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1 2 3 4 5 6 NextSandy Bridge CPUs: Intel Core i5-2400, i5-2500K and i7-2600K
January 24, 2011 by Lawrence Lee
Product
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Core i5-2400
LGA1155 Processor
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Core i5-2500K
LGA1155 Processor
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Core i7-2600K
LGA1155 Processor
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Manufacturer
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Street Price
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US$195
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US$225
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US$330
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In previous articles we discussed Intel's Sandy Bridge architecture, the new integrated graphics chip, and the budget H67 and enthusiast P67 chipset/motherboards. Today we take a look at the real stars of the show, the CPUs themselves. We have three quad cores under scrutiny, the Core i5-2400, i5-2500K, and the flagship i7-2600K, with street prices of US$195, US$225, and US$330 respectively. The i7-2600K is a bit of a departure for Intel in that its price isn't ridiculously inflated. In the past when new Intel chips were released, the fastest model would usually be priced two to three times higher than the next chip down the line.
The main differences between the three chips are that the "K" series feature a fully unlocked multiplier for easy overclocking, and the i7 has Hyper-threading (eight threads total rather than four). All of them support Turbo Boost, which by default overclocks by 100 MHz when all four cores are active and 400 MHz when only one core is at work. So none of these CPUs ever actually run at their rated clock speed. AMD has a similar featured called "Turbo Core" on their Phenom II X6 line.
Desktop CPU Comparison (US$160~$350)
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Model
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Speed
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L3 Cache
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TDP
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Features
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Street Price
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Phenom II X4
965 BE
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3.4 GHz
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6MB
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125W
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UL
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$165
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Phenom II X6
1055T
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2.8 GHz
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6MB
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125W
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TC
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$180
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Phenom II X4
970 BE
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3.5 GHz
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6MB
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125W
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TC,UL
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$185
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Phenom II X4
975 BE
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3.6 GHz
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6MB
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125W
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UL
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$195
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Phenom II X6
1075T
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3.0 GHz
|
6MB
|
125W
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TC
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$200
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Phenom II X6
1090T BE
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3.2 GHz
|
6MB
|
125W
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TC,UL
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$230
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Phenom II X6
1100T BE
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3.3 GHz
|
6MB
|
125W
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TC,UL
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$270
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Core i5-661
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3.33 GHz
|
4MB
|
87W
|
HT,TB
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$200
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Core i5-660
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3.33 GHz
|
4MB
|
73W
|
HT,TB
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$220
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Core i5-680
|
3.6 GHz
|
4MB
|
73W
|
HT,TB
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$300
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Core i5-750
|
2.66 GHz
|
8MB
|
95W
|
TB
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$200
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Core i5-760
|
2.8 GHz
|
8MB
|
95W
|
TB
|
$205
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Core i7-870
|
2.93 GHz
|
8MB
|
95W
|
HT,TB
|
$290
|
Core i5-2300
|
2.8 GHz
|
6MB
|
95W
|
TB
|
$185
|
Core i5-2400
|
3.1 GHz
|
6MB
|
95W
|
TB
|
$195
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Core i5-2500
|
3.3 GHz
|
8MB
|
95W
|
TB
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$210
|
Core i5-2500K
|
3.3 GHz
|
8MB
|
95W
|
TB,UL
|
$225
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Core i5-2600
|
3.4 GHz
|
8MB
|
95W
|
TB
|
$300
|
Core i7-2600K
|
3.4 GHz
|
8MB
|
95W
|
HT,TB,UL
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$330
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Core i7-950
|
3.06 GHz
|
8MB
|
130W
|
HT,TB
|
$295
|
Core i7-965 XE
|
3.2 GHz
|
8MB
|
130W
|
HT,TB
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N/A
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Tested processors are in bold.
UL = unlocked multiplier, HT = Hyper-threading, TB = Turbo Boost, TC = Turbo Core
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So where do the new processors fall in the big scheme of things? If you take into account CPU pricing alone, it appears that the i5-2400 is destined to do battle with AMD's slower hex cores and fastest quads, and Intel's own Core i5-750/760. The i5-2500K isn't much more expensive, hanging with the same crowd plus the Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition, which also has an unlocked multiplier. The i7-2600K is in the same league as LGA1156's i7-870 and the low end offerings for LGA1366.

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To give you a better idea of what the different CPUs will actually cost you, we added the prices of a typical motherboard to the processors we're comparing today. The prices were taken from all compatible Intel/Asus/Gigabyte/MSI DDR3 microATX and ATX motherboards at Newegg and averaged out to US$103 for AM3, US$117 for LGA1156, and US$147 for LGA1155. Adding this cost changes things up a bit. For example, as a platform, the X4 975 is actually on average US$44 cheaper than the i5-2400. Keep this in mind later on when we judge the value of each Sandy Bridge CPU.
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