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PCWizKid remembers a year ago the hit Core i7 processor came out making them the fastest CPU's on the planet.  The only drawback for some is its price tag.  A year later and Intel answers back with the release of the Core i5 with the Lynnfield core.  The Intel Core i5 brings the next level of technology at a cheaper price point, this is what we have all been waiting for.  Getting more performance does not have to be expensive and it seems Intel has realized that with this so called mainstream performer.  The reason I say mainstream is because the Core i7's still dominate and have better overall performance.  Having said that, lets see what we can get with a Core i5 and if its even worth getting a Core i7 at this point in time.  Come 2010 the new chips will be rolling in and original Core i7's with Bloomfield cores will be the past.

The Core i5 processor is of the first multi-core designs from Intel to have its cores joined in a single die rather than to join multiple cores together.  This potentially speeds up operations with multiple program threads by cutting back on the time spent moving data between cores.

Key Features

• Four x86 processing cores
• Dual-channel DDR3 memory controller specified to run DDR3-1066 and DDR3-1333 modules
• Support for TurboBoost technology upto 3.2Ghz
• 32 KB instruction + 32 KB data L1 cache per core
• 256 KB L2 cache per core
• Large 8 MB L3 cache shared by all 4 cores
• Enhanced Intel Speedstep® Technology
• Intel® EM64T ¹
• Intel® Virtualization Technology
• Enhanced Halt State (C1E)
• Execute Disable Bit ²

CPU Specifications

Test system specifications

• Intel Core i5 750 (at various speeds starting at 2.6Ghz and up)
• MSI P55 GD80 Motherboard
  
• Tuniq TX-3 Thermal Grease (Recommended over the default stock included material)
• Two Diamond ATI Radeon HD4890's in crossfire
• 4GB DDR3 Corsair XMS3 1600
• Ultra X4 850 Watt Power supply
• GlacialTech F101 CPU cooler
• Cooler Master HAF932 Full Tower Case
• Western Digital 500GB SATA II HDD
• Windows 7 Ultimate 64Bit
• Room Temperature 21C

Video Review

Additional Benchmarks Performed:

Gaming Benchmark - Resident Evil 5
- Fixed benchmark test, 8AA, High Settings, Vsync off, DX10
- At 1680x1050 147 fps average
- At 1280x1024 157 fps average

Gaming Crysis Benchmark
- Ultra High Enthusiats Levels, 8AA
- At 1680x1050 Max 53 fps, average 36 fps
- At 1280x1024 Max 76 fps, average 40 fps

PCMark Vantage Scores
- Overclocked at 4Ghz the total score was 9614 PCMarks

Everest DDR3-1600Mhz (7-7-7-20) Memory Scores at 4Ghz, :
- Read 16938 MB/s
- Write 13777 MB/s
- Copy 18543 MB/s
- Latency 40.8ns

Conclusion

PCWizKid is definitely impressed how Intel finally has brought something new and refreshing to the processor market to compete for roughly 200 USD against AMD's latest Phenom II 955 and 965 processors.  It's priced right and opens up overclocking processing power.  The Lynnfield core cpu's prove to be a very promising processor series offering a terrific user experience.  As seen in the video review the performance certainly is there, the flexibility you get most definitely is and the tweaking potential from 2.6Ghz to 4Ghz was truly awesome.  The combination of this CPU with the P55-GD80 motherboard from MSI makes this system a smart alternative to the Core i7 or the AMD Phenom II's mentioned.

Click here for the latest pricing on the Intel Core i5-750 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor