Intel i5

[Sublym3]

Hey,

I thought some of you guys might be in the know.

Is it possible that the i5 processors if ever released could be faster in games than i7 processors assuming they have the same clock?

The i5 are said to have built in pci-e lanes, enough for one 16x or two 8x. I would assume having a direct path to the CPU would make them faster?

Cheers

 

[MartinX]

I don't think so.

I suspect that any theoretical gains would be below the threshold of perception.

I think the whole exercise is more about prepping the tech for their combined gpu/cpu chips.

 

[Flexion]

Exactly.

Faster, probably not. Intel wouldn't allow that to happen. Almost as fast, most likely in certain applications. You can currently simulate an i5 by removing one of the memory sticks in the triple channel memory interface. On certain apps there looks to be little gain from 2 channel to 3 channel. That's not indicative of what the future holds.

As for the integrated PCI-e lanes, That's for the integrated GPUs that will accompany dual core chips meant for mainstream users. I'm not sure if external PCI-e cards mated with the integrated PCI-e on CPU package will yield gains, only time will tell.

Apparently 32nm core i7s will run on current LGA1366 boards, so going i7 is not a bad idea. Be prepared to wait though on the i5 and 32nm core i7s, because Intel has no need to introduce the Core i5, because of fear of cannibalizing sales of LGA775 platforms and lack of a worthy competition from AMD.

 

[PC_User]

i7 is the extreme performance / high-end segment whereas the i5 will be the mainstream segment. Intel would not sabotage it's own i7 by making the i5 faster.

 

[Zero82z]

The QPI link is fast enough that it does not limit the rate of transfer between an i7 CPU and the PCI-E bus. There should be no perceivable latency compared to an i5 CPU with an onboard PCI-E controller.