Reviews - Intel Core i5-3570K (22nm Ivy Bridge)

[HEXUS]

Mid-pack maestro?

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[Phage]

Liking the sound of the i5-2550K, what else do we know ?

[watercooled]

Looks like a similar deal as 2500 vs 2600 i.e. HT doesn't really seem help for a lot of stuff. Maybe the Windows 8 scheduler will help, unless the EUs are already saturated by apps used in the benchmarks?

We'd expected slightly better idle power-draw from the 3570K.

How come? They both use the same die and power gate extensively, power draw by the CPU itself is only a few watts and differences would likely be lost in the margin of error/lack of precision with measuring before the PSU. Not complaining, that way gives you a better idea of real consumption - there's no point having an efficient CPU if the motherboard uses 5 times as much *cough*Atom*cough*.

[mark22]

Seems like my 2500k fairs well enough for now.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Liking the sound of the i5-2550K, what else do we know ?

The Core i5 2550K is very poor value for money considering the Core i5 2500K is cheaper and still has the IGP present.

[watercooled]

Increased price for one notch clockspeed increase on a K CPU, minus the IGP for the likes of Quicksync, so unless they are almost guaranteed excellent overclockers I'd also consider them very poor value for money and a bit pointless TBH.

[Phage]

The Core i5 2550K is very poor value for money considering the Core i5 2500K is cheaper and still has the IGP present.

Ah yes, but I neither want or need the IGP. The quwestion is how does it perform, and how much does it cost ?

[watercooled]

It's available to buy on Scan, exactly £12 more than the 2500k. Personally I'd want a discount when buying an inferior CPU...

[Phage]

As I said, if it performs ~10% faster, how is it inferior ? (IGP means nowt to me). I did expect it to be substantially cheaper though as the IGP has obviously not made it through QA.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Ah yes, but I neither want or need the IGP. The quwestion is how does it perform, and how much does it cost ?

The Core i5 2500K is cheaper though and the IGP is deactivated when you use a discrete card. The Core i5 2550K is more of a salvage part than the Core i5 2500K is and since both have unlocked multipliers,the Core i5 2500K is a better choice IMHO.

Anyway,as you already have a Core i7 920,it is still fine IMHO.

As I said, if it performs ~10% faster, how is it inferior ? (IGP means nowt to me). I did expect it to be substantially cheaper though as the IGP has obviously not made it through QA.

Actually,the Core i5 2380P is cheaper than the Core i5 2400 although the CPU is running at the same clockspeeds. It is more or less the same price as the cheaper Core i5 2320.

The Core i5 2550K is just a waste of money. The 100MHZ higher base clockspeed is not even worth the extra money.

[watercooled]

As I said, if it performs ~10% faster, how is it inferior ? (IGP means nowt to me). I did expect it to be substantially cheaper though as the IGP has obviously not made it through QA.

It's only a 100MHz increase so a 3% increase, and that's best-case. But as I said, they're both K versions so you can just buy a 2500k and up the multiplier by one notch. They're both using the same silicon so the higher stock clock does not imply a higher possible OC, and while the TDP doesn't tell us much, it's still 95w despite having the IGP fused off. Of course, they could be binned higher somehow but that remains to be seen - and a single sample OCing higher than a 2500k does not prove that.

[Phage]

Anyway,as you already have a Core i7 920,it is still fine IMHO..

Oh yes - I have no intention of giving up the old girl yet. She's lovely and steady at 3.8 and the only thing I had missed was USB3, but that should be sorted by this evening...

[krazy_olie]

According to anandtech ivy bridge is very sensitive to voltage increases and you can't really overclock it by whacking up the voltage a few notches and then seeing how high it will go.

Ivy bridge is more about same performance for less power rather then more performance for same power. It's a subtle difference but when you are dealing with non linear relationships it's important to note and makes the gains bigger in the mobile sector rather than the desktop.

[mark22]

According to anandtech ivy bridge is very sensitive to voltage increases and you can't really overclock it by whacking up the voltage a few notches and then seeing how high it will go.

Ivy bridge is more about same performance for less power rather then more performance for same power. It's a subtle difference but when you are dealing with non linear relationships it's important to note and makes the gains bigger in the mobile sector rather than the desktop.

Interesting could mean a lot of people stick with their current desktop until a suitably powered tablet comes out or a reasonably priced ultrabook or something like that.

At least that's how I look at it.

[OilSheikh]

i7 3770 £278 is my next upgrade then from my i7 2600

[watercooled]

Unbeatable value for money upgrade!