Sandy Bridge-E: Core i7-3960X Is Fast, But Is It Any More Efficient?

Features
By Achim Roos, Patrick Schmid
published

Ironically, when it comes to performance, Intel’s Core i7-3960X is the real Bulldozer. Since its power consumption levels are lower than the Gulftown-based Core i7, it should also deliver amazing performance per watt as well. Is that really the case?

Test Setup And Benchmarks

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LGA 2011 Platform
LGA 2011 PlatformIntel DX79SI, Chipset: Intel X79 Express
LGA2011 ProcessorsIntel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition (32 nm, Sandy Bridge-E), 6C/12T, 3.3 GHz, 6 x 256 KB L2 Cache, 15 MB Shared L3 Cache, 130 W TDP, 3.9 GHz max. Turbo Boost
Socket AM3+ Platform
Socket AM3+ PlatformAsus Crosshair Formula V (Rev. 1.0), Chipset: AMD 990FX, BIOS: 9905 (2011-10-03)
AM3 ProcessorsAMD Phenom II X4 980 (45 nm, Deneb, C3), 4C/4T, 3.7 GHz, 4 x 512 KB L2 Cache, 6 MB Shared L3 Cache, 126 W TDPAMD Phenom II X6 1100T (45 nm, Thuban, E0), 6C/6T, 3.3 GHz, 6 x 512 KB L2 Cache, 6 MB Shared L3 Cache, 126 W TDP, 3.7 GHz max. Turbo Core
AM3+ ProcessorsAMD FX-8150 (32 nm, Zambezi), 8C/8T, 3.6 GHz, 8 MB L2 Cache, 8 MB Shared L3 Cache, 125 W TDP, 3.9 GHz Turbo Core, 4.2 GHz max. Turbo Core
LGA 1156 Platform
LGA 1156 PlatformGigabyte P55A-UD7, Chipset: Intel P55 Express, BIOS: F8b
LGA 1156 ProcessorsIntel Core i7-870 (45 nm, Lynnfield, B1), 4C/8T, 2.93 GHz, 4 x 256 KB L2 Cache, 8 MB Shared L3 Cache, 95 W TDP, 3.6 GHz max. Turbo BoostIntel Core i5-750 (45 nm, Lynnfield, B1), 4C/4T, 2.66 GHz, 4 x 256 KB L2 Cache, 8 MB Shared L3 Cache, 95 W TDP, 3.2 GHz max. Turbo Boost
Socket LGA 1155 Platform
LGA 1155 PlatformIntel DP67BG, Chipset: Intel P67 Express, BIOS: 2040
LGA 1156 ProcessorsIntel Core i7-2600K (32 nm, Sandy Bridge, D2), 4C/8T, 3.4 GHz, 4 x 256 KB L2 Cache, 8 MB Shared L3 Cache, w/ HD Graphics 3000, 95 W TDP, 3.8 GHz max. Turbo BoostIntel Core i5-2500K (32 nm, Sandy Bridge, D2), 4C/4T, 3.3 GHz, 4 x 256 KB L2 Cache, 6 MB Shared L3 Cache w/ HD Graphics 3000, 95 W TDP, 3.7 GHz max. Turbo Boost
LGA 1366 Platform
LGA 1366 PlatformMSI BigBang-Xpower, Chipset: Intel X58 Express, BIOS: 1.2
LGA 1366 ProcessorsIntel Core i7-975 Extreme Edition (45 nm, Bloomfield, D0), 4C/8T, 3.33 GHz, 4 x 256 KB L2 Cache, 8 MB Shared L3 Cache, 130 W TDP, 3.6 GHz max. Turbo BoostIntel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition (32 nm, Gulftown, B1), 6C/12T, 3.33 GHz, 4 x 256 KB L2 Cache, 8 MB Shared L3 Cache, 130 W TDP, 3.6 GHz max. Turbo Boost
Common Platform Components
Dual DDR3 Memory2 x 4 GB DDR3-1333, Kingston KHX1600C9D3K2/8GX
Discrete GraphicsAMD Radeon HD 6850, GPU: Cypress (775 MHz), Graphics RAM: 1024 MB GDDR5 (2000 MHz), Stream Processors: 960
System DriveSamsung PM810, 256 GB, SATA 3 Gb/s
Power SupplySeasonic X-760, SS-760KM Aktive PFC F3
System Software & Drivers
Operating SystemWindows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1
Drivers and Settings
ATI Radeon DriversAMD Catalyst 11.8 Suite for Windows 7
Intel Chipset DriversChipset Installation Utility Ver. 9.2.3.1022
Intel Rapid StorageVer: 10.6.0.1002

Benchmarks and Settings

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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, 48000 Hz, Six-Channel, English to Video: AVC1 Audio1: AC3 Audio2: AAC (High Profile)
MainConcept Reference v2.2Version: 2.2.0.5440 MPEG2 to H.264 MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG2) Audio: MPEG2 (44.1 kHz, 2-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 15.5 ProVersion 14.0 Pro (8652) WinZip Commandline Version 3 ZIPX Syntax "-a -ez -p -r" Benchmark: 2010-THG-Workload
Autodesk 3d Studio 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 (15000x7266) Filters: Radial Blur (Amount: 10; Method: zoom; Quality: good) Shape Blur (Radius: 46 px; custom shape: Trademark sysmbol) Median (Radius: 1px) Polar Coordinates (Rectangular to Polar)
Adobe Acrobat X ProfessionalVersion: 10.0.0 == Printing Preferenced 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

We also ran the efficiency test's applications in the following order:
 

Single-Threaded:

Adobe Acrobat 
WinZip 
iTunes 
Lame

Multi-Threaded:

3ds Max
Blender
HandBrake 
MainConcept
After Effects
Photoshop
Premiere
Matlab
7-Zip

Achim Roos
Achim Roos