Madshrimps Forum Madness - Intel Sand Bridge CPU Official Reviews

Quote:

In terms of absolute CPU performance, Sandy Bridge doesn't actually move things forward. This isn't another ultra-high-end CPU launch, but rather a refresh for the performance mainstream and below. As one AnandTech editor put it, you get yesterday's performance at a much lower price point. Lynnfield took away a lot of the reason to buy an X58 system as it delivered most of the performance with much more affordable motherboards; Sandy Bridge all but puts the final nail in X58's coffin. Unless you're running a lot of heavily threaded applications, I would recommend a Core i7-2600K over even a Core i7-980X. While six cores are nice, you're better off pocketing the difference in cost and enjoying nearly the same performance across the board (if not better in many cases).

Despite all of the nastiness Intel introduced by locking/limiting most of the Sandy Bridge CPUs, if you typically spend around $200 on a new CPU then Sandy Bridge is likely a better overclocker than anything you've ever owned before it. The biggest loser in the overclock locks is the Core i3 which now ships completely locked.

The HD Graphics 2000 is not as impressive. It's generally faster than what we had with Clarkdale, but it's not exactly moving the industry forward. Intel should just do away with the 6 EU version, or at least give more desktop SKUs the 3000 GPU. The lack of DX11 is acceptable for SNB consumers but it's—again—not moving the industry forward. I believe Intel does want to take graphics seriously, but I need to see more going forward.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/t...i3-2100-tested

http://www.techreaction.net/2011/01/...n-p67-part-12/
http://www.techspot.com/review/353-i...-corei7-2600k/
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...500k,2833.html
http://pcper.com/article.php?aid=1057
http://www.legionhardware.com/articl...ridge ,1.html
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1501/1/
http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=1057
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/I..._i5_2500K_GPU/
http://techreport.com/articles.x/20188
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpu...ridge-review/1
http://techgage.com/article/intels_s...600k_reviewed/
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.ph...64&Item id=63
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.ph...22&Item id=63
http://www.bjorn3d.com/articles/Inte...pset/1972.html
http://www.lostcircuits.com/mambo//i...=98&Itemi d=1
http://www.computerbase.de/artikel/p...-sandy-bridge/
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews.php?reviewid=1091
http://www.guru3d.com/article/core-i...-2600k-review/
http://hothardware.com/Reviews/Intel...cessors-Debut/
http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=1057
http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Ha...600K_i5_2500K/
http://lanoc.org/review/energy-items...k-sandy-bridge
http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/c...ridge_review/1
http://tbreak.com/tech/2011/01/intel...-2600k-review/
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/375...pus/index.html
http://en.inpai.com.cn/doc/enshowcont.asp?id=7947
http://en.inpai.com.cn/doc/enshowcon...44&pageid=7687

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/t...i3-2100-tested