Intel Core i7-5960X, -5930K And -5820K CPU Review: Haswell-E Rises

Power, In Depth: Eight and Six Cores at 4 GHz

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.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Power ConsumptionAverage IdleMaximum, 100% LoadAverage, 100% Load
CPU 12 V In22 W165 W146 W
CPU Package18 W128 W124 W
VRM Loss4 W43 W23 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.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Temperature TIdleMaximum, 100% LoadAverage, 100% Load (Heated Up)
Core27 °C57 °C48 °C
Package29 °C48 °CRow 1 - Cell 3
Water (In / Out)24 °C / 27 °C32 °CRow 2 - Cell 3
VRM34 °C47 °CRow 3 - Cell 3

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.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Power ConsumptionAverage, IdleMaximum, 100% LoadAverage, 100% Load
CPU 12 V In21 W137 W115 W
CPU Package17 W105 W101 W
VRM Loss4 W32 W14 W

Temperatures

Here are the temperatures under load:

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Temperature TIdleMaximum, 100% Load Average, 100% Load (Heated Up)
Core27 °C53 °C46 °C
Package28 °C44 °CRow 1 - Cell 3
Water (In / Out)24 °C / 27 °C31 °CRow 2 - Cell 3
VRM34 °C45 °CRow 3 - Cell 3

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.

Chris Angelini
Chris Angelini is an Editor Emeritus at Tom's Hardware US. He edits hardware reviews and covers high-profile CPU and GPU launches.
Latest in CPUs
Ryzen 5 9600X
AMD Ryzen 5 9600X hits all-time low price
Core Ultra 200S CPU
An Arrow Lake refresh may still be in the cards with only K and KF models, claims leaker
Tech Deals
Our alternate pick for the best gaming CPU is $190 cheaper than the 9800X3D right now - pick up the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X for just $289
ASRock fixes AM5 motherboard by cleaning it
ASRock claims to fix 'burned out' AM5 motherboard by cleaning the socket
Ryzen AI
AMD's Gorgon Point APU line-up breaks cover — Allegedly aiming for a 2026 launch
Nvidia Blackwell Ultra B300
The week in chip news: Nvidia's GTC 2025 blitz, new NVMe HDDs and watercooled SSD, Intel's restructuring begins
Latest in Features
Free Alternatives to Photoshop
Five Best Photoshop Alternatives Tested: Image Editing for Free
Awekeys Antiques Metal keycaps
Awekeys Antiques Metal keycaps are Viking-themed luxury for your fingertips
The Gigabyte X870E AORUS ELITE WIFI7
Get the most out of your processor with this motherboard's Turbo Mode
AMD RDNA 4 and Radeon RX 9000-series GPUs
AMD RDNA 4 and Radeon RX 9000-series GPUs start at $549: Specifications, release date, pricing, and more revealed
MSI Prestige GPU
Tested: Intel's Arrow Lake 140T iGPU mostly maintains an edge over AMD's older 880m
MechBoards Hyper7 R4
I’m typing this on the world’s largest keyboard, a 178-key beast designed to make you more productive
  • dovah-chan
    Oh boy here we go...
    Reply
  • Merry_Blind
    Affordable 8-cores from Intel are finally coming. Awesome.
    Reply
  • B4vB5
    Chris and Igor @ TomsHW,

    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.
    Reply
  • JamesSneed
    Out of curiosity why were so many of the gaming tests only done at 2560x1440? Seems like you would be more GPU bound at this resolution. I'm not sure it really matters but I do like gaming at 1080p for the very high frame rates was curious if these would push frame rates higher. Otherwise nice review.
    Reply
  • ohim
    14063555 said:
    Affordable 8-cores from Intel are finally coming. Awesome.

    1000$ is affordable to you ? :))

    14063653 said:
    Out of curiosity why were so many of the gaming tests only done at 2560x1440? Seems like you would be more GPU bound at this resolution. I'm not sure it really matters but I do like gaming at 1080p for the very high frame rates was curious if these would push frame rates higher. Otherwise nice review.


    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.
    Reply
  • chiefpiggy
    Why do they call these their "5th generation" of Intel core processors if they're refreshes of the Haswell processors? I get that they have revolutionary technology within but with the release of broadwell so soon I doubt that anyone would buy these processors..
    Reply
  • envy14tpe
    I need this system to play Minecraft. with that aside, Intel finally has made a jump in i7s value and performance.
    Reply
  • therogerwilco
    Meh, looks like I'll be keepin my uber delid'd oc'd 4770k a bit longer
    Reply
  • srap
    "Single-threaded software is so last decade, though."
    I have a hunch that we will never see anything like this in the comment sections of AMD reviews. Not sure why :D
    Reply
  • CaptainTom
    Yeah the real winner of a cpu here is definitely the 5820K. If I were building now, that is what I would use.
    Reply