New Feature of the X58 #1: The Core i7 Platform, the Drawbacks
Hey this is Icarus here again with more details on the Core i7 processors. In this article, I will be talking about some drawbacks of these processors.
Now, there is no piece of technology out there that is ABSOLUTELY perfect, so don’t take these drawbacks like “Oh my God this is so bad… I’m not going to buy this” because, to be honest, this is still new technology. Drawbacks are common in all pieces of technology, and especially prominent in hardware that have just been released, just like some newly-released games have major bugs that get fixed as people play the games.
One of the main drawbacks of the Core i7 is its lack of support of ECC. ECC, or Error Correction Code, is a feature that is supported by the predecessors of the Core i7 processors. When computers are running, there are many small errors in the code created by computing errors, hardware malfunction, or other reasons. What Error Correction Code does is that the system replaces the coding error with correct data and keeps the computer running. That’s why most computers of today run very well with very few errors causing Blue-Screen-of-Deaths. Now, the Core i7 does not support memory(RAM) with ECC anymore; thus, the Core i7 is slightly more vulnerable to small errors building up into a BSOD. However, there have also been rumors that the Core i7 supports ECC only when someone enables the feature on the computer. This, however, is not confirmed.
Another thing that may be a drawback is its overclockability. In earlier tests of the Core i7 processors, tests showed that the Core i7 processors were not ideal for consumers who like to take their processors to the edge in overclocking. However, there have also been recent reports that this processor is EXTREMELY overclockable. So what does this mean? Nothing really, just that, like any other piece of hardware, every hardware is slightly different even when machines make them, and that small physical difference can make a huge difference in overclocking.
Well, that’s all for now. Tomorrow, I will put my analysis of the current value of the Core i7 processors in terms of what your budget is, and what you will use the computer for. But overall, I conclude that this processor is looking fantastic. Look out for more to come from this series.
Oh, and please, please give me some feedback in the form of comments. Those are always EXTREMELY appreciated. If you have any questions, leave them in comments and I will answer your question as soon and as best as I can!
And also, don’t forget to subscribe to my blog! I’ll be writing one big article everyday, and I promise you, you’ll like it! Stay tuned for some articles on new hardware that hasn’t come out yet. As soon as I hear something, I will post the rumor here, and I will analyze things for you all.
Good night, and see you all tomorrow(in my blog 
)!!
~| Icarus
Related Posts
Icarus and Computers Top
New Feature of the X58 #1: The Core i7 Platform, the Good Side, Part 2
Hey guys, this is Icarus again with more information on the Core i7. Today, I’m just going to get right into it.
The Intel X58 motherboards support the Core i7 processors, Intel’s newest series of processors under the new Intel Nehalem microarchitecture. The Core i7 is made with 45nm process technology, and probably is one of the best all-around processors on the market today.
In 3dMark benchmarking, the Core i7 processors ranged from scoring in the 16000 point range into the high 17000 range. Now, this is ridiculous; a QX9770(one of the most expensive and top processor from the Core2 Duo series) scored in the mid-13000s. This is just absurd, how much the Core i7 outscored the top processor of the previous architecture. We will have to see what else Intel can churn out from this series.
The Core i7 series also contains an L3 Cache, where all four cores share the same 8MB of L3 cache. What this means is that if there are instructions to carry out and data to store or use, any one of the cores can use this shared cache. The processors also have additional L2 cache that each core has, and each core carries out individual instructions. This explains why the Core i7 series processors scored so much higher than its predecessors.
The Corei7 processors are also extremely overclock-able. Some people have even boasted that they have pushed their Core i7 processors to 4GHz just on normal air cooling and Turbo Boost system alone. However, others have said that their Core i7 processors barely overclock. So what does it say about the Core i7 processors so far? It is still hard to tell, since it is only a 4-month old series of processors. People will have to wait for things to settle down, and maybe wait for Intel to release new processors of this fantastic series.
Well, that’s all for now. Stay tuned for more! Remember, don’t forget to comment! Leave compliments/criticisms about my articles, leave questions and I will answer your question as soon as possible.
And dont forget to subscribe!
See you all later!
~| Icarus
Related Posts
Icarus and Computers Top
New Feature of the X58 #1: The Core i7 Platform, the Good Side
Hey guys, this is Icarus again. I promised a series of articles on the X58, and here’s the first feature I listed: the Core i7 platform.
Now, I can probably write dozens of articles from the amount of things I’m learning everyday now(I’m frequenting computer forums, reading up on this new technology, and typing it up for you all to enjoy). But here’s the first article for the Core i7 platform.
The Core i7, codename Bloomfield, was released in November 2008 along with the X58 motherboards. The Core i7 is based on the new Socket 1366 that is only available on the new X58 motherboards. The Core i7 series is a part of Intel’s new Nehalem series of CPU’s, and the first to come out during November of 2008. All Core i7 CPUs are quad core(four cores).
Now, here’s one of the coolest features of this new series that no other CPU has ever had(and succeeded in the market): the on-die memory controller. Basically, what this means is that, instead of having the memory controller on the motherboard control memory like older motherboards and processors, the processor itself will be controlling the memory. This means that the processor will have direct links to the memory itself, and there is no hassle when you want to run things quickly, say, overclocking. When you overclock the memory, you’re most likely overclocking the memory with it. The Core i7 processors also support triple channel memory, but I will explain that in later articles.
Another cool feature of this series is Intel’s new Turbo Boost system. From the name, you can somewhat tell that it’s going to somehow boost the processor’s performance. Well, it does exactly that. The Turbo Boost technology allows these new processors to “overclock themselves” in safe incraments as long as the temperature and electrical limits are kept. What this means is, if you’re running multiple programs that require a lot of processing power(let’s just say Photoshop, three games, debugging your computer, and whatever else comes to mind), the processor can overclock itself to work more efficiently and with more processing power. When the load is off the processor, it can clock itself down to its original clock speed. The Core i7 can also turn off one of the four cores if it is not needed. So the computer can save energy for you!
The Core i7 processors also carry on an older but awesome technology, the Hyper-Threading Technology(HTT). This system allows each core to take on two threads at a time. What does this really mean? It means that when each core is processing two threads, the computer seems like it has EIGHT cores! Which means, when you look at your computer information when all four cores are processing two threads, it’ll look awesome! Eight cores. Yes, you heard that right. That’s ultimate processing power right there.
Well, that’s all the juice I have in my head for now. Tomorrow, I may continue on with a passion about more of the pros of the Core i7.
Oh, and please, please give me some feedback in the form of comments. Those are always EXTREMELY appreciated. If you have any questions, leave them in comments and I will answer your question as soon and as best as I can!
And also, don’t forget to subscribe to my blog! I’ll be writing one big article everyday, and I promise you, you’ll like it! Stay tuned for some articles on new hardware that hasn’t come out yet. As soon as I hear something, I will post the rumor here, and I will analyze things for you all.
Good night, and see you all tomorrow(in my blog )!!
~| Icarus
Related Posts
Icarus and Computers Top « Older Posts