i7 875K: A More Affordable, Unlocked Version of an Intel Processor

Test Platform

Processors:

• Intel Core i7 875K
  Clock speed @Default, @3.4 GHz (200×17), @4 GHz (133×30 and 200×20), @4.2 GHz (200×21), and @4.256 (133×32)
• Intel Core i7 930
  Clock speed @2.8 GHz (200×14), @3.4 GHz (200×17), @4 GHz (200×20)

Motherboards:

• Gigabyte X58A-UD3R
• Gigabyte P55A-UD3P

Graphics card: MSI N480GTX
Memory: 3x1GB Kingston KHX16000D3T1K3/3GX
Harddisk: Western Digital Caviar Black 500 GB (32 MB Cache)
Power Supply: Enermax Revolution 85+ 1050 Watt
Heatsink: Thermaltake Contac 29
Monitor: Philips 221E
Input: Genius (Keyboard and Mouse)
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit
Driver: NVIDIA Forceware 197.41

Test Results

SYSMark 2007

In both E-Learning and Video Creation scenarios, Core i7 930 was toe-to-toe with the Core i7 875K. In Productivity and 3D scenarios, however, Core i7 875K held the upper hand. Finally, the preview rating shows that the Core i7 875K was clearly on the lead, scoring more than 30 points ahead of the Core i7 930. Core i7 875K’s relatively higher Turbo Boost frequency seems to be responsible here, since Sysmark 2007 employ numerous outdated soft wares that do not fully utilize as many processor threads as their more recent versions.

MediaShow Espresso

Even under the same clock speed, differences in over clocking method (multiplier versus base clock increase) give varying degrees of performance improvement in this particular video encoding software.