Intel Core i7 980X, Core i5 650 and Core i3 530 review
Author: Vedran Dakic
Date: 11 Mar 2010

It's been awhile since Intel introduced any kind of "Extreme" edition CPU's. The new Core i7 980X represents just that - a new CPU that's supposed to be the fastest, the meanest, the conqueror, the benchmark for all others. Unlike other CPU's from the Core ix generation, this one has six cores and, thanks to Intel's HyperThreading technology - twelve threads to run at the same time. Based on 32nm Westmere architecture, this 3.33GHz CPU is - on paper - the king of the hill. Also, we tested two new additions to the i5 and i3 line. What kind of performance do they offer? Let's see them in action.

Let's take a walk down the memory road for awhile. From the Core architecture (Merom, 65nm and Penryn, 45nm) to Nehalem architecture (45nm Nehalem and 32nm Westmere), Intel has gone a long way in their tick-tock strategy. In the future, we should see a new architecture called Sandy Bridge, that's also based on 32nm process (tock). Core i7 980X has 1.17 billion transistors, and the die size of 248mm2 (12MB cache) and if you're even thinking about buying it (and it's not exactly cheap), you should make sure that you buy a X58-chipset based motherboard and upgrade the BIOS to the latest possible version. We've tested it on Gigabyte's X58 motherboard and - after the afforementioned upgrade - it worked without a problem. Also, TDP is 130W, so make sure that you have a decent cooler. This CPU also brings a couple of new things - for example, new AES-NI instructions. These will improve performance with AES encryption and decryption algorithms. The Turbo mode is also here - pumping the frequency up 133MHz for situations when multiple cores are active, or 266MHz if a single core is active. Intel also has a new cooler for it if you buy this CPU boxed. Unlike the Core i7 975 Extreme Edition CPU, it has 12MB of cache (975 has 8MB). It also has 1.5MB L2, whereas 975 EE had 1MB.

We tried Core i5 650 and Core i3 530, as well, so we'll throw them in the mix, just to see what's the top-to-bottom performance of Intel's current offerings across the board.

Some roadmap and tech pictures: