As we reported, Intel is rolling out no less than 17 new Intel Core processors during CES later this week, and these fresh chips are expected to deliver greater performance with integrated graphics chip.

In this article we’re going to find out the real OC potential of Core i5-661.

Intel Core i5-661 engineering sample

The socket LGA1156 based Core i5-661 features a preset core speed of 3.33GHz (133MHz*25), dual cores and four threads, 4MB of L3 cache, and a TDP of 87W, boasting Turbo Boost technology.

The integrated GPU is based on 45nm technology and clocked at 900MHz. Although Clarkdale would work in all P55 motherboards with a BIOS update, you’ll need a H55 or H57 motherboard if you want to take advantage of the video output function.
Benchmark Platform

We overclocked Core i5-661 with air-cooling solution, and recorded the temperature with EVEREST utility.

Core i5-661 OC Ability

The core speed achieved 3.6GHz when Turbo Boost was enabled.

When the core speed was improved to 3.6GHz, the multiplier also improved from x25 to x27, with bus speed keeping unchanged at 133MHz.

The Turbo Boost technology seems to be not enough for hardcore overclockers, and let’s make the game more exciting.

When we raised the CPU voltage to 1.368V, VTT voltage to 1.345V, memory voltage 1.645V, PCH voltage 1.25V, and IGD voltage to 1.38V, the CPU core speed reached 4.5GHz, with bus speed of 180MHz and multiplier of 25. Core i5-661
managed to run ORTHOS benchmarking steadily for more than 20 minutes.

The EVEREST showed the CPU temperature was just 62℃ when the chip was overclocked to 4.5GHz, which should owe to the advanced 32nm technology.

However, the integration of GPU may have a certain effect on the overclocking performance. We also noticed Biostar’s H55 motherboard enables user to tweak IGD voltage between 1.18V and 1.78V.

According to our benchmarks, the 32nm technology benefits a lot to the overclocking ability. The Core i5-670 was actually overclocked to 6.92GHz on LN2 by the extreme overclocker NickShih, creating a new world record.

Intel’s 32nm processors are set to be launched on January 8th in Beijing, and Expreview will be there covering news right on the spot. Besides, stay tuned for our upcoming detailed review of Clarkdale!