We’ve been asked by a number of our customers to clarify what’s new with the latest generation of Intel Haswell processors which have recently been refreshed. As such we thought it might be useful to post a short comment on our observations.
To be honest the differences are almost imperceptible with the exception that the frequencies of the chips have been boosted by about 100 MHz over their original Haswell predecessors. Whilst this does not sound much, the difference in our opinion is noticeable, especially considering thermal output remains the same. This is even more accentuated at the high end in the Core i7 line-up for extreme computing demands.
Why would I choose it?
If you’re looking for performance, the small increment in price for an X97 chip will yield some more horsepower and will give you something extra. If performance isn’t your main driver then the original iteration of the chip will be more than adequate for the vast majority of applications.
It’s also worth remembering that older x87 chipsets are compatible with X97 motherboards so if you’re on a previous generation and want to re-purpose into a newer machine, you need not worry.
If you’d like to know more or have a question about the new Haswell processor family please contact us. Alternatively, take a closer look at our latest product line-up.
