Intel Core i7 2700k Review

Intel have had a hell of a year, with little competition offered in the enthusiast sector. AMD's Bulldozer chip looked promising, but sadly fell short of the mark, even with double the physical cores. The Core i7 2500k and 2600k have remained the enthusiast number 1 choice, and today we are looking at the 2600k update, the aptly named 2700k.

We have to admit, it is hard to get excited about the 2700k, because it only offers a modest clock bump, to 3.5ghz. In Turbo mode, the 2700k will hit 3.9ghz. It is still the same four physical and four logical design (Hyper Threading), with 8MB of cache.

The ‘K' series has been a popular choice for the enthusiast user, as these processors are unlocked and extremely easy to overclock. I have three or four of each, and they all hit 4.6ghz-4.8ghz without much of a problem. As with all processors, the overclocking capabilities will vary between steppings.

Intel have kept this launch rather low key, perhaps conserving all their energy for the upcoming X79 launch. We were shipped an engineering sample for review and have spent several days putting it through its paces with a variety of applications.

When it was launched, the price was said to be around £290 inc vat, which was a £40 premium over the 2600k. In the last couple of days however it has dropped to £258 inc vat which certainly sweetens the deal. It seems like a no brainer for only £10 more, right?

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