Intel Core i7-2600K and i5-2500K Processors Debut

Throughout all of our benchmarking and testing, we also monitored how much power our test systems consumed using a power meter. Our goal was to give you all an idea as to how much power each configuration used while idling and while under a heavy workload. Please keep in mind that we were testing total system power consumption at the outlet here, not just the power being drawn by the processors alone.

Total System Power Consumption Tested at the Outlet

The new Sandy Bridge based processors and companion 6-series chipsets offer power consumption that's nothing short of impressive. Under load, despite being arguably Intel's fastest quad-core desktop processor to date, the Core i7-2600K-based system consumed only 172 watts when using Intel's DP67BG motherboard. And that number jumps to only 196 watts when using the Asus P8P67 Deluxe. The only thing that consumed less power was a Core i5 clocked close to 1GHz lower. And look at what the Core i5-2500K can do when installed in the DH67BL and using integrated graphics--load power is lower than idle power on any other platform.

We should point out that the increased power consumption of the 2600K when installed on the Asus motherboard is a result of the additional integrated components of the P8P67 Deluxe in addition to slightly higher default voltages.