Core Voltage
Overclocked to 4 GHz, our Core i7-5960X's core voltage is now 1.110 V. This time around we're optimizing it manually to minimize power consumption and temperature.

Power Draw
The following chart contrasts the VRM's measurement with our reading at the EPS connector, in addition to power losses due to the voltage regulation circuit.

A reading of 18 W at idle is identical to what we just saw at 3.5 GHz. However, the increase to 124 W under load shows that the eight-core configuration running at 4 GHz is starting to pull quite a bit more power from the wall.
Still, these figures are within reason considering the performance you get in return.
| Power Consumption | Average Idle | Maximum, 100% Load | Average, 100% Load |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU 12 V In | 22 W | 165 W | 146 W |
| CPU Package | 18 W | 128 W | 124 W |
| VRM Loss | 4 W | 43 W | 23 W |
Temperatures
The temperatures at idle don't increase. And as clock rate goes up, the difference between each core's minimum and maximum temperature becomes more pronounced, too.

It’s time for a look at the time-lapse video.
| Temperature T | Idle | Maximum, 100% Load | Average, 100% Load (Heated Up) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core | 27 °C | 57 °C | 48 °C |
| Package | 29 °C | 48 °C | |
| Water (In / Out) | 24 °C / 27 °C | 32 °C | |
| VRM | 34 °C | 47 °C |
Six Cores At 4 GHz
Again, we want to try the same thing using six cores to estimate how the Core i7-5930K or -3820K might behave.
Core Voltage
Registering 1.100 V, there’s barely any difference in CPU core voltage between the six- and eight-core models.

Power Draw

Disabling two cores yields a reduction in power consumption to 17 W at idle (21 W if you count the VR) and 101 W under load. That's notably less than the eight-core configuration.
| Power Consumption | Average, Idle | Maximum, 100% Load | Average, 100% Load |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU 12 V In | 21 W | 137 W | 115 W |
| CPU Package | 17 W | 105 W | 101 W |
| VRM Loss | 4 W | 32 W | 14 W |
Temperatures
Here are the temperatures under load:

| Temperature T | Idle | Maximum, 100% Load | Average, 100% Load (Heated Up) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core | 27 °C | 53 °C | 46 °C |
| Package | 28 °C | 44 °C | |
| Water (In / Out) | 24 °C / 27 °C | 31 °C | |
| VRM | 34 °C | 45 °C |
Our eight- and six-core setups increase about 20 W when we overclock to 4 GHz. It's easy to see that we're operating Haswell-E above its sweet spot. Nevertheless, you should be able to hit a stable overclock at comparable performance levels using a big heat sink. Just be sure you have a high-end cooler and a chassis with good airflow.
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- Three New CPUs For Enthusiasts
- X99, LGA 2011-3 and DDR4: Get Ready For A Big Upgrade
- How We Tested Core i7-5960X, -5930K, And -5820K
- Synthetic Benchmarks
- Real-World Benchmarks
- Battlefield 4, Grid 2, And Metro: Last Light
- Star Swarm, Thief, Tomb Raider, And WoW
- Power, In Depth: Stock Clock Rates
- Power, In Depth: Eight and Six Cores at 3.5 GHz
- Power, In Depth: Eight and Six Cores at 4 GHz
- Power, In Depth: Eight and Six Cores at 4.5 GHz
- Power, In Depth: CPU Health at 4.8 GHz
- Measuring DDR4 Power Consumption
- Power Consumption Through Our Benchmark Suite
- Intel Keeps Enthusiasts On Its Most Modern Design With Haswell-E

1000$ is affordable to you ?
Though you have a point here, the guy buying such CPUs most likely will game at above 1080p .. but this would have implied using 2 GPUs at least in the test.
Bit disappointed to not see a comparison with the Xeon E5-1650v2(or 1660v2), as the 2600 is a bit overkill comparing prices. Some of us just need a workstation with ECC ram and not just a free-for-all(ie someone else is paying) Xeon 2600 fest.
1000$ is affordable to you ?
Though you have a point here, the guy buying such CPUs most likely will game at above 1080p .. but this would have implied using 2 GPUs at least in the test.
I have a hunch that we will never see anything like this in the comment sections of AMD reviews. Not sure why
Er, no. No it's not the first eight core processor. It is the first eight-core consumer or Core iN series processor though.
I also don't know of any unofficial 8-core processors either.
Intel Core i7-5960X, -5930K, And -5820K CPU Review: Haswell-E Rises : Read more
I was wondering how often you writers read the comments? Just wondering.
Gee. DDR4 save about 5 W with 4 modules. And i was worried of pwer consumption when i overclocked my FX 8350 at 4.7 GHz
Ya, the 5820K really stands out, especially in comparison to Intel's previous lowest SKU processors on X79. For the first time the x820 actually looks like a great option to go with. It's the same as a 3960X in clock speed and core count, except it's Haswell which seems to result in a 10-15% performance boost, and it's over $600 cheaper. The only drawback might be if you have a lot of high bandwidth PCIe cards, but I doubt that'll be an issue for most enthusiasts.
And omg that price:
http://www.microcenter.com/product/437203/Intel_Core_i7-5820k_33_GHz_LGA_2011_V3_Tray_Processor
... I love Microcenter.
THe improvement in multi-threaded workloads are good. It is the biggest improvement per generation we have seen since gulftown
I'm running a 780 ti and Gskill Ripjaw 1600 RAM.
How would the cost of said systems compare, assuming we could create them as equal as possible? Would the performance benefits of the 5820 justify the additional cost?
I'm still running on my old x58 i7 920, but it's starting to BSOD on CPU intensive games (although I suspect its my mobo that's the issue)...
I wanted to build a new system this year, but don't want to make the same mistake I did with the x58 and be left with something that simply can't be upgraded after a year or so. At the same time, I don't want to buy into old tech if that too won't last..
I have had a good run with my x58 mind, but am wary Intel may do what they did with my Gen 1 i7, and change something fundamental with the platform/DDR4 to mean I'll be 'stuck' with whatever I buy now...