Intel Core i7-3960X Review: Sandy Bridge-E And X79 Express

Benchmark Results: Media Encoding

Our last known single-threaded test, iTunes, demonstrates the 100 MHz advantage that Core i7-3960X boasts over Core i7-2600K with only one thread active under Turbo Boost. The Core i5-2500K follows right behind, trailed by Core i7-990X.

Based on the age of the other CPUs in this test, the only real loser is FX-8150, which just came out, but cannot outpace the three-year-old Core i7-920.

FX-8150 performs more admirably in our MainConcept transcode job, where it not only bests the i7-920, but also the other two AMD processors tested and Intel’s Core i5-2500K.

It cannot overtake the -2600K, -990X, or -3960X, though. In fact, thorough optimizations for threading allow Sandy Bridge-E to take first place from the Gulftown-based chip.

Similarly, HandBrake readily takes advantage of available cores, so again Core i7-3960X snags first place. Everything else falls in behind, generally in the order we’ve come to expect from very well-threaded applications.