Overclocking: Can Sandy Bridge-E Be Made More Efficient?

Features
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Intel's six-core processors are fast, but enthusiasts almost always want to push unlocked multipliers harder. Core i7-3960X can easily exceed 4 GHz, but what happens to power efficiency when clock rates go up? Sandy Bridge-E demonstrates weaknesses there.

Test Configuration And Benchmarks

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LGA 2011 Platform
LGA 2011 PlatformIntel DX79SI, Chipset: Intel X79 Express, BIOS: 280B
LGA 2011 ProcessorIntel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition (32 nm, Sandy Bridge-E), 6C/12T, 3.3 GHz, 6 x 256 KB L2 Cache, 15 MB L3 Cache, 130 W TDP, 3.9 GHz max. Turbo Boost
Memory4 x 4 GB DDR3-1333, Kingston KHX1600C9D3K2/8GX
GraphicsAMD Radeon HD 6850, GPU: Cypress (775 MHz), Graphics RAM: 1024 MB GDDR5 (2000 MHz), Stream Processors: 960
System DriveSamsung PM810, 256 GB, SATA 3Gb/s
Power SupplySeasonic X-760, SS-760KM
System Software & Drivers
Operating SystemWindows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1
Drivers & Settings
AMD Radeon DriverATI Catalyst 11.8 Suite for Windows 7
Intel Chipset DriverChipset Installation Utility Ver. 9.2.0.1030
Intel Rapid StorageVer: 10.6.0.1002
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Audio Benchmarks and Settings
BenchmarkDetails
iTunesVersion: 10.4.1.10 Audio CD ("Terminator II" SE), 53 min. Convert to AAC audio format
Lame MP3Version 3.98.3 Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min convert wav to mp3 audio format Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s)
Video Benchmarks and Settings
BenchmarkDetails
HandBrake CLIVersion: 0.95 Video: Big Buck Bunny (720x480, 23.972 frames) 5 Minutes Audio: Dolby Digital, 48 000 Hz, Six-Channel, English to Video: AVC1 Audio1: AC3 Audio2: AAC (High Profile)
MainConcept Reference v2.2Version: 2.2.0.5440 MPEG-2 to H.264 MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG-2) Audio: MPEG-2 (44.1 kHz, Two-Channel, 16-Bit, 224 Kb/s) Codec: H.264 Pro Mode: PAL 50i (25 FPS) Profile: H.264 BD HDMV
Application Benchmarks and Settings
BenchmarkDetails
7-ZipVersion 9.22 beta LZMA2 Syntax "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=5" Benchmark: 2010-THG-Workload
WinrarVersion 4.01 RAR Syntax "winrar a -r -m3" Benchmark: 2010-THG-Workload
WinZip 16 ProVersion 16.0 Pro WinZIP GUI based Benchmark: 2010-THG-Workload
Autodesk 3ds Max 2012Version: 10 x64 Rendering Space Flyby Mentalray (SPECapc_3dsmax9) Frame: 248 Resolution: 1440 x 1080
Adobe After Effects CS5.5Create Video which includes 3 Streams Frames: 210 Render Multiple Frames Simultaneously: on
Adobe Photoshop CS 5.1 (64-Bit)Version: 11 Filtering a 16 MB TIF (15 000x7266) Filters: Radial Blur (Amount: 10; Method: zoom; Quality: good), Shape Blur (Radius: 46 px; custom shape: Trademark symbol), Median (Radius: 1px), Polar Coordinates (Rectangular to Polar)
Adobe Acrobat X ProfessionalVersion: 10.0.0 == Printing Preferences Menu == Default Settings: Standard == Adobe PDF Security - Edit Menu == Encrypt all documents (128-bit RC4), Open Password: 123, Permissions Password: 321
Microsoft PowerPoint 2010Version: 2007 SP2 PPT to PDF Powerpoint Document (115 Pages) Adobe PDF-Printer
BlenderVersion: 2.59 beta Syntax blender -b thg.blend -f 1 Resolution: 1920x1080, Anti-Aliasing: 8x, Render: THG.blend frame 1
MatlabR2011a, Internal Benchmark: 10 runs
Patrick Schmid