Test: Intel Core i5 2500K

Konklusion
 

Vi nåede til vejs ende i vores første sammenstød med Intels nye Sandy Bridge arkitektur. Det har været en positiv oplevelse, der lover godt for ydelsen på vores PC'er fremover. Ydelsen ligger 20-40% over de hidtidige core i5 quadcore modeller, og strømforbruget er faldet betragteligt, så vi kan vel ikke rigtig tillade os at være sure over den del af sagen. Overclocke kan den sørme også. Hele 4.5GHz fik jeg vores testsample op på uden at få sved på panden, og så går det altså rigtig hurtigt med at afvikle dine programmer. Ulempen er så at du SKAL have en K-model for at overclocke, da cpu og chipset er låst på bushastigheden, og du kun kan overclocke ved at hæve gangefaktoren.

Innovation/Teknologi - 5
Jamen jeg er jo nødt til at give et 5 tal her. I core i5 serien er Sandy Bridge konge. Man kan mene hvad man vil om den ændrede arkitetktur ift den gamle core i5 serie, men det virker, og turbocore funktionen sparker nu for alvor r*v. Du får nu op til 3.7GHz på en 2. generations core cpu hvis du køber en 2500 model. Og så kan K modellen jo gå et godt stykke over 4GHz ifølge min test.

Ydelse - 5
Det er ikke nogen revolution som sådan når vi snakker ydelse. Min test viser at du sagtens kan få en 1. generations core i5 til at følge med, med et overclock så den matcher clockfrekvensen. Clock for clock er der en relativt beskeden forskel, men du får selvfølgelig en langt højere ydelse ud af Sandy Bridge når vi snakker standard clockfrekvens. Overclocking potentialet er, som allerede nævnt, også pænt højt. 4.5GHz kan klares med en god luftkøler, og så går det altså rigtig stærkt.

Pris - 3
De foreløbige rygter siger en pris omkring 1700kr for en 2500K, og 1600kr for en 2500 uden K. Til sammenligning koster en core i5 760@2.8GHz 1400kr, så pris og ydelse hænger fint sammen.

Test: Intel Core i5 2500K

Innovation / Teknologi	5
Ydelse	5
Pris	3
Samlet	86%

UK summary

That is it for now, for our first clash with Intels new Sandy Bridge cpu architecture. It has been a positive experience, that makes good promises for the performance level on your future PC. Performance measurements shows 20-40% improvement over the last generation core cpu's, and the power consumption is down, so all in all we really have nothing bad to say about it. The overclocking potential is also very promising. Our testsample went to 4.5GHz with little effort, and at that speed your programs will run very fast. The downside is, you need a K-model to be able to overclock. The cpu and chipset have very little headroom on the FSB, so the only way is to change the multiplier.
 

Innovation/Technology - 5
I really cannot defend giving less than maximum points here. In the core i5 series the 2500K is the new king. Think what you will about the old core i5's, the new stuff outperforms it and runs cooler doing so. The turbocore feature also gives a solid boost this time around, all the way to 3.7GHz on the 2500 model. And of course the K model seems willing to go way beyond the 4GHz mark.
 

Performance - 5
It is not revolutionary as such when we talk about performance only. My testing shows that you can make an old i5 model keep up, if you overclock it to roughly match the clockspeed oft he new ones. Clock for clock the difference is not that big, but of course you get a lot more performance from the Sandy Bridge model at stock speeds. And the overclocking potentila also surpasses that of most older core i5's. My bet is you can make the 2500K run 4.5GHz with good air cooling any day. It really took very little efford.

Price - 3
We do not have the official prices yet, but rumours say around 230€ for a 2500K model and around 215€ for the non-K. In comparison, the core i5 760@2.8GHz cost 190€ at the moment, so in other words, price and performance match up.