Testseek.com have collected 116 expert reviews of the Intel Core i5 661 3.33GHz Socket 1156 and the average rating is 79%. Scroll down and see all reviews for Intel Core i5 661 3.33GHz Socket 1156.
January 2010
(79%)
116 Reviews
Average score from experts who have reviewed this product.
Users
(88%)
76 Reviews
Average score from owners of the product.
790100116
The editors liked
Dual Core Performance with HyperThreading
Turbo Boost Technology
Optimized for Windows 7
HD Graphics and CPU all in One
Multiple Display Capable
Great Overclockability for a “media chip”
Price Point
Lower Wattage and Temps than the Bloomfeild
Stock Heatsink Temps
All in One Solution
HD Playback
Impressive Scores
New Innovation is Always a Pro
Availability
Excellent Performance for the Dollar
Very Affordable
Lower Thermal Output
Turbo Technology
Cheaper Dual Channel Memory Support
Excellent Overclocking Potential (Stay Tuned)
Good Performance
Low Power Consumption
32nm CPU Core
On-Chip DX10 Graphics
Solid Multimedia Capabilities
First Intel 32nm CPU
Really low power
Decent performance
32 nm CPU
Plenty of computation power
GPU integrated in the CPU
45 nm GPU
HDMI Audio bitstreaming supported
Full acceleration for Blu-Ray decode
Compact
Allows even smaller systems to be built
Good performance
Turbo Boost technology
HyperThreading technology
Integrated GPU provides excellent Windows Aero and HD content performance
32nm process gives great overclocking headroom
Low power draw (when not overclocked)
Excellent speed for a dual-core CPU
Decent integrated graphics built-in
Inexpensive
Overclocks well
Intel HD Gfx integrated
Great Dual Core Performance
Seamless Blu-Ray Playback
Mainstream Price
On-die graphics are here
Eliminating the need for a separate video card or motherboard integrated graphics
Perfect for HTPC or non-gaming rig
Excellent overclocker
The editors didn't like
None
Slight OC Speckling
Nvidia not Allowed to Come Play (for now)
Socket 1156 Motherboard Upgrade Needed
Different CPU cooler Needed (in most cases)
Questionable Pricing
IGP Still Not Great For 3D Gaming
Confusing Naming Scheme
Integrated GPU seems to affect overclocking initially
As expected
Extremely limited GPU performance
Lots of rendering issues in games due to drivers
No support for Anti Aliasing
No noteworthy reduction in power consumption
No dual-link DVI output
High price
No support for DirectX 10.1
11
No support for CUDA
Phy
Overpriced for the level of performance provided
Integrated GPU inadequate for even lowend gaming
Requires new motherboard to use integrated GPU
Very high power draw when overclocked
IGPU requires 32M128M of memory for a frame buffer
Relationship bet...
Requires newest motherboard chipset for graphics support
Confusing model designation
Not suitable for more than light Video Editing
None as long as the processor isn't used for 3D gaming
Overclocks well, Intel HD Gfx integrated, Great Dual Core Performance, Seamless Blu-Ray Playback, Mainstream Price
Not suitable for more than light Video Editing
The Intel i5 661 CPU with integrated graphics is a CPU that we've waited on for a long time. While the Gfx portion of the i5 661 isn't going to thrill you in high end games Intel makes no bones about it's place in the graphics hierarchy. They...
Realizing that the majority of computer users use their computer for other tasks than playing Dirt 2 or Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, Intel's new Clarkdale CPU accomplishes two tasks. Full support of Blu-ray playback and encoding by the on-CPU integra...
With the release of the Core i5 Clarkdale based processors (650/660/661/670) Intel is making a bit of an unusual move. See, we all know that the 'system on a chip' concept is something which in the future we will see more and more. But after testi...
s I think the best way to look at Clarkdale, is to look at it as a CPU and CPU/GPU separately. Strictly as a CPU, it has its pros and cons. On one hand, it is clocked quite high (the i5 670 can reach up to 3.73 GHz with Turbo fully engaged – faster...
The new Clarkdale core processors are a new engineering marvel from Intel. The new Core i5 and Core i3 processor will both serve its intended market very well. These however are not enthusiast products, although some of us will possibly find the lowest...
So what do we think of the Clarkdale? Our experience with the Core i5 661 is very positive indeed. We saw great performance given the fact that the Core i5 661 is only a dual core CPU with Hyper-Threading to allow for four threads per execution cycle. ...
Abstract: Summing up everything we have just said, we can only state that the launch of new LGA1156 processors has significantly expanded the application field for this platform. It became a truly mainstream and universal platform, because now there are almost any kinds of LGA1156 processors available: starting with the cheapest..
The new Core i5 661 may just be a dual-core processor, but it's still incredibly fast at 3.33GHz, even when compared to high-performance quad-core parts. Accompanied with the rest of the Core i5 and Core i3 line-up, we finally have Intel moving comple...
Excellent speed for a dual-core CPU; decent integrated graphics built-in; inexpensive
Requires newest motherboard chipset for graphics support; confusing model designation
The Core i5-661 can't match the similarly priced, quad-core Core i7-750 in speed, but its integrated graphics and simpler chipset make it a good base for inexpensive PCs with better performance than earlier dual-core chips. ...
Abstract: When paired with the Intel DH55TC motherboard, the Core i5-661 provides the backbone for a solidly performing mainstream platform—especially if that motherboard is equipped with a decent graphics card to deliver a better gaming experience.
