Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz 8M L3 Cache 4.8GT/sec QPI Hyper-Threading Turbo Boost LGA1366 Processor

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Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 25 x 8.3 x 7.8 inches ; 1.7 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B001H5T7LK
• Item model number: BX80601920
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #327 in Electronics (See Bestsellers in Electronics)

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  Electronics > Computers & Accessories > Internal Desktop Components > CPU Processors

• Date first available at Amazon.com: November 17, 2008

Product Description

From the Manufacturer
With multiple computing “brains” inside one processor, new Intel multi-core processors deliver big performance for anyone interested in running the most demanding software applications with ease. New Intel® Core™ i7 45nm quad-core processors from Intel combine exclusive innovations to deliver the best possible performance, plus an extra performance boost when needed. New levels of brilliant performance
With faster, intelligent multi-core technology that applies processing power where it is needed most, new Intel® Core™ i7 processors deliver incredible breakthroughs in PC performance. You’ll run multiple demanding applications faster and unleash incredible digital media creation possibilities. And you’ll experience maximum performance for everything you do, thanks to the combination of Intel® Turbo Boost Technology and Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology, which dynamically maximize performance to match your workload.

Puts processing power where you need it most
Whether you’re casually checking email and surfing the Web or running multiple compute-intensive applications like HD video encoding, you want a processor that can deliver maximum PC performance and keep things moving.

Faster, brilliant multi-core performance
With the Intel Core i7 processor, you’ll get performance that goes as fast as you do. An unprecedented 4-core, 8-thread design made possible by Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology ensures incredible performance, no matter what your computing needs. And with more than double the memory bandwidth for faster memory access, you’ll achieve more while waiting less.

Intel Technology
Intel® QuickPath Interconnect. This Intel-exclusive innovation makes it easier for data to move quickly from the processor to the Intel X58 chipset, delivering better performance and responsiveness with the most demanding applications.

Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology. By allowing each of the four processing cores to process two application “threads” simultaneously, Intel Core i7 processors can accomplish more simultaneously—allowing users to run more demanding applications simultaneously while experiencing superior responsiveness.

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology. This new technology dynamically increases the processor’s frequency when needed by taking advantage of thermal and power headroom when operating below specified limits, giving you extra horsepower when you need it.

8 MB Shared Intel® Smart Cache. By placing more data closer to the processing cores and enabling multiple cores to dynamically share this space, Intel’s exclusive cache design ensures that multiple processing cores have ready access to data when it is needed.

Shatter your limits
It’s time for digital content creation that’s limited only by your imagination. Experience total creative freedom with the power to encode video up to 40% faster.¹ Plus, enjoy incredible performance on other multimedia tasks like image rendering, photo retouching and editing.

Gaming on the edge—and beyond
The Intel® Core™ i7 processor not only can take on today’s most complex and immersive games, but it’s also powerful enough to handle tomorrow’s gaming advances. By distributing AI, physics, and rendering across 8 software threads, the Intel Core i7 processor lets you concentrate on taking down the bad guys while your PC handles all the visual details like texturing and shading that keep you feeling totally immersed. It’s a gaming experience so perfect, you just might lose yourself in the action.

Multimedia
With professional-grade photo and HD video editing applications growing in popularity, you might have considered editing your own photos and home movies for family and friends. But did you know that these editing applications can consume huge amounts of computing resources? Built to handle resource-hungry creativity applications with ease, the four cores and eight processing threads of Intel Core i7 processors help ensure that when you’re manipulating high-resolution photos or editing HD-quality home movies, your computing platform will keep pace with your creativity.

Multitasking
Whether at work or home, running multiple applications is commonplace. When these applications demand significant computing resources (like photo editing, video compression or conversion, video conferencing, gaming and more) multitasking can mean slowdown and inefficiencies. For users who want to accomplish a lot simultaneously—whether at work or play—Intel Core i7 processors combine Intel’s latest exclusive technologies to deliver performance to match the task at hand.

¹Based on SPECint_rate_base2006 scores. Results have been estimated based on internal Intel analysis and are provided for informational purposes only. Any difference in system hardware or software design or configuration may affect actual performance. See http://www.intel.com/performance for additional information.


Product Description
Intel Core i7-920 Processor, 2.66 GHz, 4.8 QPI, 45nm, SSE4, 3 Channel Memory, 8 MB L3 Cache, Turbo Boost Technology, EIST in a LGA-1366 package

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 8-cores at a 4-core price: another fantastic CPU from Intel, December 3, 2008

By	Nathan Beauchamp "Dakotad555" (Oak Park, IL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I upgraded to the i7 from an Intel Core 2 Duo E8400. The main reasons I made the upgrade were:

1. Low power consumption (significantly lower than a Q6600 which is about $100 cheaper than the i7)
2. 8 logical cores available (quad core + hyper threading)
3. The ability to play cutting edge games that take advantage of all 8 cores.
4. The potential ability to load share between CPU & GPU once Windows 7 is released.

The upgrade might have been a bit premature, as the primary reason to buy an I7 processor won't be possible until Windows 7 is released. Windows 7 will allow load sharing between GPU (graphics card) and CPU. This will enable some really nice performance gains in games, or other graphic intensive applications like video editing software. Allegedly, games like Crysis will get a 20-30 percent performance increase. However, I heard that before when Windows stated that Vista would provide significant performance gains for DirectX10 games, which has not proved to be the case.

Regardless, the i7 920 is truly an amazing CPU. I've yet to experiment with overclocking much, but I do have it running at 3.12ghz stable and with a core temperature of 41C at idle and around 60C under load. I'll likely push things further in the coming weeks, and I'll give updates on temperatures and performance when I do.

Combining this card with two 4870hd 512mb graphics cards in Crossfire mode produced a 3DMark06 score of just over 19,000! That is a 5,000 point gain from my previous rig, and is in about the top 4% of all systems out there. That is pretty phenomenal performance. In Crysis with all settings at very high and DX10, I average over 50 frames at 1980x1200. This CPU is a gaming beast.

If you plan to overclock this card even a little, invest in an aftermarket heat sink and some Arctic Silver thermal compound. The heatsink provided with the retail package is small and ineffective at cooling an overclocked card. I recommend this Zalman Cpu Cooler for moderate overclocking. It is a very quite and very effective fan.

If your in the market for a 'future-proof' processor, this is a great option at a reasonable price point. The ceiling speed of processors is growing increasingly unimportant as multi-thread programing become the norm in both games and applications. You could spend a lot more for a higher GHZ CPU, but you're not really gaining as much performance as the jump from 2 to 4 cores, and then quad core to octo core. This processor will eat anything you throw at it and come back for more. Just make sure your mother board supports i7 chips before you buy one.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a beast, February 4, 2009

By	AJF "Technophile" (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

Excellent performance; you will not be disappointed. The processor is highly overclockable - with a decent aftermarket cooling solution, it can easily be clocked over 4ghz. Even with the stock cooler, I was able to reach 3.3ghz with safe temperatures (fan at 100%) under normal usage (but prime95 stress test would push the temps a little too high at this speed). Even without overclocking, I noticed an improvement in speed and multitasking ability over my core 2 duo system. Highly recommended, particularly for those building a new rig. I use the core i7 primarily for gaming and general computing.

Cons - stock fan is somewhat loud to me even at low speeds, though I strive for silent computing. Invest in a quality aftermarket heatsink/fan (plus it will enable you to push performance well beyond the stock 940 at less expense).

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars i7 920 with Asus P6T, April 8, 2009

By	V. Vindaluhoo "Amp It Up" (Pasadena, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Awesome chip. Got my i7 920 overclocked to 3.8ghz in a breeze with Asus P6T motherboard, Scythe Mugen 2 cooler and a triple DDR3-1600 OCZ 6g kit. Minor bump up in voltage to 1.30625v to get system to post in Vista64. Vista32 didn't require extra voltage to remain stable in Prime95 torture test for 1/2hr. But I believe vcore will have to go up to 1.35v to be rock solid 24/7. I heard that the new "D0" stepping allows for overclocking to 4.3ghz with similar setup because the new design runs cooler. I have the old "C" stepping. If you don't mind amping up the vcore, I'm sure 4.0ghz+ can be made stable but I don't like the heat and the wear on my components at those temps. As other buyers have noted, this chip really is an overclocking MONSTER!