i7 2600k, i5 2500k & 2300 1155 Sandy Bridge Review

AIDA64

We’ll ignore the AES comparisons as the new LGA1155 chips come complete with the AES instruction set that makes such an enormous difference, although the 2500K seems to gain by not having to split its time among virtual threads. For a couple of the tests the little Core i5-2300 keeps up with the previous Core i7s although it clearly hasn’t got the grunt to push big data around such as the zLib tests.

The 2500K definitely knocks out some good scores throughout the AIDA64 tests keeping up with both the i7-870 and the i7-950.

The range-topping Core i7-2600K demonstrates its fantastic ability to perform calculations walking off with the first place in three of our tests and only bettered by the overclocked 2500K in the AES test.

The Core i5-2300 makes a mockery of its small price and mid-range status by being able to produce good memory scores. Both the stock i5-2500K and i7-2600K belie their dual-channel stature and produce results similar to the triple-channel X58. Once the overclocks kick in though the results are incredible, especially the write speeds which have been the achilles heel of the current line-up.