Intel Core i7-870 Processor

When it launched last year, the Core i7 platform redefined Intel's high-end processor segment. Unfortunately, the platform was also accompanied by high-end prices. As such, it has seen only a minimal share of the desktop market. However, Intel has released a new platform that it claims will bring the performance of Nehalem to mainstream price points. Referred to as Lynnfield, the new platform shares its core microarchitecture with the i7-900 series, but introduces a completely new chipset and socket design. This means that not only will we see new processors, but new motherboards as well. Benchmark Reviews has been testing several of these new items and will be covering the launch in detail over the next few days. In this article, we examine the Intel Core i7-870 Quad Core Processor model BX80605I7870.

Of the three processors launched this week under the Lynnfield platform, the Core i7-870 is considered the high-end part. All three chips are based on the same die, feature 8 MB of shared cache, and are packaged using the new LGA 1156 socket. They also feature a new version of Intel's Turbo Boost Technology that dynamically overclocks the individual processor cores depending on workload. At 2.93 GHz, though, the Core i7-870 boasts the highest clock speed of the three. As an i7-800 series model, it also features Hyper-Threading for a total of 8 threads. It should be a recipe for success, but we'll find out for certain in the benchmarking section.

With a launch-MSRP of $555 for the BX80605I7870 kit, one would hope that the i7-870 lives up to the hype. It's certainly a far cry from mainstream as Intel suggests. Compared to the i7-900 series, however, the i7-870 does have the advantage of using the new P55 chipset. Intel moved the bulk of the Northbridge functions to the processor and combined the rest with the Southbridge to deliver a single chip solution called Ibex Peak. The result should be considerably less expensive motherboards. Still, the processor itself carries a hefty price tag and consumers will want performance to match.

About Intel Corporation

Intel Corporation is the world's largest semiconductor company founded by semiconductor pioneers Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, and widely associated with the executive leadership and vision of Andrew Grove, Intel combines advanced chip design capability with a leading-edge manufacturing capability. Originally known primarily to engineers and technologists, Intel's successful "Intel Inside" advertising campaign of the 1990s made it and its Pentium processor household names.

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