Processor I7 2600: features, tests and reviews

When it comes to choosing a productive processor, many potential buyers are guided only by the number of cores in it, forgetting about clock speeds and embedded technologies. This approach to choice led to the appearance of multi-core chips on the market with a suspiciously low price. However, for many resource-intensive applications, 6-8 cores are useless.

In this article, the reader will get acquainted with a representative of the elite class - the I7 2600 processor, for which there are no restrictions. Any game and program can work with it without problems. Specifications, tests and product reviews allow the buyer to learn the legendary representative of the computer market closer.

Market positioning

The fact that the Intel Core I7 2600 chip is designed for work, not games, says its cost (25,000 rubles). For comparison: the same is a normal portable laptop. The manufacturer has placed the processor in a corporate niche, positioning it as a tool for working with complex calculations and the work of resource-intensive applications. Graphics processing, video encoding, 3D modeling, complex mathematical calculations are the tasks for which this crystal is designed.

However, the company does not hide that Intel Core i7 2600 CPU can be used in games. Quite a lot of reviews conducted by independent laboratories, confirm the high performance of the crystal with resource-intensive productive games. But all tests lead to the idea that buying an expensive entertainment processor is unreasonable. But first things first.

Specifications

Successful modification of the Sandy Bridge crystal has long been discussed by many owners - the manufacturer managed to reach a compromise between high performance and heat generation, which all powerful processors suffer. The working frequency of the Core I7 2600 is 3.40 GHz. In Turbo Boost mode, it easily increases to 3.80 GHz. And if you take into account the peculiarities of some motherboards to overclock the processors independently, then the user can contemplate at 430 gigahertz under high loads, although, for this, one has to worry about the worthy cooling for the crystal.

High performance provides the processor with cache levels. The volume of L1 in 512 kilobytes can boast only server solutions. The second level cache is also large - 1 megabyte, and the third level - 8 MB. With such data, any mathematical calculations are possible under this processor.

Worthy opportunities

The I7 2600 processor is equipped with a Hyper-Threading system. This means that the user receives an additional 4 virtual cores to the 4 already available hardware. It will please owners and the presence of built-in graphics, however, it is not intended for games at all - HD Graphics 2000 can replace the cheapest video adapter from the budget class. But for resource-intensive applications it's a rather interesting resource, because the video memory is taken from the graphics card from the RAM.

The processor platform also supports a virtual environment: Intel VT-x and Intel VT-d, respectively, the crystal can be safely used for workstations and servers. There is an I7 2600 processor and Intel TXT technology - the penetration of malicious codes into the calculation is impossible at the hardware level.

Do not forget about the support for video encoding. Intel Quick Sync Video technology is implemented at the hardware level in the processor under consideration. However, the manufacturer does not say that the motherboard chipset should support this functionality. But, as practice shows, users to the legendary processor buy the appropriate price and motherboards with support for this technology.

Weak link

The general impression of the Intel Core I7 2600 chip is spoiled by working with RAM. Support for dual-channel DDR3 mode is good, but only with frequencies there are problems. The processor at the hardware level can synchronously operate at a frequency of no higher than 1333 MHz. For fans of the competitor AMD is a favorite topic for discussion, however, they never found a suitable crystal that can compete in performance with the I7 2600.

There are also questions about heat release. The cold processor by definition (TDP 95 Watt) does not exceed the declared values in the nominal mode. But in the dispersal, it gets very hot, making all the owners pretty nervous. There are several solutions: to limit the overclocking or to put a powerful cooling system. The second option is more popular, because everyone wants to have the most powerful processor at hand.

Mobile market

Intel manufacturer presented its product with integrated graphics and for mobile devices. To limit its performance, manufacturers did not and gave the market powerful laptops to perform complex tasks and games. In the media, a lot of reviews of such mobile devices. If we sum up the tests of all notebooks, the reader will come to the conclusion that there is still no decent mobile graphics card for the powerful Core I7 2600 processor, which will be able to reveal the full potential of the crystal.

Again, the stumbling block for this processor is heat dissipation. If in a personal computer the problem is solved by installing a powerful cooling system, then the situation with the mobile representative is more complicated. A lot of negative feedback from users overheating laptop. It is necessary to constantly clean the mobile device from dust and monitor the inflow of cold air to the processor.

Higher, faster, stronger

And yet many potential buyers are interested in comparing the legendary Intel representative with a direct competitor. It's possible to test the I7 2600 vs FX-9590, because the representative of AMD, judging by its price and reviews of owners, is the fastest representative in the market of processors. Yes, in working with memory at high frequencies, Intel shows unworthy performance in all synthetic tests. But then it becomes interesting.

The FX-9590 processor, having 8 hardware cores running at 4.70 GHz, loses to the opponent in all tests on the performance of the crystals. It's amazing that AMD representative can not get ahead like on one-thread tasks (one core works) and multitasking (all kernels work). Attention, the question: what are the advantages of a competitor FX-9590, which has more transistors working at higher frequencies and demonstrating high performance with memory?

Comparison with Intel representative

Many potential buyers are interested in comparing the expensive I7 2600 3.40 GHz product with the affordable price of a fellow Core I5 2500. It's clear that the flagship of the processor line will show the best performance. Such tests are more interesting for users who want to save on buying, because the difference in price is about 30%, respectively, and the performance should differ within this indicator.

In all tested gaming applications (at a resolution of FullHD 1920x1080 dots per inch), both processors demonstrate the same performance. This suggests that to unlock the potential of a powerful processor, the I7 2600 lacks the performance of other components of the system (memory, video card, hard drive, motherboard). And if we talk about saving money, then, of course, it's better to give priority to an inexpensive Core I5 crystal.

Above the Stars Only

Completely different results await the potential buyer when testing processors in work with video encoding and 3D modeling. So, with the Crystal I7 2600 application CyberLink MediaEspresso, Nero Video and Sony Vegas create one hour video in 720i format in 22 minutes. Processor Core i5 2500 for this task takes almost one hour. By the way, the legendary AMD representative overcame the problem in 66 minutes, which is a worthy indicator for a crystal with eight cores.

When working with 3D modeling, much depends on the video adapter. The integrated graphics core of the powerful processor I7 2600, as shown by testing, is not enough. Applications ZBrush and 3DS Max force the processor to work at the limit of its capabilities when using an integrated video card. But it's worth installing a video card for non-linear video editing NVIDIA Quadro, and the load on the processor is reduced.

About the cooling system

Logically, for the processor I7 2600 the price of a decent cooler should be for the potential buyer in the last place. The expensive crystal requires adequate cooling, and the choice of the owner should not fall on the representatives of the budget class. The price for decent cooling systems starts at 4,000 rubles, and, as practice shows, ends with the financial capabilities of the buyer.

Well-known brands such as Zalman, Noctua, Thermaltake and Scythe have proven themselves. It is to these manufacturers that all test laboratories of the world prefer. These brands are represented on the market in the form of systems with passive, water and air cooling. For a processor with a heat dissipation of 95 watts, a passive cooler is hardly suitable. Therefore, it is not recommended to place hopes on such systems. But the air and water cooling processor Core I7 2600 is suitable.

Finally

A single conclusion on the review of the processor I7 2600 can not be done. The problem is that for each device that exists on the market, there is a specific task, which is a priority. For the crystal under consideration, the selection criterion is fast data processing (mathematics, video, graphics, sound). After all, the manufacturer did not for nothing present it in the corporate segment.

On the other hand, the processor demonstrates high performance in games, but for the championship in tests with it can compete and the younger representative of the Intel line. It turns out that for entertainment the processor is not good (if you think from an economic point of view).

There are also issues to work with 3D-modeling, which requires the presence of a powerful graphics accelerator. Naturally, many readers will have the idea of buying a powerful video adapter and inexpensive processor. And this option is completely justified. Whatever one may say, it will not be possible to arrive at a single solution until the potential buyer compiles a complete list of tasks that he wants to perform with the I7 2600 processor.

But all tests suggest that buying an expensive entertainment processor is unreasonable.