i7-4960X ivy-bridge-E preview & Benches

[techie]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion: Does Intel's Core i7-4960X, specifically, get me all revved up about upgrading? Well, no. Not really. But then again, those thousand-dollar CPUs rarely do. What about a hypothetical Core i7-4930K replacing the 3930K under $600? That'd be a tough sell for all of the same reasons. Mainly, it doesn't push performance high enough to warrant a big price tag. Any interest in a Core i7-4820K? would be more inclined to bet on a 4770K/Z87 platform, if only for the newer chipset's extra functionality.

 

As far back as April of last year we knew that Core i7-3770K was somewhere between zero and seven percent faster than Core i7-2700K, depending on the workload. Is it really a surprise that Ivy Bridge-E would only be a few percent faster than Sandy Bridge-E? At least on the performance end, Core i7-4960X is close to what we might have expected.

 

Still, it would be cool to see Intel configure Core i7s with 10 or 12 cores, like some of the planned Ivy Bridge-EP models. If it instead maintains the status quo with regard to core count and shared L3 cache, Intel will limit the appeal of Ivy Bridge-E to power users building or buying brand new PCs. The bummer there is the two-year-old platform with two SATA 6Gb/s ports and no native USB 3.0. That's hardly going to get an enthusiast worked up when Z87 is so much more fully featured. If you already own a Core i7-3960X or 3930K, you're simply not going to sink another big chunk into single-digit percent gains.

 

With all of that in mind, we're dealing with an early processor sample and an incomplete view of Intel's line-up. I don't buy that the performance of -4960X is going to change enough between now and launch to alter the focus of this story (regardless of who tried to make the same claim when we previewed Haswell). But we may not have the full picture yet, even if initial reports indicate that the first eight-core desktop chips will be Haswell-E-based.

 

Should Ivy Bridge-E fail to encourage upgrades or new system builds, I know who's going to absolutely love this new architecture: the server and workstation segments. For what little gets added to performance, Ivy Bridge-E does some crazy-awesome things to power and efficiency. When you multiply out the gains across a rack, you're looking at a lot less power, a lot less heat, and a lot less cooling.

source: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-4960x-ivy-bridge-e-benchmark,3557.html

 

looks like the usual slight speed bump and power usage reduction we've come to expect from intel
 

[kuddlesworth9419]

Seems legit. Intel has been making small increments in performance and power consumption for quite some time now. Probably because there is not competition from AMD or ARM.

[techie]

formatting has completely died on me- fixing now

edit. should be good now

[delet my acc pls]

@techie yeah the formatting is messed up i can not even read when it is like this

[Exotath]

looks like the usual slight speed bump and power usage reduction we've come to expect from intel

 

Yep. At least the DIE is soldered on to the IHS so we know it should clock rather well. 

[DinckelMan]

Gonna wait for next chipset. X89?

[Lays]

dam, the 3930k is such a bargain if you compare it to the 1000$ cpu's lol

[thaamazingguy]

dam, the 3930k is such a bargain if you compare it to the 1000$ cpu's lol

exactly

[thaamazingguy]

this is not a big diffrence it is probs going to be like haswell :(

[Lays]

exactly

 

I understand the 3970x is the "king of the block" but I mean, 500$ for 5-10% increase in performance, if that... OC your 3930k and bam you're dead even lol

[thaamazingguy]

I understand the 3970x is the "king of the block" but I mean, 500$ for 5-10% increase in performance, if that... OC your 3930k and bam you're dead even lol

i 100% agree

[SSOB]

Most useless upgrade ever IMO , Everybody is better of waiting for Haswell-E due to the DDR4 And PCIe 4.0 Upgrades that will come with that platform 

[TheDigitalRealm]

Most useless upgrade ever IMO , Everybody is better of waiting for Haswell-E due to the DDR4 And PCIe 4.0 Upgrades that will come with that platform 

I'm trying to save as much as I can on the system I'm building at the moment (first system build, gaming) to put towards a Haswell-E build next year. That's when Intel are going to release the big guns. 8 core i7's and 12 core Xeons please.

 

Also: Intel, if they wanted, could have brought 6 core extreme edition performance down to mainstream 4770k type price points by now easily, if they'd wanted. If they weren't bent on making money (they're a business afterall) we seriously could have had 6 core mainstream CPU's for £270 by now.

[qwertywarrior]

"The bummer there is the two-year-old platform with two SATA 6Gb/s ports and no native USB 3.0."

 

ehh :/

[TheDigitalRealm]

"The bummer there is the two-year-old platform with two SATA 6Gb/s ports and no native USB 3.0."

 

ehh :/

It really does suck. It's not worth shelling out the cash, when really all you're paying for is motherboard features. I guess we'll wait and see what the refresh has to offer.

 

Faster RIVE boot times please?

[Sgt]

Not worth it to upgrade from a 3930k to this for daily use

 

I'll buy it anyway for Ln2 to see the overclock range/stability/performance.

[SSOB]

I'm trying to save as much as I can on the system I'm building at the moment (first system build, gaming) to put towards a Haswell-E build next year. That's when Intel are going to release the big guns. 8 core i7's and 12 core Xeons please.

 

Also: Intel, if they wanted, could have brought 6 core extreme edition performance down to mainstream 4770k type price points by now easily, if they'd wanted. If they weren't bent on making money (they're a business afterall) we seriously could have had 6 core mainstream CPU's for £270 by now.

Why , for gaming that's Ultra-Overkill© ( yes copyrighted by me)

[TheDigitalRealm]

Why , for gaming that's Ultra-Overkill© ( yes copyrighted by me)

Ha! I won't be using that for gaming. It seems my video editing career is taking off (not) I've been asked by a few people to edit they're photo's and / or videos. Some YouTubers (The type that make CoD montages) have asked me to make intro's and edit their videos etc.

 

It's also going to come with me to college where it'll be running some pretty demanding simulations. (Biology course related stuff)

[qwertywarrior]

Ha! I won't be using that for gaming. It seems my video editing career is taking off (not) I've been asked by a few people to edit they're photo's and / or videos. Some YouTubers (The type that make CoD montages) have asked me to make intro's and edit their videos etc.

 

It's also going to come with me to college where it'll be running some pretty demanding simulations. (Biology course related stuff)

handbreak is implementing quicksync  (finally)

check it out

quality just as good as cpu encode x264

[SSOB]

Ha! I won't be using that for gaming. It seems my video editing career is taking off (not) I've been asked by a few people to edit they're photo's and / or videos. Some YouTubers (The type that make CoD montages) have asked me to make intro's and edit their videos etc.

 

It's also going to come with me to college where it'll be running some pretty demanding simulations. (Biology course related stuff)

Well , than it's probably a good buy lol , but expect the Cpu to be 1000 dollars + and the motherboards to be 350-600 dollars ( DDR4 And pci-e will cost a lot to implement...)

[Kuzma]

O.o 6% increase multi-core and 7% increase single-core that's kinda disappointing but meh interested to see the 4820k

[TheDigitalRealm]

Well , than it's probably a good buy lol , but expect the Cpu to be 1000 dollars + and the motherboards to be 350-600 dollars ( DDR4 And pci-e will cost a lot to implement...)

Yeah I know, I'm saving to get an 8 core so I'm probably looking at saving £1300 - £1500. (In the U.K a 3970X is around £800)

 

I'm hoping this system will last me a pretty long time, otherwise I wouldn't be considering it.

 

Meanwhile my current gaming system (i7 3770k + 2x gtx 780's) will serve it's purpose for a good few years.

[SSOB]

Yeah I know, I'm saving to get an 8 core so I'm probably looking at saving £1300 - £1500. (In the U.K a 3970X is around £800)

 

I'm hoping this system will last me a pretty long time, otherwise I wouldn't be considering it.

 

Meanwhile my current gaming system (i7 3770k + 2x gtx 780's) will serve it's purpose for a good few years.

Isn't your current system powerfull enoug lol? What are you going to do if i may ask

[TheDigitalRealm]

O.o 6% increase multi-core and 7% increase single-core that's kinda disappointing but meh interested to see the 4820k

Remember, that a 4820k is essentially just a very low binned 4970x. Basically just a poor performer. I wouldn't be surprised if the 4770k outperforms it like the 3770k did with the 3820.

[Kuzma]

Remember, that a 4820k is essentially just a very low binned 4970x. Basically just a poor performer. I wouldn't be surprised if the 4770k outperforms it like the 3770k did with the 3820.

I think it'll be difference because the this time because it's coming out after the 4770k as opposed to the 3770k coming out after the 3820, if the 4820k<4770k then they most likely won't even sell one because everyone will just go 4770k unless the x89 platform has something magical to it