Devil’s Canyon proves Intel doesn’t care about PC enthusiasts .

[MattDaemontools]

http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/intel-enthusiasts-devils-canyon-pc-cpu/#!8Yh47
 

Earlier this year, Intel made waves with PC enthusiasts by announcing the arrival of new “Devil’s Canyon” chips. Aside from a cool code name, these processors were said to provide vastly improved overclocking potential, thanks to re-worked power management, and a thermal interface polymer that conducts heat more efficiently. Now that they’ve arrived, however, enthusiasts are wondering if they were duped.

Fool me once

Before talking about Devil’s Canyon, though, let’s first remember what led up to it. The release of Haswell last year was expected to provide a modest, but noticeable bump in performance over the previous generation.

Once reviewers laid their hands on Haswell chips, however, it became clear that something had gone wrong. The new 4th-gen desktop processors were only 10 percent quicker than their predecessors, at most, and they were priced slightly higher than their 3rd-gen equivalents, which meant their value was questionable.

Worse, the 4th-gen chips switched to a less effective thermal material, which made them less suitable for overclocking. Reviewers noted that the new processors often peaked at a lower overclock speed than those that came before. The Tech Report, for example, managed to achieve 4.9 GHz with an Ivy Bridge chip, but only hit 4.7 GHz with the Core i7-4770K. Tom’s Hardware, meanwhile, only hit 4.6 GHz with a single 4770K; most maxed out at 4.4 GHz.

This development is only the latest in a long line of decisions that has put Intel at odds with die-hard PC fans. In 2010, the company eliminated the ability to overclock most chips by tying the speed of every chipset bus to a sole internal clock. Intel then poured salt on the wound by introducing expensive “K-series” processors that do have an unlocked multiplier, but also cost more than their locked siblings.

Fool me twice

Intel’s execution of its anti-overclocking campaign was made with few excuses. Enthusiasts often felt ignored, but they also had little choice but to stick with Intel. AMD’s latest processors simply aren’t quick enough to compete.

So it’s no wonder the community perked up when Intel’s VP of the PC Client Group, Lisa Graff, began hyping the new Devil’s Canyon hardware. Marketed from the beginning as an answer to enthusiasts who felt ignored, the unlocked chips promised maximum speeds of up to 5 GHz on air cooling, a truly outstanding figure. Enthusiasts went starry-eyed and light-headed as they dreamed of what might be possible. Overclocking quotes from manufacturers are usually conservative, after all; if Intel says 5 GHz, then what’s really possible?

Less than 5GHz, as it turns out. Numerous reviewers have found that the new Devil’s Canyon chips are barely better than the Core i7-4770K. HardOCP, PC Perspective and The Tech Report all maxed it out to 4.7 GHz, and even that figure did not come easily. The Tech Report even noticed the new Devil’s Canyon 4790K CPU required more voltage than the 4770K to achieve the same clock speed. A few extreme overclockers have managed better results (the record is 7 GHz), but only by disabling two cores and using liquid nitrogen for cooling. That, of course, isn’t practical for 99.9999999 percent of owners.

Even the new unlocked Pentium processor should be viewed with skepticism. Yes, it’s a $75 processor that some reviewers have overclocked as high as 4.5 GHz, but it’s also a dual-core without hyperthreading, and you’ll want a Z87 or Z97 motherboard to make the most of its potential. In short, you’ll be spending $175 to $200 on a processor and motherboard combination that stumbles whenever it’s asked to handle a workload with more than two threads – and many demanding applications, including the latest games, will ask for more than that

 

[Deli]

At least Intel gives us Pentium G3258......

 

Devil's Canyon is a bit disappointed. Probably will wait for Broadwell or Skylake.

[LukaP]

what new stuff is said here? 

 

also, DC is haswell, they have just managed to get better performing silicon out, its rated 500MHz higher than 4770k. noone in the right mind would be thinking they could now standard OC to 5G...

[Katsu-K1L]

i agree with this, but sadly il still buy intel because well they shit on amd ;( i wish amd would get their shit together so that there is competition in the CPU Market.

[harrynowl]

As you scale transistor density you'll generally find it hard to maintain transistor frequency.

 

People had this same discussion with i7 2600K vs 3770K, the Average 2600K overclocked beyond the IPC improvement bought on by Ivy.

 

Intels manufacturing process and architechture just isn't designed to scale at high clock speeds. 

[Guest]

Ok time to straighten you out. The Pentium is a Pentium not an i7. Do you expect a 4 or 6 six core processor at that price range? This is a cpu that is not targeted and never will be targeted at the hardcore gamers with dual 780s. Next this is not Broadwell this is a refresh of the old Haswell processors. This is a evolutionary step  not a revolutionary (as if we haven't heard that enough). Finally this is the most enthusiast friendly thing Intel has done i a long time. They fixed major issues with Haswell and delivered to us CPUs with good OC performance. This is not the next great CPU its and intermediate that fixed some issues with the previous generation. If you have a old Haswell don't upgrade I wont do you much good. Also Intel is a company that must make money in order to survive. For the most part they are not targeting enthusiasts. Intel doesn't hate enthusiasts but they aren't going to spend a lot of money making a enthusiast chip to only earn a little of it back.

[Viiksi-Vallu]

It's the same silicon so what did you expect 

[deviant88]

Which is why im stuck and angry to this day with a i5 4570 stock i found for cheap with a cheap board and luckly with non-z OC i managed to keep at 3.6 ghz all core turbo.Since AMD was not an option...ever again.

Dont be so sad about it i bought an amd phenom before my i5 phenom ii x4 955 and it didnt overclock for sht,i had to keep it at 3.6 or 3.7 ghz with a beefy cooler push/pull and 4ghz was melting the board with a crappy 60C max temp silly(how can anyone oc with that max temp?reason why i overlooked FX series),that cpu came with 3.2 base frequency so not something to be happy about on an unlocked cpu.

[iruixos]

My 2500K has done well by me so far, so show me something impressive and maybe I'll consider upgrading.

[landon418]

 

Easy! 

[GlassBomb]

I don't get why people aren't happy with the Devil's Canyon CPU's. They do perform better than their equally priced counterparts.

[landon418]

I would never recommend that delidding method...

It is a LOT easier than a razor, trust me I did it.  Made a little scratch on top of the PCB (Not damaging) and said F this.  Went to my grandma's and used a vice, took a piece of wood and a hammer 3 solid whacks and it came off.

[LukaP]

You can deform the IHS

well who cares, you dont use the IHS anyway...

[consoleconvergence2pc]

I don't get why people aren't happy with the Devil's Canyon CPU's. They do perform better than their equally priced counterparts.

Lol i do believe its only equally priced in the usa over here in the uk its more expensive i5 is about £15 more and the i7 is about £40 more but hey that's just Europe for you everything priced a'lot higher than the usa

[landon418]

well who cares, you dont use the IHS anyway...

I have to because I have a full-cover waterblock for my asus impact mobo. All it does is leave some scratch marks on the side.  If I used some tape on the vice it probably would not have done that.

[LukaP]

I have to because I have a full-cover waterblock for my asus impact mobo. All it does is leave some scratch marks on the side.  If I used some tape on the vice it probably would not have done that.

ah well. thats a different story then but in most cases, it should be thrown in the bin

[Victorious Secret]

You're mad at Intel for smarting up and realizing that 99.99999999% of the market that buys ANY of their chips generally doesn't give a flying fuck about overclocking? And that they could leverage a new SKU to get more profit from those that ACTUALLY needed it? 

 

Sometimes having more for no reason makes no sense. I have a 4670k only because it cost the same as a 4440. I haven't OC'd it once. Or even tried. Whats the point for me I thought? I can already plow through games, why do I need more? I probably could've saved a lot and gotten the bare minimum in i5 processors and still done just fine. FFS, I could've gone i3 for most games and still have been okay. 

 

You're getting mad that Devils Canyon isn't new silicon? Where did Intel say the HASWELL REFRESH would have new silicon? Its still bloody Haswell! Just better binned so your less likely to get a dud overclocker. No more, no less. Intel simply became more picky with that chips got the K designation. What the hell were you expecting? 

 

Nuclear reactors that rivalled the 9590 and had a 220W TDP and needed liquid cooling just to appease the "enthusiasts"? I don't get the beef with what Intel has done here. 

 

Their chips are still showing AMD who is boss in gaming, their Xeons still kick ass for rendering/computing/actual work, their Extreme editions are for the lulz but whats different there? I'm so confused. Intel and their enthusiast offerings have NEVER been stronger...

[sof006]

But yet again Intel's CPUs still remain the most powerful on the market and can handle pretty much everything with no issues. I have yet to come across something that my 4770K cannot handle even at stock settings.

[BookerDeWitt]

But yet again Intel's CPUs still remain the most powerful on the market and can handle pretty much everything with no issues. I have yet to come across something that my 4770K cannot handle even at stock settings.

Same can be said for my FX 8320, yet it's half the price.

[Misanthrope]

You're mad at Intel for smarting up and realizing that 99.99999999% of the market that buys ANY of their chips generally doesn't give a flying fuck about overclocking? And that they could leverage a new SKU to get more profit from those that ACTUALLY needed it? 

 

Sometimes having more for no reason makes no sense. I have a 4670k only because it cost the same as a 4440. I haven't OC'd it once. Or even tried. Whats the point for me I thought? I can already plow through games, why do I need more? I probably could've saved a lot and gotten the bare minimum in i5 processors and still done just fine. FFS, I could've gone i3 for most games and still have been okay. 

 

You're getting mad that Devils Canyon isn't new silicon? Where did Intel say the HASWELL REFRESH would have new silicon? Its still bloody Haswell! Just better binned so your less likely to get a dud overclocker. No more, no less. Intel simply became more picky with that chips got the K designation. What the hell were you expecting? 

 

Nuclear reactors that rivalled the 9590 and had a 220W TDP and needed liquid cooling just to appease the "enthusiasts"? I don't get the beef with what Intel has done here. 

 

Their chips are still showing AMD who is boss in gaming, their Xeons still kick ass for rendering/computing/actual work, their Extreme editions are for the lulz but whats different there? I'm so confused. Intel and their enthusiast offerings have NEVER been stronger...

 

Hear hear! THIS is exactly why I always say that the way tech should advance is by having killer apps first before we even have adequate tech to use them. We need games like the original Crysis that basically say "3000 bucks gaming PC with the latest and greatest stuff? LOL Fuck that, I'm going to absolutely crush it and make it seem like a slow piece of shit because of just how jaw dropping and awesome my game is"

Otherwise both Intel and Nvidia will be happy to throw out small incremental updates. You'd need something that truly humbles machines like 4k monitors suddenly becoming massively available but that is not going to happen. We need better, brutally intensive games.

[GRJohn]

I'll take an 8350 any day over a Devil's Canyon. You know what !? 5Ghz on air is actually COMMON for 8350s.

[GlassBomb]

Lol i do believe its only equally priced in the usa over here in the uk its more expensive i5 is about £15 more and the i7 is about £40 more but hey that's just Europe for you everything priced a'lot higher than the usa

Both the 4690k and the 4790k are a bit more expensive than the 4670/4770. By roughly $20 dollars each, which to me would be a fair price to pay over the 4670/4770.

 

Even if the overclocking ability is only on par with the normal Haswell, Devil's Canyon will run a tad cooler, which to me is worth it. And the G3258 is so very temping to get just to play around with. Wish that I could get this bundle :c

[jumbobreakfast]

Has the 5GHz on air statement been questioned by the media now that we know Intel were being economical with the truth? People who play CPU intensive games like Arma really had their hopes dashed with this release. Is it possible that this revision of devil's canyon is just a poor batch? - not that Intel would admit that but perhaps it will be like the i7 920 where the D0 stepping version overclocked a lot better than the other versions.

[dalekphalm]

I'll take an 8350 any day over a Devil's Canyon. You know what !? 5Ghz on air is actually COMMON for 8350s.

What does that accomplish? A whole lot of nothing.

 

Why? Because GHz haven't been a reliable way to measure speed between different architectures (Let ALONE different CPU manufacturers) in decades. A 5GHz 8350 compared to a 5GHz 4790K is NOT equal.

 

The 8350 is an excellent multitasking CPU, however at equivalent GHz, per core, a 4790K would destroy a 8350. Then you've got the fact that the 8350 is 4 module/8 core (which each module sharing some resources) and the Intel only being 4 core with HT.

 

It's so completely incomparable that the only way to compare them is benchmark results. So yeah... really not sure where you're going with this "5GHz on air is common with 8350's" and what your point is?

[GRJohn]

What does that accomplish? A whole lot of nothing.

 

Why? Because GHz haven't been a reliable way to measure speed between different architectures (Let ALONE different CPU manufacturers) in decades. A 5GHz 8350 compared to a 5GHz 4790K is NOT equal.

 

The 8350 is an excellent multitasking CPU, however at equivalent GHz, per core, a 4790K would destroy a 8350. Then you've got the fact that the 8350 is 4 module/8 core (which each module sharing some resources) and the Intel only being 4 core with HT.

 

It's so completely incomparable that the only way to compare them is benchmark results. So yeah... really not sure where you're going with this "5GHz on air is common with 8350's" and what your point is?

Not the point I was making at all. Intel claimed 5Ghz on air with Devil's canyon and they completely failed to deliver. Devil's canyon  achieved lower overclocks than regular haswell on average & 5Ghz isn't even attainable on the highest end closed loop liquid coolers you can buy.

AMD released the 8150 three years ago almost & people were able to overclock them to 5Ghz on air using noctua NHD14's on a regular basis, then the 8350 was released a year later and the 5Ghz mark got even easier to achieve on cheaper coolers.

8350 and 4770k trade blows on multi core benchmarks, the 4770K wins in single threaded but that win isn't even close to justify the 100% price markup. You simply can't argue with AMD's value proposition.