Currently, you can see most Intel CPU, price over 300USD, supports HT technology.
For example, LGA 1366 Core i7-930/950 or LGA 1156 Core i7-870/875K.
These 4 CPUs are all 4C8T and within the price range.
There was a Core i5-7500 in LGA 1156 platform. It’s pure 4C4T structure without HT.
The price was 6000NTD, around 200USD.
Recently, Intel launched one new code, 760.
No matter i5-750 or i5-760, it’s the highest C/P value Intel quad core CPU so far.
Since beginning, I was considering the parity quad core CPU for long time.
I also consider to change to entry quad core CPU.
For Intel product line, Core i5-760 exactly is the entry and parity quad core CPU.
Combo with P55 MB, the whole platform is middle range in the PC market.
CPU clock is 2.8GHz, supports Turbo Boost and can reach 3.46GHz.
Physical 4 Cores CPU is 4 threading, called 4C/4T.
45nm, L3 Cache is 8MB, the internet data shows the Max TDP is 95W.
The back mostly can recognize the revision and spec.
This Core i5-760 is Stepping 5/Revision B1
Intel 4 Cores processor coolers use copper bottom which is better heat dissipation performance.
P55 chipset is the best combo for this CPU, although H55 is also the other choice.
But H55 main design is for built-in GPU Core i3/i5 CPU, and it doesn’t support RAID.
If you really have budget concern, H55 is also a good solution.
This guide uses GIGABYTE P55A-UD3P, the price is higher than other entry P55 boards.
The spec and components are good level. The price is around 172USD.
3X USB Power, On/Off Charge USB connector supports On/Off Charge feature.
UD3P equips GIGABYTE main new features.
Lower-Left Corner
2 X PCI-E X16, ATI CrossFireX and the bandwidth is X16+X4.
2 X PCI-E X1
Realtek RTL8111E LAN Chip
Realtek ALC889 supports 7.1 channel and High Definition Audio/Dolby Home Theater Technology
Design in Taipei
Lower-Right Corner
6 X Blue SATAII, provide by P55, SATA2 supports RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 and RAID 10
2 X White SATAIII, provide by Marvell 9128, SATA3, supports RAID 0, RAID 1
1 X IDE, provide by iTE IT8213
Dual BIOS, dual protection
Upper-Right Corner
4 X DIMM DDR3 supports 800/1066/1333/1600/2200(OC). The max capacity is DDR3 16GB.
Next is 24-PIN power connector
Upper-Left Corner
LGA 1156 CPU socket, CPU metal cover is electroplated.
UD3P uses 12 phases PWM, the upper part is 8PIN power connector.
IO
8 X USB 2.0
2 X USB 3.0(Blue)
1 X RJ-45 LAN
2 X eSATA(Yellow)
1 X S/PDIF Fiber/Coaxial output
1 X 1394a
System Configuration
CPU: Intel Core i5-760
MB: GIGABYTE P55A-UD3P
DRAM: CORSAIR DOMINATOR-GT CMG4GX3M2A2000C8
VGA: ATI Radeon HD 5830
HD: CORSAIR CSSD-F40GB2 Raid0
POWER: be quiet! Straight Power E7 600W
Cooler: Mega Shadow Deluxe Edition
OS: Windows7 Ultimate 64bit
Default Performance
CPU 133.2 X 21 => 2797.2MHz
DDR3 1331.8 CL5 5-5-15 1T
Hyper PI 32M X4 => 13m 31.888s
CPUMARK 99=> 515
Nuclearus Multi Core => 16677
Fritz Chess Benchmark => 17.81/8549
CrystalMark 2004R3 => 244848
PCMark Vantage => 14057
Due to Turboost auto OC technology, the clock are not exactly the same in CPU-Z pictures.
Basic clock is 2.8GHz, it will floating between 2.8GHz to 3.4GHz by cores and CPU utilized ratio.
The performance is higher than Core i5-750 2.66GHz.
For the general users, i5-760 performance can handle most software.
Power Consumption Test
Standby - 67W
CPU Full Speed - 135W
i5-760 power consumption is impressive without OC, it should be related to enable C1E power saving feature.
Also the clock is only 2.8GHz and don’t support HT, the power consumption is pretty low.
Especially, even using ATI Radeon HD5830 VGA, the CPU full speed is only 135W.
OC Performance
First of all, referring to my BIOS set up for 200/2000.
BIOS Main Page
Set CPU clock to 200MHz and DRAM set up by quality.
The ratio in pic shows the DDR3 at 2000MHz.
CPU Feature
Normally when you are OC, you should disable the C1E features to avoid the voltage and clock floating.
Turbo Boost also needs to disable to find the CPU stabilized clock.
DDR3 Set Up Page
After setting the DDR3 clock, the more important is the detail parameters.
Starting from CL9, then move to CL8 or higher/lower frequency.
Voltage Page
Load-Line Calibration
CPU Vcore 0.50000~1.90000V
QPI/Vtt Voltage 1.050~1.990V
PCH Core 0.950~2.000V
CPU PLL 1.600~2.540V
DRAM Voltage 1.300~2.600V
CPU and DRAM quality is varied; you need to adjust the CPU Vcore and DRAM Voltage.
If you want to pull CPU frequency to 200/2000 ratio, the key item is QPI/Vtt Voltage.
For my experience, when OC to CPU/DRAM 200/2000 performance, QPI/Vtt Voltage is around 1.21~1.25V.
PC Health Status
There are many P55 products, and every brand has different OC capability.
But the set up is similar; you just need to take time for fine tune.
Through the steps, every user all can get better CPU/DRMA performance in air cooling condition.
Comparing DDR3 Performance before and after OC
DDR3 1328.4 CL5 5-5-15 1T
Sandra Memory Bandwidth - 16762 MB/s
EVEREST Memory Read - 15656 MB/s
DDR3 2000 CL8 8-8-24 1T
Sandra Memory Bandwidth - 23670 MB/s
EVEREST Memory Read - 17941 MB/s
DDR3 2060 CL8 8-8-24 1T
Sandra Memory Bandwidth - 24301 MB/s
EVEREST Memory Read - 18395 MB/s
After OC DDR3 1328 to DDR3 2000 performance, EVEREST increases about 15%.
Sandra Memory Bandwidth increases more, it’s about 41%.
OC DDR3 is really improving the system performance. It can be better with OC CPU together.
CPU 200 X 21 => 4199.9MHz
DDR3 2000 CL8 8-8-24 1T
Hyper PI 32M X4 => 9m 52.146s
CPUMARK 99=> 651
Nuclearus Multi Core => 25908
Fritz Chess Benchmark => 25.53/12254
CINEBENCH R11.5
CPU => 5.60 pts
CPU(Single Core) => 1.42 pts
CrystalMark 2004R3 => 318038
PCMark Vantage => 17668
When OC Core i5-760 from 2.8GHz to 4.2GHz, it can pass most benchmark software.
Also, due to every software has different CPU utilization and demand, the performance increases 25~50%.
If the heat dissipation well, 4~4.2GHz is allowed clock for long time usage.
CPU voltage needs 1.42V to OC to 4.2GHz. If you just OC to 4GHz, you need around 1.32V.
The voltage set up will be different by every CPU quality. It’s just for your reference only.
Power Consumption Test
Standby - 158W
CPU Full Speed - 285W
When OC to 4.2GHz, the CPU performance increase a lot, but the temperature and power consumption is also pulling higher.
Also, I disable C1E power saving feature, the power consumption all pull to very high.
Intel new revision Core i5-760 OC capability is very good. If you enhance the CPU thermal solution, 4.2GHz is not a hard thing.
For the default clock power consumption, it’s almost same as Micro ATX platform.
It’s 4 Cores CPU and combo with Radeon HD5830, the system performance is much higher than small form factor PC.
If for normal application without OC, this Intel platform is good for performance and power saving.
LGA 1156 has been launching for 1.5 years, the mature and wide selections.
32nm built-in GPU, Core i3/i5 CPU.
They are all 2C4T structure and support H55/H57 chipset.
45nm Core i5/i7 are 4C4T or 4C8T structure. P55 is mainly supported chipset. P55 spec and OC ability is higher.
Even though, LAG 1155 will be launched in next Jan to combo with 32nm 4Cores CPU and P67 chipset,
for the market revolution, LGA 1155 MB price will be higher than LGA 1156 a lot.
Short term, for the users would like to buy Intel platform, P55 and i5-760 is still the higher C/P Intel 4 Cores CPU platform.
I also happy to see the LAG 1156 price can move lower after new platform launched.
The users can pay less and get more performance products. :)
Last sharing was Canon IXUS 200IS using guide.
I just got a FUJIFILM FinePix F80EXR recently. I will find some time to write a experience sharing review.
