Intel Core i7-3770K review

OVERCLOCKING AND REAL WORLD TESTS

The new chip also overclocks well. We raised the Turbo Boost ceiling from 3.9GHz to 4.3GHz on both processors to make a 10% overclock. Once again, even using the small stock Intel cooler, the processor managed to get all the way through our benchmarks without throttling back from its maximum Turbo Boost speed. This led to a huge overall score of 137, compared to 122 from the Sandy Bridge processor, which, again, had to throttle back a quarter of the way through.

To test the improved QuickSync, we used Cyberlink’s MediaEspresso 6.5 video conversion software. With QuickSync disabled and using the Sandy Bridge Core i7-2600K processor, set to a 3.9GHz Turbo Boost, we converted a six-minute 1080p AVCHD video file to iPhone 4 H.264 format in 4m 18s. With the Ivy Bridge Core i7-3770K processor the same test finished in 4m 7s. Once we enabled QuickSync we saw 2m 1s from the Sandy Bridge processor and just 1m 35s from the Ivy Bridge processor – meaning you should be able to encode a two-hour AVCHD file to play on your phone in around 30 minutes.

With QuickSync disabled, the new Ivy Bridge chip has a slight advantage over Sandy Bridge

With QuickSync enabled, the new chip flies ahead

GRAPHICS BENCHMARKING

Finally, we saw how Intel’s new HD Graphics 4000 chipset compared to the HD Graphics 3000 in the previous-generation processor. In Dirt 3, running at 1,280×720 with High detail and 4x anti-aliasing, we saw 26.1fps – an improvement on the i7-2600K’s 21.6fps, but not smooth enough to be playable. However, without anti-aliasing we saw 39.6fps, compared to the just-playable 30.1fps from the Sandy Bridge chip, so if you’re willing to put up with console-quality graphics some gaming is on the cards. The new chips are still far slower in games than AMD’s last-generation Llano processors, and AMD has yet to launch its 2012 range of chips, which should be even faster in 3D.

Dirt 3 isn’t the most challenging of titles, but it’s representative of current games aimed at today’s home consoles

CONCLUSION

Intel has pulled off another blinder with Ivy Bridge. The new graphics are a fair improvement, making playing games at reasonable detail levels finally a possibility, but the real surprises come in 2D applications. The smaller process means the new chip can run at its maximum Turbo Boost almost all the time, which makes it far quicker in intensive tasks than its Sandy Bridge predecessors. The high-end i7-3770K is a hugely fast processor, so wins an Ultimate award; but unless you need the best, you should wait to see how cheaper, upcoming chips in the range perform, as they may be better value.

You can read our first Ivy Bridge PC review now, as we test an overclocked Intel Core i5-3570K in the Palicomp Alpha Detonator.