Intel Core i7-5775C Broadwell Processor Review
Final Thoughts and Conclusions
After using the Intel Core i7-5775C ‘Broadwell’ processor for the past week it really is a shame that Intel couldn’t have launched this processor last year. The Core i7-5775C processor is stock form isn’t clocked high enough to give the Intel Core i7-4770K or Core i7-4790K ‘Haswell’ processors anything to worry about, but the integrated graphics performance is nothing short of amazing. The Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200 solution was able to dramatically improve the graphics performance that one can expect from Intel. Intel really boosted the graphics performance with this design as they went from having 20 EU’s on the 4790K to having 48 EU’s along with 128MB of eDRAM on the Core i7-5775C. If you were building a platform right now and was going to run integrated graphics, this is the processor for you. If you were running discrete graphics and looking to build a new system it’s a little tougher as Haswell performs better thanks to the higher clock speeds and both the 4770K and 4790K are priced lower than the 5775C.
When it comes to overclocking we were easily able to take the Intel Core i7-5775C up to 4.3GHz by simply increasing the CPU multiplier up to 43 and bumping the voltage up to 1.35V. The overclock was rock solid and out CPU temperature never broke 70C, but the negative was that it threw the power efficiency all to heck. Our 16.2% overclock from the Turbo clock rating had us using 54.4% more power at load. It also used more at idle and since we were using more power it was running hotter and that increases the fan noise as everything ramps up to compensate. So, overclocking is easy on the Core i7-5775C, but you basically take your 65W TDP processor and turn it into one that is likely pushing 80W or more depending on the clock speeds and voltage you end up using. That sounds bad, but you basically just end up where the high-end Haswell parts are at.
At the end of the day Intel 8 series motherboard owners likely won’t be able to upgrade to Broadwell and current Intel 9 series owners already have a Haswell processor. That limits Broadwell buyers to those that don’t have a system and are looking to build one this year on a mature platform. The Intel Core i7-5775C processor is a very nice processor, but many will likely skip it and build a new system with Skylake later this summer. That really is a shame as the Intel Core i7-5775C is a solid processor that shows where Intel is headed. Intel has now proven that they can put a beefy integrated graphics solution into an unlocked socketed desktop processor. Now that they have graphics power to play games it will be interesting to see how their drivers support new game titles as they come out. Intel hasn’t had to worry about day one drivers for games in the past, but with graphics like this those days might be coming to an end!
Legit Bottom Line: The Intel Core i7-5775C Processor shows that Intel is the company to beat with regards to integrated graphics performance!