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These tests have used to favor Phenom II X4 most, because even a Phenom II X4 965 has outperformed all Intel processors. Now even the Core i5-2300 offers similar performance, and the Core i5-2400 outruns the Phenom II X4 965 and almost catches up with the Phenom II X4 970. As for the Core i5-2500 and Core i5-2600, these two are simply the fastest. On the one hand, we have repeatedly mentioned that results of these tests are of little practical importance for high-end processors. But from a researcher's point of view, this has been the last group of benchmarks where AMD have been the fastest.

Audio encoding

This is another group of tests that might benefit from AVX support. As we have mentioned, test conditions favor processors capable of handling a lot of threads simultaneously. So at first glance the new Core i5 CPUs aren't quite good here. But if you take a closer look, you'll see that the novelties perform on a par with the older Core i7 and Phenom II X6 solutions which are more expensive. At least no quad-core CPU has scored 150 points in this benchmark before, but these three can do even better. As for the Core i7-2600, it's expectedly the second, yielding only to the hexacore (12-thread) Core i7-980X.

Video encoding

This diagram is similar to the previous, just the gap between the Core i5-2600 and Core i7-980X is bigger. But it's not that bad, because the latter is much more expensive. What's more important, the novelties can defeat both direct rivals and those one step higher.

Games

Even this group of tests shows changes. And the testbed is actually bottlenecked by the ATI Radeon HD 5870 graphics card: all the new processors perform the same in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Resident Evil 5. And they perform much better than older solutions at that. This means that your search for the best gaming processor ends here. If you can spend more than $150, choose Core i5-2300. If you can spend even more, choose Core i5-2400 — it's only a bit more expensive, but it performs on a par with old Extreme Edition processors. Why, even the Core i7-2600 might not seem that expensive. And considering that you can overclock it by another 400-800 MHz... Or, better yet, buy a slightly more expensive Core i7-2600K and overclock it even more. Or save a hundred bucks and overclock a Core i5-2500K instead. In other words, you'll only need to ponder on what to choose, if you're looking for a fast gaming CPU for about $100 or if you're in need of something very expensive.

Conclusions

There was a time when higher-end Phenom II X4 processors were sold for about $300. The rollout of Core i5-750 reduced their prices to less than $200. AMD broke free from that price range by releasing Phenom II X6. The history's repeating now: hexacore Phenom II processors should be sold for less than $200, too — to the joy of buyers and terror of stock holders. It's obvious that 32nm quad-core processors are cheaper to make than 45nm hexacore ones, even despite the graphics core built into the former. It will be interesting to see what AMD will do in return, because there's still much time until Bulldozer is released.

There's another processor lineup that's out of luck now. Yes, it seems that all Core i5-600 CPUs are obsolete now. Until today you had to choose between four cores and integrated graphics. Now you can get both, and both will be faster at that. The new Core i5 processors are definitely better than the old ones. The pricing policy looks a bit strange though: the Core i5-2400 differs from the Core i5-2300 by 300 MHz and just 7 bucks. At the same time, it differs from the Core i5-2500 by 200 MHz and 20 bucks. Well, maybe it's an extra charge for "coolness". Perhaps, when the new Core i3 family is rolled out (burying all Clarkdale-based CPUs in the process), the prices will be changed to the more logical $155, $177, $204.

If the new Core i5 solutions are so good, what can we say about the Core i7-2600? It's a fine processor, too. Its success is only marred by the Core i7-980X Extreme Edition. And only on the overall score diagram at that. As you can see, in half of tests this expensive device can only compete with the new Core i5. Today there's still only a handful of applications that support the potential of hexacore solutions. In other words, it seems that Intel has found the right time to introduce multi-core to the desktops. But "multi" still means "four". Well, more for enthusiasts, if they are ready to pay. The same Core i7-980X has competed with other Extreme Edition models only, now it's sometimes outperformed by mainstream CPUs. Not to mention the second-best Extreme Edition processor that yields to the Core i7-2600 — a high-end but still regular model.

For Intel it's kind of traditional when a new processor lineup is totally better than the previous and when new high-end models are on a par with previous Extreme Edition solutions. It's great that even an overclocker doesn't have to cough up a thousands bucks now: there are cheaper Core i5-2500K and i7-2600K. And these are also more universal than previous K series solutions, because they also have better integrated graphics.

So is the new lineup a success? Yes, it is. Even despite a different socket that will force you to buy a new motherboard — yet again. You might be tempted to upgrade, even if you have an LGA1366-based machine. At least because it will be cheaper to buy a new motherboard and a Core i7-2600K than to move from Core i7-920 to Core i7-970. Not to mention the owners of LGA775-based rigs: it might be time to retire your old Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Quad. And if you plan on buying a ready computer, well, you'll get a bonus: 20% more performance for the same money you could spend in December.

We express gratitude to Gigabyte for providing equipment for the testbeds.

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