SandyBridge cheat Sheet

**Firestar** · 05-01-2011, 02:09 PM

Hi Guys,

So, we always make ourselves a cheat sheet, so that we can make sure we know everything there is to know about new technologies. I've decided to post this one up here, for all to see. This should help anyone who is interested in buying one, but isn't sure which one.

Biggest Intel Launch ever - 15 mobile parts, 14 desktop parts
DESKTOP PARTS:
1. Replacement for the 1156 socket - new socket 1155. Not backward compatible for CPUs, but CPU coolers will work
2. As always, Intel uses a freaking confusing naming scheme - makes no sense! For a list of CPUs in a table, format, see here:
The Sandy Bridge Review: Intel Core i7-2600K, i5-2500K and Core i3-2100 Tested - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News
The standard way of overclocking (BCLK)is no longer available (Clock generator has moved from motherboard to CPU). The following applies with overclocking:
1. Chips without Turbo cannot overclock at all
2. Chips with turbo can do very limited overclocking, increasing by approximately 400mhz max
3. "K" chips are completely unlocked - anyone who wants to overclock should go for these chips
The benefit of these K series unlocked chips, is that they are a lot less dependent on motherboard and memory - so overclocking should be easier.
Chips include native SATA 6gbps support, but not native USB 3.0. However, most motherboard manufacturers will add this with an extra chip.
Once again, there are feature differences in terms of virtualisation and encryption between i3 / i5 / i7. For a matrix breaking this down, you can look at the last graph on this page:
The Sandy Bridge Review: Intel Core i7-2600K, i5-2500K and Core i3-2100 Tested - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News
P67 chipsets do not support integrated graphics. They DO support overclocking and Crossfire.
H67 chipsets support integrated. They DO NOT support Overclocking and Crossfire
Many of these new motherboards replace the BIOS with EFI (same as the macs have had). This improves boot time, allows using 3tb drives with a single partition (when partitioned as GPT), and lets you use your mouse to control what used to be the BIOS.
Integrated Graphics are still too slow for gaming, and still slower than something like an HD5570
Overall these new chips are a better choice than socket 1366. The only reason to go for Socket 1366 (X58) is for additional PCI-E lanes, or hex core support. For most situations, the I7 2600K is equivalent or better than the Core i7 980 Extreme Hex Core chip, however, so they need to have a heavily multi-threaded application to justify the hex core.

This clearly isn't everything, but it's the main things that you need to take into account.

Enjoy!

**SCHUMI_4EVER** · 05-01-2011, 02:19 PM

what about the remote kill switch and DRM protection they apparently have?

**Firestar** · 05-01-2011, 02:27 PM

Remote kill switch = a little bit pointless. Very few people will be interested in having that (have you ever used it on a stolen cell phone? Neither have I).
DRM will also only seldomely be used. I think it's fighting a losing battle, and this will not really stick around for too long. I doubt it will have any impact on anybody's lives. Obviously, it will be a little irritating/frustrating/useful/cool for a small number of customers, but in general, I don't think it's going to have a big impact on too many people's lives.

But it's a good mention

**Unknown Soldier** · 05-01-2011, 03:36 PM

You got a few things wrong.

You can overclock a non K unit. It's just limited though. The K series allows the multiplier to go up to 57x, the non-K a lot less at 37x?

Also you can hardly overclock the BCLK which has a base clock of 100MHz. Seems like 103-105 seems to be the max although some people are getting higher but it could stuff up your mobo, graphics card and other things.

Turbo will only go up to 400MHz overclock without doing anything special. The K series should allow you to overclock over 400MHz. Of course, how much of an overclock you get depends on the chip.

**Firestar** · 05-01-2011, 04:04 PM

Unk, is the standard units not prevented from being overclocked by locking them completely? That's what I heard. Can you please check and let me know? You do probably know a lot more about this than I do.

**Firestar** · 05-01-2011, 04:14 PM

Here you go:

The Sandy Bridge Review: Intel Core i7-2600K, i5-2500K and Core i3-2100 Tested - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News

Basically, this is how I understand it:

I3 non Turbo cannot overclock at all. There is only the 100 MHz base clock that you can move to 103 - 105, but that's basically pointless. The multiplier is completely locked down.
I3 Turbo you can do the 400 MHz overclock on
I5 is exactly the same as above, where applicable
I5 and I7 K units can also only get a 103 - 105 FSB overclock, but has an unlocked multiplier, so you can go wild on that one

Is this not what you have? Or are we saying the same thing in different ways?

**Unknown Soldier** · 05-01-2011, 09:24 PM

Not sure about the 2100 and 2400 non-K but the 2500 and 2600 non-K is limited to it's overclocking ability. They can overclock but are limited.

i.e. they can unlock to 41x(notice I've changed my earlier assessment of the CPU) with the multiplier. The BCLK is limited to 103-105 max.

The 2400K, 2500K and 2600K has their multiplier that unlocks to 57x and so they can overclock to much higher speeds than the basic 2400, 2500, 2600 can.

Notice on the pic. Both CPU's(2500 and 2500K) have a base frequency of 3.3GHz.

However the 2500(Limited) can Turbo to 3.7GHz max on one core or 3.4GHz on all four cores. You can also overclock using the multiplier to 41x on one core or 38x Multiplier with 4 cores. This of course depends on the CPU you get.

The 2500K(Unlimited) does the same when using Turbo with one core at 3.7GHz and four cores at 3.4GHz. However with the K(Unlimited) you can overclock to 5.7Ghz on one core or 4.8GHz(? not sure maybe more, I think will depend on the CPU I'd guess) with the multipliers going all the way up to 57X.

I'd personally go with the K, since it only costs $11(R74) more than the Limited version.

Model Number Standard SKU K-Series SKU Price Premium
Intel Core i7-2600 $294 $317 +$23
Intel Core i5-2500 $205 $216 +$11

**SCHUMI_4EVER** · 05-01-2011, 11:51 PM

essentially one you can fry whilst the other should be idiot proof

Oj · 06-01-2011, 12:11 AM

BCLK maxes out at 110MHz or so when subzero, although don't think that'll add anything to your maximum CPU speed. It's only helpful on locked chips.

**Unknown Soldier** · 07-01-2011, 01:19 AM

I'm very impressed with the 2400. In game it's usually equal to or slightly slower than both the 2500K and 2600K.

Intel's 'Sandy Bridge' Core processors - The Tech Report - Page 6

And slightly slower means just 3-5fps usually comparing average fps.

It, 2400, being nearly half the price of the 2600K, it's really an awesome band for the buck CPU imo.

Core i5-2400 4 4 3.1 GHz 3.4 GHz 6 MB 2 95 W $184 (R1800 or less)
Core i5-2500K 4 4 3.3 GHz 3.7 GHz 6 MB 2 95 W $216 (R2100 or less)
Core i7-2600K 4 8 3.4 GHz 3.8 GHz 8 MB 2 95 W $317 (R3100 or less)

**ShooterFX** · 07-01-2011, 09:07 AM

For me the 2500K seems to be the one to go for

**Montezuma** · 07-01-2011, 07:00 PM

Originally Posted by Unknown Soldier

I'm very impressed with the 2400. In game it's usually equal to or slightly slower than both the 2500K and 2600K.

Intel's 'Sandy Bridge' Core processors - The Tech Report - Page 6

And slightly slower means just 3-5fps usually comparing average fps.

It, 2400, being nearly half the price of the 2600K, it's really an awesome band for the buck CPU imo.

Relative though, the 2500 should be only R200 more. Now sure, R200 here and there adds up, but it's not enough of a saving to make it *that* attractive, compared to the R1000 difference between the 2500K and 2600K.

**Unknown Soldier** · 08-01-2011, 12:32 AM

Relative though, the 2500k costs R400-500 more than the 2400.

http://www.prophecy.co.za/bintelb-bl...9_20_1864.html

Sure the 2500K will be better with apps but people playing games can stick with the 2400 imo. especially if they(people) don't overclock much.

Like I said, better bang for the buck.

**Montezuma** · 08-01-2011, 11:42 PM

In that case I agree, R500 is a is quite different to R200, I was going by the $184 for the 2400 vs $205 for the 2500 (non-K versions, prices from Anandtech link above). The $ prices look very close till you jump to the $300 of the 2600 varietals.
I'd wait for some of the local prices to settle, or at least get a consistent supplier, cause at the moment the 2300 is more expensive than the 2400 :?

**Firestar** · 09-01-2011, 07:54 AM

Yea. The 2400 we get from a very cheap supplier. They have others in stock but I've not updated them yet on our site. As soon as they het stock then
Prices will come down nicely.

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