Intel Core i7 2600K and Core i5 2500K review

The Core i5-2500k system in this review is based around the ASRock P67 Extreme4 motherboard, highlighted earlier.

While Intel's reference heatsinks are more than adequate for many users, Noctua sent us several of their NH D14 coolers for this review. This is the best air cooler on the market, bar none. It can cause some issues with the fitting of oversized memory modules however.

No problems mounting on the ASRock P67 Extreme4 motherboard, with enough clearance on the CPU socket for a perfect fitting. I generally mount this cooler in a vertical position to suit a more natural airflow. This obviously depends on the chassis, because if it doesn't have a top mounted fan then this isn't ideal.

Corsair sent us an 8GB kit of their new Vengeance memory which runs at 1600mhz at 9-9-9-24 timings. It remained rock solid throughout our testing, helped in part by the radical heatspreader. It fits under the Noctua NH D14, if used in the outer two channel slots.

System validation is available over here.

Throughout testing, the 2500K temperatures never exceeded 40c under load.

Become a Patron!