Benchmark Results: Combined Efficiency Run
We found that the combined run time is quickest on Intel's Core i7-3960X, which is a result of its great performance in single- and multi-threaded apps.
Average power consumption during the entire efficiency run, including single-threaded and multi-threaded applications, is similar to what Intel's Core i7-980X, based on Gulftown, achieves. But let’s see how much power was actually used, given that the flagship Sandy Bridge-E-derived processor is a lot faster.
Efficiency increases quite a bit over the previous-gen 32 nm hexa-core chip, which clearly shows that Sandy Bridge-E can deliver more performance at similar or less power consumption under load. This translates into quicker processing times, allowing a system based on this CPU to drop back to idle faster. And because the architecture requires significantly less power at idle, you get power savings at increased performance.