Intel Ivy Bridge-E Debuts: Core i7-4960X Review

Julio Franco

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Pricing alone makes it redundant. Some people will convince themselves they need it and will buy it but for the other 99.9% enthusiasts & gamers, LGA 1150 with a i7/i5 4770K/4670K is more than sufficient, and a lot easier on the back pocket.
 
Pricing alone makes it redundant. Some people will convince themselves they need it and will buy it but for the other 99.9% enthusiasts & gamers, LGA 1150 with a i7/i5 4770K/4670K is more than sufficient, and a lot easier on the back pocket.
It's all about the e-peen with the exception of those looking for a cheap workstation alternative/general purpose machine with the 4820K.
Looks as though the second revision of X79 boards are on their way. Also seems that the chipset validation issues of the original X79 have been solved judging by the six SATA 6Gb ports running off the chipset of the "new" Asus X79 Deluxe (also features 2 SATA 6Gb and 4 SATA 3Gb via ASMedia controllers) up from 2 in the original board.
DSC_3132sm.jpg
 
The overclocking is really quite a disappointment with 4.5Ghz around the norm. Comparing OC to OC it ends up being around the same as a 3970X in terms of performance.
 
Well this is a abysmal from what my hopes were, sad to say now im debating if I want to grab one or wait till Haswell-E. I was really hoping for not just straight up performance improvements, but a chipset revision for people who want a new system to get all those new features available on most other machines. At least with the new DDR3 1866 controller and PCI-E 3.0 support I can find this satisfactory, but I really expected more when paying this premium.

Although at least there are some revisions coming out that will show some better boards to go with these chips.
 
Yep, let's hope the board revisions are coming soon! I was waiting on IB-E after seeing the rather disappointing OCing results from Haswell but IB-E isn't great either.
 
Yep, let's hope the board revisions are coming soon! I was waiting on IB-E after seeing the rather disappointing OCing results from Haswell but IB-E isn't great either.
Well remember, they were doing "Air" overclocking and they even said it was rushed on first release drivers for those motherboards. When we see the boards that are designed more for ivy bridge-E (Ie the revisions) and more bios version etc, im sure the overclocking will hit higher levels (All im hoping for to hear is a pretty standard 4.5+ though 5.0 would be amazing). Like ive said before, I never judge a product too much on first release drivers/beta drivers especially when problems arise because obviously improvements will be made. I just want the new Asus board to sport some of the revisions and some bonus features (Heres hoping (y) ) before im willing to fork out close to 1k total in parts for this chip.
 
So this is the 3rd IVB-E review I've read today and it seems to say the same thing as the other two..

4820K = pointless -- you're probably better off with a 4770K
4930K/4960X = The best option if you absolutely NEED 6 cores...
 
Wow the 4770K kicked its butt (especially with the price difference). Come on AMD, this is your chance to pounce!
 
Wow the 4770K kicked its butt (especially with the price difference). Come on AMD, this is your chance to pounce!
Yeah right. It looks like they threw the AMD A10-5800K into the test for comic relief. How do you "pounce" when you are unable to get off your a**?

Odd thing is, the gaming scores are similar on all the CPUs in the test. But, if you have actual work to do, Intel is still the go-to platform.
 
Odd thing is, the gaming scores are similar on all the CPUs in the test. But, if you have actual work to do, Intel is still the go-to platform.
Not too odd. I'll just expand for general consumption. The CPU isn't generally taxed in most gaming. Most games are limited in core/thread usage, and CPU involvement rarely extends beyond executing draw calls for the GPU (API <--> kernel driver<--> user mode driver) - keeping track of game events including AI, and CPU physics.
Consequently the only games that benefit tend to be multi-threaded RTS games where the CPU needs to account and computate all the aspects of a changing game environment . Civilization V is a prime example:
I7-4960X-45.jpg


The other scenario which will tax a CPU is a multi-GPU setup, where the CPU has to double, triple, or quadruple the draw calls to "feed" the graphics cards in the CrossfireX/SLI system:
54517.png

[Sources: Hardware Canucks 4960X review and Anandtechs Multi-GPU scaling with CPU article. Real World Labs also have an 4960X + GTX 780 SLI review]
I would love to see a 990X against this, both CPU's at the same clock speed.
I doubt that you'd find one considering the boost characteristics that kick in with the IB-E part.
You can stock-vs-stock >>here<<
 
Yeah right. It looks like they threw the AMD A10-5800K into the test for comic relief. How do you "pounce" when you are unable to get off your a**?

Odd thing is, the gaming scores are similar on all the CPUs in the test. But, if you have actual work to do, Intel is still the go-to platform.

I am saying it is time for AMDs next generation FX platform (if there even is any) to better compete with Intel Extreme CPUs.
 
I am saying it is time for AMDs next generation FX platform (if there even is any) to better compete with Intel Extreme CPUs.
I agree, though only time will tell when/if steamroller will be the golden boy of chips. Im not too happy with these new chips from Intel, however I may still go ahead and grab one anyway.
 
Would loved to see gaming benchmarks with games that were actually CPU dependent. When a AMD A10 is keeping up with i7's you know its not that heavy on CPU use
 
~3.5GHz stock, ~4.5GHz overclock, marginal performance gains, decent efficiency gains. I sense a pattern.. :) Me thinks 22nm is not enough, Intel needs the next step.
 
*joins the 2600k club* honestly watching all these new sockets and processor families come past with no significant improvement is just sad.

Intel is following the apple business model now by releasing the same thing with new connectors every year just to sell something new.
 
Aw no 6 core or 8 core CPUs :(.
Yeah, tough break. Although, what the hell would AMD call an octa-core line? They've already run through all the heavy construction equipment names and haven't gotten an outhouse built........:D

Wait, I've got it, "The Chuck Norris Eight Banger".......(I eagerly await your rebuttal)..........:p
 
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