New Test: Core i7 CPUs from Intel

Two years after the arrival of their Core 2 processors, Intel recently announced a new line of multi-core CPUs, the Core i7 range.

For the time being, the clock rates have remained more or less the same: at 2.66 GHz the Core i7 920 runs at the same speed as the Core 2 Duo E8200 and the Core 2 Quad Q9450.  The fastest member of the family is now the Core i7 965 at 3.2 GHz.

The Core i7 line, described by Intel as the 'the highest performing desktop processor on the planet' are all based around four cores, with hyper-threading allowing for the virtualization of up to eight.

We've tested three of them so far:

• Intel Core i7 920 at 2.66 GHz--check out how it does up against the Core 2 Quad Q9450 or the AMD Phenom X4 9750

• Intel Core i7 940 at 2.93 GHz--see how it fares compared with the Core 2 Quad Q9550

• Intel Core i7 965 Extreme at 3.2 GHz--its closest rival is the Core 2 Quad Q9650

> Product Survey: Processors