB ODR2 RAM and the same graphic 17 card and HOD. In both cases 32 bit Windows Vista Ultimat23 edition was used.

PCMark 2005
The synthetic benchmark was used to start the testing process A set of tests were ch osen tha t req u ired the CPU to flex its m us 35 cles to the extreme. Core 2 Ouad was the first to take a shot a the benchmark. After tests like file. audio and image compres 37 sion and other multJ-threaded ones. the processor's CPU scor 41 came out to be a decent 6415. Next. we tested the new Core 1:45 Extreme. which we had high hopes from. With all new feature 51 and a native quad-core. the i 7 didn't just surpass the bench mark set by the older cousin: it literally smashed it with a CP157 score of 10.995. rrthis.wasn't enough. the 'overclocked' i:63 battered the older CPU completely by reaching a CPU score 0 89 13.118 when running at 4.12 GHz.

POV Ray
Another industry benchmark. which tests the CPU's capabil1H ity by cendering high definition images with intricate detaili of light and shadow reflections. and refractions. After the 12' beating received during the PC Mark test. the Core 2 Quad was again put to the test first. The render average for this CPU came out to be 45,010 PPS in a total of 4.37 seconds, The Core 2 Quad being a powerful desktop class processor, the score is well, more than decent. When the same test was run on the Core i7 the outcome managed to amaze us again. In a total time of 2.06 seconds the render average came out to be 95.325 PPS. It means in less than half the time, we got twice the performance, When overclocked and running at 4, 12 GHz, it took only 1. 81 seconds to render at an overwhelming 1.13.359 PPS,

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CINEBENCH Release 10
The benchmark that also chech the multi-threading capabil¬ity of a processor was no exception. The core i 7 again came out to be the winner by a huge margin. When using one CPU. Core 2 Quad scored 2163, whereas the core i7 was at 3809, and when overclocked even a higher 4439, When using all four. the Core 2 Quad scored 6375 whereas the core i 7 leaped to 15,533 and when running at 4,OGHz an even higher 16, 59l The multiprocessor speed of the Core 2 Quad was 2.9 5x as compared to 4.08x of the i 7, Also on the open GL standard the CPU was left behind at 101 wi th Core i 7 scoring 172 and 203 when overclocked.

Virtualization
What mightseen like an odd thing to test is actually quite important and relevant for people who implement it. Because desktop level virtualization is being used in the real world we couldn't ignore this area, To get the idea of the processor's performance when running several virtual machines, we used the CPU test of PC Mark 05 again. Using Windows Virtu a PC we made three vir¬al desktop systems running Windows Vista Ultimate edition "'it). And if that wasn't a load enough in itself, we also ran 3nchmark simultaneously on all three.

The average of three results was considered to compare the two and as expected. the Core i 7 took the cake away. The average CPU score of the three virtual machines r.9nnlng on the older Core 2 Quad was 1288 as compared to a staggering 4255 on the Core i 7. Apart from scores the system running on the Core i 7 was much more responsive and lag free. We spared overdocking the processor in this case as the load seemed overwhelming and could lead to per.manent damage to the chip.