Core i7 to have deliberately crippled overclocking potential

[divine]

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/Intel-...iew-31404.html

Intel's Core i7: Blazing Fast, But Crippled O/C : Eight Virtual Cores Through Hyper-Threading
Unlike the Core 2 Quads, which still consisted of two dual-core CPUs, the Core i7 is a native quad-core processor. On the whole, the new processors are more efficient, although the system does draw more power at the platform level than the previous generation.

The performance comparison with long-time rival AMD’s offerings is nothing short of painful. The fastest Core i7, the 965 Extreme, is more than 2.6 times as fast as AMD’s current flagship CPU, the Phenom X4 9950 BE. Across our benchmark suite, the AMD processors never placed better than towards the lower middle of the field, tending instead to fill the lower spots.

However, Intel has also created some competition for itself, because the Core i7 is clearly superior to the Core 2 CPUs where performance is concerned. Surprisingly, the reintroduction of Hyper-Threading technology has no small part in this performance leap.

Apparently, Intel is not so happy that buyers are purchasing inexpensive yet highly overclockable CPUs instead of the higher priced and faster models. To put a stop to the practice, Intel has ensured that only the $1,000 high-end model will operate beyond the TDP barrier of 130 W (110 A). The less expensive Core i7 versions—the 920 and 940—will begin throttling back their clock speeds once they reach this threshold. Sadly, it looks like the days in which a $150 CPU is able to reach the performance of a $1,000 processor are over—at least for now. While small tweaks are still possible, major performance increases through overclocking are no longer an option.

How very interesting.

However, performance for gaming looks to be somewhat of a moot point currently still;

Crysis (1680 x 1050):
Core i7 965 - 167.7 FPS
QX9770 - 143 FPS
E8600 - 139.1 FPS
Core i7 920 - 140.9 FPS

UT3:
Core i7 965 - 154.5 FPS
QX9770 - 150.4 FPS
E8600 - 137.7 FPS
Core i7 920 - 136.9 FPS

WiC (1680 x 1050):
Core i7 965 - 218 FPS
QX9770 - 157 FPS
E8600 - 153 FPS
Core i7 920 - 172 FPS

Supreme Commander:
Core i7 965 - 35.20 FPS
QX9770 - 33.85 FPS
E8600 - 29.35 FPS
Core i7 920 - 32.55 FPS

...only really a significant boost in one game but one that's hardly unplayable on current tech.