Intel Core i7 920 2.67GHz Benchmarks

[David (PassMark)]

The results for the new Intel Core i7 CPU have made their first appearance in the CPU charts today.

The Core i7 920 is the slowest of the new i7 range but despite this, it still ranks as the fastest single CPU solution on the market today with a CPU mark of 5907. Only small number of high end server machines with multiple CPUs perform better than the Core i7.

The closest desktop CPU from AMD is the Phenom 9950, with a CPU Mark of 2647.

We expect even better results from the faster 940 and 965 Core i7 models once they appear in the charts.

[john w]

Are these results in the baseline database yet? I am interested to see how it did on the Memory Allocate Small Block, and couldn't find the CPU type in the dropdown.

It is good to see the overall results up there already though.

[David (PassMark)]

The download links is here,
http://www.passmark.com/baselines/V6...%20BL14287.zip

But we need to add i7 to the drop down lists

[john w]

Excellent, thanks for the quick reply.

It was very interesting to load those results straight in and immediately see the detailed results of that machine compared to our own machines and others we have tested!

[Windsurf48]

...We expect even better results from the faster 940 and 965 Core i7 models once they appear in the charts.

I'm still experimenting with BIOS settings so I haven't uploaded anything yet, but I just ran the CPU Mark for a Core i7 965 with the FSB increased from 133 to 150 and the stock multiplier and got a score of 8087.9

[cleaner888]

i8

The download links is here,
http://www.passmark.com/baselines/V6...%20BL14287.zip

But we need to add i7 to the drop down lists

Are we waiting for the i8 to come out before we do this?

[David (PassMark)]

You can find the i7 in the list of CPU's in the PerformanceTest V7 software, currently in beta release as of 11/Dec/08.

We will also update the web site.

[mckenzgd]

Core i7 Extreme of 8 Core Xeon 5420?

Lads I'm building a system for video editing Should I go with the Core i7 Extreme or Dual CPU Core Xeon 5420? I was looking at your benchmark and the i7 Extreme is Ranked 16th and the [Dual CPU] Intel Xeon E5420 @ 2.50GHz is ranked 8th. Judging by this benchmark I should go for the 5420. Yet people keep advising me to go for the i7 Extreme. you are the experts what would you recommend and why.

Thanks a million
Ger

[David (PassMark)]

I haven't checked the pricing, but I assume price isn't a big factor. Without checking I would think the i7 is cheaper. Especially if you need special server RAM for the Xeon motherboard.

If your video editing software can fully utilize 8 cores (without getting bogged down waiting for the disk or RAM), then the Dual CPU Xeon 5420 might be a more powerful solution.

But if your video editing software runs mostly in 1 to 4 threads, then i7 should whip the Dual CPU Xeon 5420.

In short it depends on how your software package was written, and how you use it, as to what is the best.

[Windsurf48]

Lads I'm building a system for video editing Should I go with the Core i7 Extreme or Dual CPU Core Xeon 5420? I was looking at your benchmark and the i7 Extreme is Ranked 16th and the [Dual CPU] Intel Xeon E5420 @ 2.50GHz is ranked 8th. Judging by this benchmark I should go for the 5420. Yet people keep advising me to go for the i7 Extreme. you are the experts what would you recommend and why.

Thanks a million
Ger

I hope you and Passmark won't be upset if I jump in. The benchmarks results are an average of the scores submitted. The E5420 scores are based on 11 tests and the Core i7 Extreme 965 scores, on 16 tests.
Neither seems like a large enough sample to guarantee complete accuracy, especially since the scores are dependent upon other variables like the number of threads selected for the CPU tests and whether the operating system is XP or Vista and the 32-bit or 64-bit versions of them.
I have a Core i7 Extreme 965 on my system, with three operating systems installed independently of each other in three primary partitions. The system is currently running at default BIOS settings, which means memory is running at DDR3-1333 9-9-9-24-1T, BCLK is 133, and the CPU is running at 24 x BLCK, or its default 3.2 GHz, bumped up to 25 x 133 under load.
Using the same Performance Test and with both systems using the same settings as far as possible, I just ran the CPU tests and got CPU Mark 5274 in Windows XP x86 with Service Pack 3 and CPU Mark 7666 in Windows 7 x64 Beta.
It still looks as though the two Xeons would be better performers, but the two CPU may be closer or further apart than the chart indicates.

[mckenzgd]

Thanks Lads

Its still slightly confusing. for example I use Avid Media composer and all the users on the Avid site seem to use 8 core xeon, (two dual) I got the impression that the xeon is a bit of a work horse, as they use them in servers but everyone is raving about the i7. The i7 seems to be more design to work on CAD programs, Maya and Adobe programs. Anyway you could probably talk about this for years.

[David (PassMark)]

..all the users on the Avid site seem to use 8 core xeon, (two dual)..

I assume you mean they use dual quad core Xeons. To get 8 cores in total. Dual i7's would outperform most of these systems (but you can't get a dual i7 s far as I know).

The majority if the difference between the Core 2 Quads and the newer Xeons is
1) The marketing.
2) You can build a dual, quad or 8-way CPU system.

But there will soon be Xeons based on the i7 available (the Gainestown and Beckton series of Xeon CPUs). If your budget isn't a problem, these will be chips to have in 2009.

[mckenzgd]

xeon

So would think that two xeon 5420 on the one motherboard would out preform one core i7 extreme ?

[David (PassMark)]

Maybe, but only if the software you are using can make use of the 8 cores in the dual Xeon 5420.

[mckenzgd]

Xeon

I see what you mean, it all down to the software and if its capable of using the processor technology. Cheers thanks for your advice.