Chinese-language PC Online is one step ahead in the game. The website already had the chance to test and benchmark the performance of one of Intel's upcoming quad-core Core i7 CPUs, namely the Extreme 940 model.
Now, remember, these new chips aren't expected to come out until sometime in November, so the fact that they have already been tested is quite an important aspect. This is all the more true especially since, in order to fully set up a benchmarking platform for these CPUs, you require not only the processor itself, but also an X58-based motherboard, which comes with the only chipset that can support Intel's upcoming socket LGA1366.
The test was ran in comparison with Intel's Core 2 QX9770 (featuring 12MB of L2 cache) at both reference and overclocked core speeds. The Core 2 test platform included an ASUS X48 motherboard, two 1GB Apacer DDR3-1333 memory modules, a 500GB SATA 7200RPM Seagate hard drive and a GeForce GTX 260 graphics card. The Core i7 test platform featured the same components, plus the Intel X58 motherboard and the Core i7 Extreme 940 CPU, running at a reference clock speed of 2.93GHz and featuring 8MB of L3 cache.In regard to the software, the testing systems ran on a Windows Vista operating system, using the latest drivers. Benchmarking software included Super PI 1.4, Everest Ultimate 4.6, WinRAR 3.71, CINEBENCH R10, Fritz Chess Benchmark, 3DMark2006 and 3DMark Vantage version 101. Also, both CPUs were tested using some of the latest DirectX 9 and DirectX 10 games.
As it turns out, the Extreme Core i7 CPU outperformed both the overclocked and the standard Core 2 QX9770 processor in most benchmarks. Practically, the only tests where the Core i7 CPU could not live up to its name were the Super PI 1.4 benchmark and some of the gaming applications, including DirectX9 Call of Duty 4, Half Life 2: Ep2, and DirectX10 Company of Heroes. Aside from that, in 3DMark Vantage, the Core i7 940, clocked at 2.93GHz, achieved a CPU score of 18252, while the overclocked Core 2 could only go as high as 13128 points.
It is clear that the new Core i7 CPU will deliver an impressive performance boost compared with Intel's current CPU offering. However, it would have been nice to know how the non-Extreme Core i7 920 model would perform against some of Intel's more decently priced Core 2 models - especially since the Core i7 920 will probably become the most successful on the market, thanks to its comparatively lower estimated price tag.
