So, my first step was to run it through a basic battery of CPU benchmarks at "stock speed" to get some baseline measurements.

Super PI 1M
This program calculates the digits of the number PI out to 1 million digits, it is single threaded.



Super PI 32M
This program calculates the digits of the number PI out to 32 million digits, it is single threaded.



PiFast
This program that crunches through the digits of the number PI, it is single threaded.



wPrime
This program calculates prime numbers. It allows for two tests, to calculate the first 32 million, or the first 1.024 billion prime numbers. This program is great for multi-core and/or multi-processor systems, and scales very well with each additional core.



With the new Lynnfiels CPUs, "stock speed" has different meanings in different tests. The "stock" multiplier of this i5 750 CPU is 20x, but in multithreaded benchmarks it runs at 21x, and when I ran Super PI or PiFast, it ran at an impressive 24x!!! That took the "stock" speed of 2660MHz to either 2793MHz or 3192MHz depending on the test...wow! 20x is only used when the CPU determines that the load is too heavy and thermal throttling kicks in to prevent the use of the higher multipliers.

You've probably noticed that this CPU is very similar to the i7 920, they both have the same "stock speed" of 2660MHz, they both have the same amount of L1, L2, and L3 cache, and they both have 4 physical cores. But there are some important differences as well. The 920 has a triple channel memory controller, the 750 only dual channel. The 920 uses Hyper Threading (HT) to enable the operatining system to treat the CPU is if it has 8 cores. On the other hand, the 920's turbo mode has a maximum multiplier of 21x and is therefore more limited in it's overall clock speed for single threaded applications, this would help the 750 make up for some of the performance lost with the lack of triple channel memory.

The final and most important difference between the two CPUs is the price. At only about $200, the i5 750 is significantly less expensive than it's i7 bretheren (about $280). Not only the CPU but the entire platform is designed to fill a lower price bracket. So, while an entry level 1366 board, like the GA-EX58-UD3R runs about $200, the P55 varient shown here sells for only $140. Also, you must factor in a set of DDR3 memory, since the Lynnfield arcitecture only supports 2 channels of memory, you could get a 2x2GB kit for as little as about $70, whereas those who chose to get a platform based around Nehalem would need a 6GB kit to be competative, which would drive the price up to about $110 or more. Altogether, a new setup based on Lynnfield (using the price estimates shown above) would only cost about $410 whereas the i7 rig would set you back about $590, or an increase of about 44%. So the question is, does the i7 platform perform 44% higher?

Since my main goal these days is to push HW to the brink with extreme cooling methods with high scores being the only end in sight, I wasn't sure how to proceed with this more entry level HW. So I decided to review this motherboard to bennefit the target audience...the budget friendy crowd looking to maximize performance/cost...hopefully that means YOU! As I stated before, I will only be using air cooling for this portion of my review, and I won't be using any LGA1156 i7 CPUs either.

For this portion of the testing, I wanted to find the very best performance I could with air cooling, that means using a powerful fan, in this case a 252CFM Delta strapped to the side of the Megahalems. I tweaked the OS a bit for each bench, and adjusted the voltages to whatever was needed for the highest clocks for each test. Using the same tests used with the stock speed testing, here are the results...

Super PI 1M
9th fastest i5 750 on HWBot (1st with air cooling)



Super PI 32M
3rd fastest i5 750 on HWBot (1st with air cooling)



PiFast
3rd fastest i5 750 on HWBot (1st with air cooling)



wPrime 32M
4th fastest i5 750 on HWBot (1st with air cooling)



wPrime 1024M
3rd fastest i5 750 on HWBot (1st with air cooling)



Next up, I've got some 24/7 settings for you everyday overclockers...later, I'll be putting this thing under some LN2