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Blogs Why so many Core i7-2600 flavours?

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Baz, 11 Aug 2011.

  1. Baz

    Baz I work for Corsair

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  2. r3loaded

    r3loaded Minimodder

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    I too came across the lack of VT-d on the 2500K while analysing CPU specifications on Intel ARK. The 2500 has it, but the 2500K doesn't. I eventually decided that overclocking and gaming were more important to me than virtualisation, so I chose the 2500K. Doesn't make it any less annoying though.
     
  3. RedFlames

    RedFlames ...is not a Belgian football team

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    there are 4 flavours of 2500, just to make things even more complicated...

    the K - overclocking, better igp, lacks some business-orientated bits [vPro, VT-d]

    the vanilla

    the S - lower TDP, lower speed [same turbo speed]

    the T - even lower TDP, even lower speed [and lower Turbo], lower igp frequency

    EDIT: mis-read, you're on about the 2600, the above still applies, except there is no T version of the 2600
     
  4. Ph4ZeD

    Ph4ZeD What's a Dremel?

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    Welcome to lack of competition :) Intel's decisions do seem nonsensical, but they know they can get away with it.
     
  5. PQuiff

    PQuiff What's a Dremel?

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    close your eyes. out stretch both arms. start spinning.......stop, choose a chip name/features.

    Thats how intel does it.
     
  6. wyx087

    wyx087 Homeworld 3 is happening!!

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    just checked, my CPU can overclock AND also have the said two features :p

    competition Bulldozer can't get here soon enough
     
  7. Madness_3d

    Madness_3d Bit-Tech/Asus OC Winner

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    Because you're not looking at their complete range. The 2600K is not their fastest chip. The new 2011 chips will hit the top of the range. Everything below the extreme version will have some level of compromise
     
  8. mclean007

    mclean007 Officious Bystander

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    Fine, but (a) they're not available now, so in the consumer space you're forced to choose between overclocking and VT-d/TXT, not both (the better IGP probably isn't a big concern at the high end); and (b) given the different feature sets, why do they share the 2600 name? If it was just that one was unlocked (2600-K) and the other (2600) not, that would be fair, but since the 2600-K also lacks something in the 2600, it seems a bit misleading.
     
  9. mucgoo

    mucgoo Minimodder

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    I think the strangest decision is putting the better IGP within enthusiast K edition hardware while not putting it in the basic versions were the IGP will be used.

    Intel realise a 2500k without IGP and use some of that production saving to cut prices by £10?
     
  10. Roskoken

    Roskoken What's a Dremel?

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    Its pretty simple, if your a busines paranoid about security use VT-d

    If your a gamer, overclock with a K

    Thats about it really.
     
  11. Glix

    Glix Left Thumb Stick in the mud.

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    K for cut? :p
     
  12. lamboman

    lamboman What's a Dremel?

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    It can be confusing, but not misleading IMO.

    I've thought it was a bit obvious myself to be honest, with the letters representing different features. They're essentially different ranges, just a bit jumbled. From Wiki:

    They should have put the letters before the name, but as I said, view them as separate ranges and it isn't a problem. So I completely disagree with the article on that front.

    They should have left the virtualisation features on the K models, however.
     
  13. azrael-

    azrael- I'm special...

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    One could also argue why Intel gets away with selling the Cougar Point chipset in 57 different flavours (like Heinz ketchup), when there's really only one, and bits get fused off as needed ("market demand").
     
  14. thehippoz

    thehippoz What's a Dremel?

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    yeah that's pretty lame you have to choose between overclocking and having virtualization support

    heck even the g6950 has virtualization. I use it all the time too
     
  15. RedFlames

    RedFlames ...is not a Belgian football team

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    the K does still have VT-x, but not VT-d
     
  16. thehippoz

    thehippoz What's a Dremel?

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    oh nm.. your right red
     
  17. ZERO <ibis>

    ZERO <ibis> Minimodder

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    If I am buying a xeon I likely am using a SSD for my c:/ drive so why would I need smart response....
     
  18. moo123

    moo123 What's a Dremel?

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    "The problem is due to Bright’s desire to make a future-proof, fast PC that can run Visual Studio and Battlefield 3 easily."

    Intel didn't design Sandy Bridge to be the jack-of-all-trades, this was obviously some marketing decision intended to increase volumes by having "specialized" processors. Either way, I've never been a fan of using a single computer for both work and game.There's just some comfort in having another computer with all your confidential files/designs/etc that your friends and family know not to touch.
     
  19. Madness_3d

    Madness_3d Bit-Tech/Asus OC Winner

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    They would save very little if any money. Chances are if the Chip is good enough to be highly overclockable (remember Intel are binning all their Sandybridges) then the IGP also works solidly. It would be pointless to disable bits of it if they're good chips, it wouldn't gain them anything or save them anything. At least this way, anyone who is just out for CPU performance (they do exist) also gets the gain of having all 12 EU's available, even if it is only for Video Encoding or the like. Makes more sense now that Z68 is out and we can see the bigger picture.


    I see your point. Technically Intel's leading chip atm is the 990X which supports VT-d but not TXT. As has been said they're catering to more than just the consumer market and you've also got to put it in perspective as a relative scale. Of the S chips, this is the 2600 of the S Series, it supports such and such. The S for example, also has embedded options available and so really can't be put in the same box as other normal chips. All that considered it shares alot with the normal 2600. By the same logic you could say that the i7-2620M should be faster and have the same feature set as the desktop 2600's. But again it's relative to other M chips.
    Anyway, on the feature front, what Intel are really saying is, If you want VT-d, TXT and Overclocking then you're going to have to pay "Extreme" prices for it when they're released, and they can do that because they have such massive market dominance in the high performance sector.
     
    Last edited: 12 Aug 2011
  20. jrs77

    jrs77 Modder

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    The biggest mistake was to have the HD3000 only in the K-versions. It's a no-brainer that people who buy the K-version will use a dedicated GPU. The HD3000 would be a perfect match for an i3-2100T tho, as this would be an awesome CPU for a HTPC.
    And can someone explain, why all of the notebook-parts have the HD3000 in that regard, while the desktop-parts do not?

    It's all a total mess, and that doesn't count for intel alone.
     
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