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Intel Sandy Bridge-E Debuts: Core i7-3960X Reviewed

Discussion in 'Articles and Reviews Comments' started by Julio Franco, Nov 14, 2011.

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  1. Julio Franco TechSpot Editor Posts: 6,054   +121

    Julio Franco, Nov 14, 2011
    #1

  2. dividebyzero trainee n00b Posts: 4,090   +195

    Thanks for the quick review. All pretty much as expected.
    dividebyzero, Nov 14, 2011
    #2

  3. Archean TechSpot Paladin Posts: 5,735   +27

    Nothing special as mentioned by the chief. I think this time around the case for an upgrade to 'enthusiast platform i.e. LGA 2011' is much less compelling unless well someone is planning to use some heavily multi-threaded applications most of the time + have more money then they can keep in bank, it is just my opinion nothing more ..... :rolleyes:
    Archean, Nov 14, 2011
    #3

  4. okrings Newcomer, in training Posts: 20

    I'm real happy see that my i7-2600K still rocks the gaming charts. I always upgrade to the latest hots, but this time I have NO intention of filling Intel's pockets with my gold. I only care about the gaming performance, so I see no need to upgrade to a X79 system. Phew!
    okrings, Nov 14, 2011
    #4

  5. dividebyzero trainee n00b Posts: 4,090   +195

    The same argument that highlighted the positives in Bulldozers launch apply here also.
    If your main focus is content creation and productivity and you're in a time-is-money situation then the platform would stand you in good stead- it does more in most scenario's and never really does anything worse than the previous performance kings (2600K and 990X). I would definitely consider the 3930K for a less expensive (I'd be loath to use the word cheap) alternative (Xbit review of both SKU's)

    The 3960X is going to be mainly aimed at benchmarking pr0n I suspect. Seeing some benchmarks with an SR-3 and 16 cores/32 threads of Xeon E5 should be a hoot.

    Steve's overclock result is a little disappointing -although I would possibly attribute that to a limited time to familiarize with the board, since quite a few reviews are seeing up to 4.8G.
    dividebyzero, Nov 14, 2011
    #5

  6. R3DP3NGUIN TechSpot Enthusiast Posts: 148

    +1 for the review, as usual these high-end * pricey* Intel chips are the best for the Design/editing crowds. I think you would be rather stupid to get a 3960X purely for gaming. Unless of-course you have money to burn.
    R3DP3NGUIN, Nov 14, 2011
    #6
     

  7. slh28 TechSpot Paladin Posts: 1,680   +102

    I still have no reason to upgrade from my i7 920, especially as this is yet another new platform.

    If I were to build a new system from scratch right now, I think the 2500K/2600K would still be the best choices, considering the poor performance/price ratio and also the big difference in power consumption of the new i7 3xxx chips
    slh28, Nov 14, 2011
    #7

  8. red1776 Omnipotent Ruler of the Universe Posts: 5,795   +24

    Well Chef, do ya suppose this is a preview in the range of mainstream IB chips? (power consumption aside that is?)
    red1776, Nov 14, 2011
    #8

  9. Burty117 TechSpot Chancellor Posts: 1,915   +89

    So my aim for a core i7 2600k for gaming is still the best choice? Awesome! don't need to change any of my plans then :)
    Burty117, Nov 14, 2011
    #9

  10. cliffordcooley TechSpot Paladin Posts: 2,320   +292

    I'm still happy with my i7-2600k. :)
    cliffordcooley, Nov 14, 2011
    #10

  11. Leeky TechSpot Moderator Posts: 4,344   +59

    I'm a little surprised to see it suffer when it came to gaming (Crysis 2 aside). I'd have thought it would have at least matched the i7 2600K, if not been a little ahead like most of the other benchmark results due to the higher cache and additional cores/threads.

    I've still got my sights on the i7 3930K though, but will wait for prices to settle a little first as its currently sitting on Scan and available for pre-order at £479.00. Once it's settled down a little I'll order it up with an Asus Sabertooth or the MSI X79A-GD65. Should be a nice increase in performance over my long overdue for replacement Q6600. :)
    Leeky, Nov 14, 2011
    #11

  12. dummybait Newcomer, in training Posts: 45

    Good review, though i would have liked to see performance with BF3...
    dummybait, Nov 14, 2011
    #12

  13. amstech TechSpot Enthusiast Posts: 457   +54

    The comments about people needing to upgrade from a 2600k for gaming is comical, considering for gaming the Sandy Bridge CPU's don't offer ANY improvement from the X58 CPU's. Running games is easy, even a Phenom II X4 keeps up.

    These 6 core's are for multi-tasking, encoding, things like that.
    amstech, Nov 14, 2011
    #13

  14. Burty117 TechSpot Chancellor Posts: 1,915   +89

    Your right except for the Phenom II thing, I had a quad Phenom II overclocked to 3.8Ghz and it had nothing on my mates i7 2600K. Litterally lose 10fps in games like crysis. Which is alot. Even in L4D2 when theres alot of action the frames dipped slightly compared to the i7.

    Although I agree completely that you DO NOT need to upgrade from a Sandy Bridge Core i7 to this if its for gaming purposes. I was actually shocked though to see the fps was lower using these newbies.
    Burty117, Nov 14, 2011
    #14

  15. red1776 Omnipotent Ruler of the Universe Posts: 5,795   +24

    ...A 2600K +/- a frame
    A x4 980 */- a frame
    A A8 3850 +/- a frame
    red1776, Nov 14, 2011
    #15

  16. Sarcasm TechSpot Enthusiast Posts: 309   +12

    "The Excel, Photoshop and encoding gains over the Core i7-2600K were impressive, in the order of 20% or faster."

    Yet it costs 300% more than an i7-2600K. Who are they targeting with this kind of processor? (serious question)
    Sarcasm, Nov 14, 2011
    #16

  17. red1776 Omnipotent Ruler of the Universe Posts: 5,795   +24


    Professionals with that kind of workload and bench box boys. (serious answer) :)
    red1776, Nov 14, 2011
    #17

  18. Leeky TechSpot Moderator Posts: 4,344   +59

    Unless I'm blind I don't see a single reply above that states people are?

    In fact, everyone has stated they're quite happy with the performance of them.


    Can we have a third category that I can fit into. ;)
    Leeky, Nov 14, 2011
    #18

  19. Arris TechSpot Evangelist Posts: 4,308   +17

    For me, I'm hoping my 2600K is the new Q6600. Hoping to run it for as long as possible :)
    Arris, Nov 14, 2011
    #19

  20. Leeky TechSpot Moderator Posts: 4,344   +59

    I'm still running mine now, and while all the best stuff now would eat it alive, it still seems quite content running away in my setup. I'd definitely benefit from upgrading it but its a good workhorse and its always got me out of trouble when main systems have died for various reasons.
    Leeky, Nov 14, 2011
    #20
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