Intel Core i7 920 / 2.66 GHz processor > Reviews (6)

The CORE i7 is a processor by Intel. It has a frequency of 2.66GHz but can be massively overclocked. It is a quad-core, but due to hyper-threading, it shows up as eight-cores from system diagnostics.

Speed

The i7 is extraordinarily fast, and it can be made even faster with some modifications in the overclocking department. From the defaulted settings that it comes shipped on, benchmarks show that it beats it’s AMD Competitor, the Phenom II X4, by a fair amount. However, only the most demanding of todays applications, that use all of the cores that are made available to them could even begin to tax the Intel Core i7. In video-games, the framerates very rarely drop below the frame-rate specified by the game in question, which can usually range from 30FPS – 90FPS (depends on Graphics Card as well as CPU, however). Rendering tasks, specifically HD rendering tasks, are completed faster than older CPUs, and on some occasions, you can do other things on your computer while it renders, showing it’s astounding ability for multi-tasking.

Additionally, it is a self-overclocking unit, meaning that from its manufacturer-set-speeds, it can be vastly improved on without touching the overclocking controls. It can get up to 3GHz on its own, and it can be pushed far further without overheating too much on the default cooler. I wouldn’t recommend serious overclocking on the original stock cooler as Intel stock coolers aren’t shown to be the most effective. The overclocking potential is one of the main reasons to buy an Intel Core i7, and for non-techy people who otherwise do not understand what that might mean, it is the act of pushing the frequency (or the speed) up, and increasing performance.

Ease of Installation

The installation of the CPU was probably among the easiest bits when me and my dad were building my PC, it was fairly simple to place. You simply applied thermal paste, and the CPU rested on top. You then applied the stock cooler and that was the entire installation done. There isn’t too much room for error, but do not apply too much pressure as it is simply not needed and you may damage the chip. You should also ground yourself to get rid of any static charge when applying the CPU. This can be done by touching a metal item like a radiator. Other than that, the installation was positively simple.

Instruction Manual

The instruction manual is one of the very easiest things to understand. With pictorial tutorials supporting the text to tell you what you had to do to apply the CPU, it made the process of installing the CPU easier. If it hadn’t explained exactly what you had to do so well, I suspect that it would have been a lot harder to install. For that reason, I say that the instruction manual was flawless, as it told you exactly what you had to do to install it. There wasn’t too much information on overclocking though, but I guess that’s what the internet is for.

Value for Money

As you may have guessed, the Intel Core i7 brand of processors is expensive. It costs an awful lot, and it, compared to some of the AMD equivalents, may not be the best bang for your buck.

It’s a shame because it is a really good CPU, but the cost is going a little overboard for a CPU, but that’s just my opinion. If you are happy with the price, I say that this is definitely outclassing similar competing processors, and would happily recommend this processor.

Stability

The Intel Core i7 processor is very stable, as of yet, I have not had a problem with it. It overclocks nicely on its stock cooler, even though I still recommend buying a better, third-party cooler if you plan on overclocking a long way. Programs are usually fluent and fast and there has yet to be an overheating problem as of yet. Therefore I say that the Intel Core i7 is pretty stable.

Overview

In conclusion, the Intel Core i7 processor is astounding and easy to set up. It’s extremely fast compared other processors, if a bit on the pricy side, and is one of the easiest CPUs to overclock successfully. It’s an extremely fast processor with a real oomph, both to your computer performance and your wallet. If you have the money and the motherboard, I’d definitely recommend this processor.