When it comes to choosing a productive processor, many potential buyers are guided only by the number of cores in it, forgetting about clock speeds and implemented technologies. This approach to selection and led to the appearance on the market of multi-core crystals with a suspiciously low price. However, for many demanding applications, 6-8 cores are useless.
In this article, the reader will get acquainted with a representative of the elite class - the I7 2600 processor, for which there are no restrictions. Any games and programs can work with it without problems. Features, tests and product reviews will allow the buyer to get to know the legendary representative of the computer market.
Market positioning
The fact that the Intel Core I7 2600 crystal is designed to work, not games, says its value (25 000 rubles). For comparison: an ordinary portable laptop costs the same amount. The manufacturer placed the processor in a corporate niche, positioning it as a tool for working with complex calculations and the work of demanding applications. Graphics processing, video coding, 3D-modeling, complex mathematical calculations are the tasks for which this crystal is intended.
However, the company does not hide the fact that the Intel Core I7 2600 CPU can be used in games. Quite a lot of reviews conducted by independent laboratories confirm the high performance of the crystal with resource-intensive productive games. But all the tests lead to the idea that buying an expensive processor for entertainment is unreasonable. But first things first.
Specifications
The successful modification of the Sandy Bridge crystal has long been discussed by many owners - the manufacturer managed to achieve a compromise between high performance and heat dissipation, which affects all powerful processors. The operating frequency of the Core I7 2600 is 3.40 GHz. In Turbo Boost mode, it easily increases to 3.80 GHz. And if you take into account the peculiarities of some motherboards to independently overclock the processors, then the user can contemplate even heavy loads of 4.30 gigahertz, however, for this you will have to worry about decent cooling for the crystal.
High performance is provided by the processor cache levels. 512 kilobytes of L1 can boast only server solutions. The second level cache is also large - 1 megabyte, and the third level cache - 8 MB. With such data, any mathematical calculations are possible for this processor.
Decent opportunities
The I7 2600 processor features Hyper-Threading. This means that the user receives an additional 4 virtual cores to the 4 existing hardware. The owners will appreciate the presence of integrated graphics, however, it is not intended for games at all - HD Graphics 2000 can replace the cheapest video adapter from the budget class. But for resource-intensive applications, this is a rather interesting resource, because the graphics adapter takes video memory from RAM.
The processor platform also supports the virtual environment: Intel VT-x and Intel VT-d, respectively, the chip can be safely used for workstations and servers. There is also an Intel TXT technology in the I7 2600 processor - the penetration of malicious codes into computing is impossible at the hardware level.
Do not forget about the support of video encoding. Intel Quick Sync Video technology is implemented at the hardware level in the processor in question. True, the manufacturer is silent that the chipset of the motherboard should support this functionality. But, as practice shows, users of the legendary processor buy appropriate motherboards with the price for this technology.
Weak link
The overall impression of the Intel Core I7 2600 chip is spoiled by working with RAM. Support for dual channel DDR3 mode is good, but there are problems only with frequencies. The processor at the hardware level can synchronously operate at a frequency of no higher than 1333 MHz. For fans of the rival AMD, this is a favorite topic of discussion, however, they have not found a suitable crystal that can compete in performance with the I7 2600.
There are questions about heat dissipation. A cold processor by definition (TDP 95 Watt) does not exceed the declared performance in normal mode. But in overclocking, it heats up very much, making all owners pretty nervous. There are several solutions: to limit overclocking or to put a powerful cooling system. The second option is more popular, because everyone wants to have the most powerful processor on hand.
Mobile market
Intel manufacturer presented its product with integrated graphics for mobile devices. Manufacturers did not limit its performance and provided the market with powerful laptops to perform complex tasks and games. The media has a lot of reviews of such mobile devices. If we summarize the tests of all laptops, the reader will come to the conclusion that for the powerful Core I7 2600 processor there is still no decent mobile video card that can unleash the full potential of the crystal.
Again, heat is the stumbling block for the processor in question. If in a personal computer the problem is solved by installing a powerful cooling system, then things are more complicated with a mobile representative. A lot of negative user reviews on overheating a laptop. You need to constantly clean your mobile device from dust and monitor the flow of cold air to the processor.
Higher, faster, stronger
Nevertheless, many potential buyers are interested in comparing the legendary Intel representative with a direct competitor. It is quite possible to test the I7 2600 vs FX-9590, because an AMD representative, judging by its price and owner reviews, is the fastest representative on the processor market. Yes, in working with RAM at high frequencies, Intel shows unworthy performance in all synthetic tests. But then it becomes interesting.
The FX-9590 processor, having 8 hardware cores operating at a frequency of 4.70 GHz, loses to the opponent in all tests for crystal performance. It is amazing that an AMD representative can not get ahead on tasks with a single thread (one core is running) and multitasking (all cores are running). Attention, the question is: what are the advantages of the competitor FX-9590, which has more transistors, operates at high frequencies and demonstrates high performance with RAM?
Comparison with Intel Representative
Many potential buyers are interested in comparing the expensive I7 2600 3.40 GHz product with the affordable Core I5 2500 counterpart . It is clear that the flagship processor line will show the best performance. Such tests are more interesting to users who want to save on a purchase, because the price difference is about 30%, respectively, and performance should differ within this indicator.
In all tests of gaming applications conducted (at a resolution of FullHD 1920 × 1080 dpi), both processors demonstrate the same performance. This suggests that to unlock the potential of the powerful I7 2600 processor, the performance of the remaining components of the system (memory, video card, hard drive, motherboard) is not enough. And if we talk about saving money, then, of course, it is better to give priority to the inexpensive Core I5 chip.
Only stars above
Quite different results are expected by a potential buyer when testing processors working with video coding and 3D modeling. So, with the I7 2600 crystal, CyberLink MediaEspresso, Nero Video and Sony Vegas applications create one hour-long 720i video in 22 minutes. The Core i5 2500 processor takes almost one hour to complete this task. By the way, the legendary representative of AMD overcame the task in 66 minutes, which is a worthy indicator for a crystal with eight cores.
When working with 3D modeling, much depends on the video adapter. The integrated graphics core of the powerful I7 2600 processor, as shown by testing, is not enough. ZBrush and 3DS Max applications force the processor to the limit when using an integrated graphics card. But you should install a video card for non-linear video editing NVIDIA Quadro, and the load on the processor is reduced.
About the cooling system
Logically, for the I7 2600 processor, the price of a decent cooler should be in last place for a potential buyer. An expensive crystal requires adequate cooling, and the choice of owner should not fall on representatives of the budget class. The price of decent cooling systems starts at 4,000 rubles, and, as practice shows, ends with the financial capabilities of the buyer.
Brands such as Zalman, Noctua, Thermaltake, and Scythe have proven themselves well. It is these manufacturers who prefer all test laboratories in the world. These brands are presented on the market in the form of systems with passive, water and air cooling. For a processor with a heat dissipation of 95 watts, a passive cooler is hardly suitable. Therefore, it is not recommended to rely on such systems. But air and water cooling for the Core I7 2600 processor will do.
Finally
An unambiguous conclusion on the review of the I7 2600 processor cannot be made. The problem is that for each device existing on the market, there is a certain task, which is a priority. For this crystal, the selection criterion is fast data processing (mathematics, video, graphics, sound). After all, the manufacturer presented it in the corporate segment for a reason.
On the other hand, the processor demonstrates high performance in games, but the junior representative of the Intel line can compete with him for superiority in tests. It turns out that the processor is not suitable for entertainment (if you think from an economic point of view).
There are questions about working with 3D modeling, which requires a powerful graphics accelerator. Naturally, many readers will think about buying a powerful video adapter and an inexpensive processor. And this option is quite reasonable. Whatever one may say, it will not be possible to come to a single decision until a potential buyer compiles a complete list of tasks that he wants to perform with the I7 2600 processor.
But all the tests suggest that buying an expensive processor for entertainment is unfounded.