Is the i7 5960x a good choice if I'm not overclocking?

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Lostmyhalo

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Aug 27, 2015
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Hi all,

I'm considering buying the i7 5960x for my build but is it worse than the 5930k or 5820k if I don't plan on overclocking it? or is it still the top choice even at stock? (not asking for price vs performance, just performance).

 
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cleanshot911


I have no idea why you would never need to overclock the i7 5960x. That is undeniably the best cpu on the market right now, that's why it costs $1000. I don't care how much you oc any other processor, I don't think there's anything that can beat the i7 5960x. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure once you get to a certain point of performance, unless you work for Pixar or some company that would require you to render some crazy detailed images, an i7 5960x will get the job done regardless of...
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cleanshot911

cleanshot911

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I have no idea why you would never need to overclock the i7 5960x. That is undeniably the best cpu on the market right now, that's why it costs $1000. I don't care how much you oc any other processor, I don't think there's anything that can beat the i7 5960x. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure once you get to a certain point of performance, unless you work for Pixar or some company that would require you to render some crazy detailed images, an i7 5960x will get the job done regardless of whether you oc it or not. It depends on what you want to do with your computer, but the i7 5960x is certainly the best performing cpu out there. It's the only 8 core cpu with cores that run as quick as they do.
 
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Geekwad

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I wouldn't say worse. Both the 5960x and 5930k can easily be overclocked to 4.2-4.4 if you really feel the need (higher if you go about it manually). The two extra cores and four extra threads on the 5960x are not worth the $400 imho, unless you really know you need them (you should have a job that requires rendering all day). For the average user, and high end gamer, they both offer 40 PCIe lanes, and probably wouldn't limit you in any way. Both are just excellent processors.

(((Full disclosure - I have a 5930k as my daily driver, and I do a fair amount of VR rendering/stitching and have been very very satisfied)
 
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Geekwad

Geekwad

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Great point.

I do have an OC profile because I game as well, and it was one of the reasons I went Haswell-E vs. Xeon (but mostly because I like to tinker with things).
 
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Karadjgne

Karadjgne

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Well here's the thing, the 5960x has 8 physical cores at 3.0GHz, the 5390k has 6 cores at 3.5GHz, so from a speed standpoint, at stock values for most applications the 5390k will out-perform the 5960x, its only when you are using apps that take full advantage of multiple cores that at stock you'll see better results with the 5960x, pushing 16 threads vrs the 5390k's 12 threads. If you OC both to 4.2GHz, that still applies, for most apps don't use full core ability, so the extra 4 threads potential isn't utilized, so both cpus work the exact same.

In its specific area, nothing can touch a Xeon e5 2699 with 32 thread ability, but it's 2.3GHz clock speed would be dismal performance for a game that only uses 1-3 threads like skyrim.

For price and performance, the 5390k is far superior to the 5960x, except in the few instances where clock speed isn't an issue as much as thread usage.
 
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