Processors seemingly come and go as fast as the seasons. One minute, your system is the top of the line and the next it’s last month’s news. Sometimes, newly revised processors make sense and sometimes they don’t. If you’re an enthusiast who likes to stay as current as possible, it’ll eventually drive you crazy. Thus, you can easily imagine the confusion (and borderline insanity) that people researching new computer upgrades are going through.
The latest Intel processor to hit the market is their Core i7 975 Extreme Processor based on the Nehalem core. It’s Intel’s new top of the line desktop CPU with some modifications that may benefit you if you’ve been holding out for a faster, more efficient processor. Or, perhaps you simply don’t like buying first revisions because you’d like to see if something better comes along. Read on and see if the i7 975 (D0) is the chip that measures up to your standards.
Features and Specifications
The 975 clocks in at 3.33 GHz sporting the same 1333 MHz Front Side Bus as all i7s. If you’re paying attention, that’s only a meager 130 MHz faster than the 965 clocking in at 3.2 GHz. The processor’s Intel Quick Path Interconnect (QPI) speed is still capable of producing a whopping 6.5 GT/s (not GB/s) which equates in to a very large amount of memory bandwidth. That’s 1.7 GT/s more than the base non-Extreme i7 series like the 920, 940, and 950.
If you weren’t privy to the i7 naming convention, any processor ending in a ‘5’ makes it an Extreme Edition (XE) and offers an unlocked Multiplier. Non-XEs are not unlocked. This makes this the ideal series for enthusiasts who don’t know a lot about overclocking and allows you to simply raise the multiplier a couple points in the BIOS to produce overclocking magic.
What Makes the Core i7 975 (D0) Better?
The new D0 stepping means that this is a revised Nehalem core that offers lower power consumption and thermal properties despite the higher frequency. Chances are that you’ve seen more and more D0 Stepping i7 920, 940, 950, and maybe even 965 processors as of late.
The first 965 had a C0 Stepping while the i7 975 sport a D0 Stepping. The C0 stepping, while blistering fast, consumes about 1.35 Volts normally compared to the 975’s 1.15 Volts. The higher voltage most assuredly means the 965 will operate at higher temperatures despite its lower frequencies.
A bonus side effect of the D0 stepping is that the more efficient core should equate to a higher overclock than the 965. It was high heat levels and circuit limitations that kept the 965 from doing very well beyond 4GHz in past testing. We’ll check that out as well during our torture testing of this new core.
What Makes the Retail Box Worth It?
When recommending and building systems, many users ask what the differences and benefits are between buying an OEM vs a retail boxed processor. I typically recommend buying retail because the CPU carries a 3 year warranty whereas the OEM chip can vary from 30 to 90 days warranty depending on the retailer. Only an experienced enthusiast or system builder capable of backing their systems should consider OEM, in my humble opinion.
If you’re a new user or intend to use the system in a professional capacity, you definitely want to get your money’s worth. Stick with the retail box as the processor will at least be covered if something goes wrong.
Assembling the Test System
Since Intel Extreme processors have unlocked Multipliers, I find it important to pair them up with motherboards that are actually capable of handling the multiplier changes and higher frequencies. Thanks to GIGABYTE and ASUS, there are no shortage of capable motherboards. And of course, having some extremely fast DDR3 Triple Channel memory helps too.
For this test, our test system looks something like this:
- Intel Core i7 965 (C0) and 975 (D0) Extreme Processors
- Thermaltake V1 CPU Cooler
- GIGABYTE GA-EX58-EXTREME Ultra Durable 3 Motherboard
- ASUS ROG Rampage II Gene X58 Micro ATX Motherboard
- Kingston HyperX 6GB 2000 MHz DDR3 Triple Channel Memory
- ZOTAC GeForce GTX 295 Video Card
- 2 x 500GB SATA II Hard Drives
- Kingwin Mach 1 1000Watt Power Supply
All the latest BIOS and graphics drivers were installed to ensure the best possible performance in our testing. All driver software was left to default settings so that you can easily reproduce the results if you wish. We also maxed out the highest game settings in our video game benchmarks.
SANDRA, Vantage, Cinebench 10, and Passmark start off the synthetic benchmarks. XMPeg 5.0 puts the cores to work offering up some good rendering times. Crysis, Farcry 2, World at War, Left 4 Dead, and Mirror’s Edge conclude the gaming benchmarks. Let’s begin!
The i7 975 in Action
Normally, overclocking would be tossed in a neat little section all by itself. However, this is definitely one area where the 975 shows its hidden potential. The results were pretty much identical on both the GIGABYTE EX58-Extreme and ASUS Rampage II Gene due in part to the limited performance of the CPU cooler.
Achieving a clock speed of 4.2 GHz was no problem for this new D0 stepping, requiring roughly 1.45 Volts. The 965 required 1.5 Volts just to attempt 4 GHz which gets very hot very quickly. My Thermaltake V1 CPU Cooler just couldn’t keep up with the 975 when pushing beyond the 4.2 GHz threshold. The potential is there to go further with better cooling.
SANDRA Mathematical and Multi-Media
The improvements made to the Core i7 975 (D0) are more apparent here. The performance increase was expected to be lower which is definitely not the case here. The only desktop based system that is faster is still the Skull Trail.
Memory Bandwidth
The purpose of this benchmark is to show the extra gains as the frequencies increase. The memory controller can always make use of more CPU power. This test just reveals that memory is not quite maxed out just yet.
3DMark Vantage
I definitely enjoyed the 975 D0’s extra overclocking head room. I’ll have to throw an elite water cooling block on here soon to see what sorts of results can be achieved. Under 3DMark Vantage, we can see that overclocking definitely gets you a ton of extra points on this CPU.
Cinebench 10
The nice thing about Cinebench 10 is that it can give you a pretty accurate CPU performance comparison. It also doesn’t cost anything if you’d like to see where your system stands. Although triple channel is faster, dual channel is still only steps away.
Passmark – CPU Marks
I’ve found Passmark to provide some common user, real world scores. Not everyone has the most elite software, system components, or always know how to configure their BIOS for maximum performance. But, if you can, your results are going to be very close to these. It’s pretty amazing to see the Core i7 destroy even Intel’s own Core 2 Quad.
XMpeg 5.0 1080p Rendering
XMpeg 5.0 is new here on the test bench. Typically, you’ll find the latest version of Handbrake being used to gather some rendering or encoding benchmarks. Of course, the newly minted Core i7 975 wins the day in this race.
This concludes our regular set of benchmarks. However, high speed CPUs wouldn’t be much fun without…fun. We’re stepping through some of our favourite gaming titles to give you a real world idea of how many extra Frames Per Second you can expect from Intel’s latest and greatest. Upward and onward…
Core i7 Extreme Processors for gaming? Why not!
There’s no shortage of processing power if you’re using any Core i7 in a gaming capacity. Sure it’s tremendous overkill, but it means there will be no shortage of frame rates lest your graphics card can’t keep up. Any Core i7 means you should be up to speed for several years to come.
Crysis
Yep! It’s plenty fast for Crysis and all its graphics crippling glory. But, it’s even faster when pushing the frequencies throughout the system. D0 and overclocking FTW indeed!
Farcry 2
The scenery just seems to get better and better as you progress through the game. There are some fantastic renderings within the game if you pay attention or know where to look. And, of course, high frame rates help the experience all the more.
Call of Duty: World at War
Did we ever mention how really nice these resolutions are using the highest settings possible? Playing this game has me looking forward to Modern Warfare 2. No cross hairs here to help your aim. You really do have to look down the sights which is easy (or rather easier) to do with higher frame rates.
Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead was tossed in just for an older game engine perspective. Of course it will be even older once Left 4 Dead 2 Arrives this November. The demo used has a lot of Zombie chaos purposely added to keep the system working to some degree. Not to mention, this game is still a heckuva lot of fun!
Mirror’s Edge
There aren’t many games that put a system’s full graphical performance to the test especially in regards to Lighting and Physics. Mirror’s Edge employs both and can quickly reveal your graphic card’s short comings in this respect. Not to mention, it is a pretty unique gaming experience that entertains for hours.
Power Consumption
The amount of power consumed really depends on your system and the components in the build. All of the components used in the test system are intended for enthusiast which sometimes means less conservation. The important thing is to change out only the processor when comparing it to the 965.
The Core i7 975’s idle power consumption was noticeably less than the 965 as predicted since it requires less power by default. The D0 truly makes a difference in this respect. At full load, the two were close, but D0 still steps ahead due to the lower consumption by default.
Final Thoughts and Conclusion
Is this a worthy upgrade? It’s pretty simple really. if you’re already a proud owner of an i7 965 Extreme Processor, There’s no need to rush out to buy a shiny new Core i7 975 (D0) unless you’re a user hell bent on the maximum performance available today. Realistically, anyone not able to put the i7 975 to full use should stick with what they have. Otherwise, it’d be like owning a Ferrari on a very small island.
However, professional users currently using the i7 920 or 940 who have the budget, would find the jump in performance cost effective. The Core i7 975 and its D0 Stepping consumes about the same as the 965. That can equate in to some saved money if the machine is constantly being fully utilized day in and out. And the extra performance gained due to the revision is icing on the cake. This too can lead to money and time saved because projects are compiling faster.
The bottom line here is that if you’ve been holding off buying your Core i7 simply due to price or don’t care to buy first revision processors, then the i7 975 is the pinnacle of desktop performance even more worthy of its price. If it’s still too much for you, consider one of the non-Extreme i7 processors hitting the shelves now that offer the same D0 Stepping revision. Just make sure you ask and ensure that you are getting a D0 stepping before hitting that confirmation button.
Pros
- Fastest Desktop Processor Available
- D0 Stepping Revision
- Power Consumption
- Better Overclocking
- Requires Less Voltage
- Content Creator’s Best Solution
Cons
- Premium Price for Premium Performance
Overall Rating: 9.5 / 10.0
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