Intel Core i7-3930K Review

[Sgt.Bilko]

Good review Tom.

Being a fellow enthusiast, I agree with you. If you have the best gear , use it!

Unfortunately, unlike you, I'm not a reviewer so I use what I've got/can afford.

ASUS Sabertooth X58

Core i7 I7-930 8 MB@3.8MHz

Corsair Dominator 3 x 2 GB@1600MHz

Gainward GTX 570 Golden Sample (1.25 GB)

Crucial RealSSD C300 128 GB for OS and favourite games.

It works well, but I'm chomping at the bit...gaging for a new rig!

I've never waited so long to upgrade before, but I'm holding out to see what Ivy Bridge brings with it.

I'm of course expecting some great CPUs with exceptional "bang for the buck".

I'm also interested to see what improvements come to the LGA1155 platform.

I'm hoping to see some advancement in Lucid Virtu software.

Improved onboard SATA 600 controllers and native USB 3.0 (I'm thinking Z68 Chipset here).

Even the cheaper 3930K, in my humble opinion, is way to expensive. Coupled with 2011 platform and 4 channel RAM prices, I won't pay that much.

I'm a gamer and I'm a bit one-eyed when it comes to a PC. Can it play the games I like, flat out at a reasonable price?

My rigs time has almost come, so I'm hoping Ivy Bridge can be my next good buy.

Ps. I noticed in your charts the 950 has been downgraded to an i5

 

[SnW]

Well that's IMHO still a great rig

 

[alicarve]

good review, had the chance to have a play with one of these when they first came out and they are awesome! just can't afford one for myself

managed to get 4.5ghz with 1.28v i wanted to get more out of it but my friend said no higher than 1.3v

 

[kejser11]

Very happy to read that test, Guv! Looking for a CPU to go with my new Rampage IV, seems like I found it. Here in DK 3960X sell at about £800!! So good to know, that you can have almost the same power at £450!!! Agree that these prices are insane

 

[yassarikhan786]

Awesome review TTL

. Might do a 2011 rig for a F@H rig instead of Ivy, don't know yet :/

 

[Legacy-ZA]

Awesome review TTL, I agree with you completely, if money is no option then go with the i7 3960X but if you are a bit tight on cash, it would be best to go with the i7 3930K.

On a side note, I am really looking forward to see the performance comparisons between these 2011 CPU's and the new Ivy Bridge CPU's that will be released later this year.

 

[MaXiMiZe]

Good review Tom.

Being a fellow enthusiast, I agree with you. If you have the best gear , use it!

Unfortunately, unlike you, I'm not a reviewer so I use what I've got/can afford.

ASUS Sabertooth X58

Core i7 I7-930 8 MB@3.8MHz

Corsair Dominator 3 x 2 GB@1600MHz

Gainward GTX 570 Golden Sample (1.25 GB)

Crucial RealSSD C300 128 GB for OS and favourite games.

It works well, but I'm chomping at the bit...gaging for a new rig!

I've never waited so long to upgrade before, but I'm holding out to see what Ivy Bridge brings with it.

I'm of course expecting some great CPUs with exceptional "bang for the buck".

I'm also interested to see what improvements come to the LGA1155 platform.

I'm hoping to see some advancement in Lucid Virtu software.

Improved onboard SATA 600 controllers and native USB 3.0 (I'm thinking Z68 Chipset here).

Even the cheaper 3930K, in my humble opinion, is way to expensive. Coupled with 2011 platform and 4 channel RAM prices, I won't pay that much.

I'm a gamer and I'm a bit one-eyed when it comes to a PC. Can it play the games I like, flat out at a reasonable price?

My rigs time has almost come, so I'm hoping Ivy Bridge can be my next good buy.

Ps. I noticed in your charts the 950 has been downgraded to an i5

3.8MHz ???

 

[Sgt.Bilko]

"3.8MHz ???"

Yeah MaXiMiZe, I mean of course 3.8GHz. Thanks for the headsup

 

[BKCXb]

GOOD review, this was the chip I wanted to go with when Intel first announced it!

It seems like it likes 4.5 to 4.6 Ghz for a daily overclock, but what about the Memory Kit???

I know Tom reviews with Dominatior 2400Mhz kits so he can mess around clocks and timings, but what frenquency does this chip hold at 4.5 to 4.6 Ghz

I was thinking 1600 would be boring, because I would always know it had more....

1866 would be just about right, without spending more than needed just to get a few extra benchmark points(law of diminishing returns)

2133 are just coming down in price but can this chip hold it? and more importantly use the extra bandwith without a stupid overclock and daily use unfriendly volts?

2400 are out but if Tom can't find a chip to hold that , I'm not even gonna try, money could be used elsewhere.

 

[murphy7801]

GOOD review, this was the chip I wanted to go with when Intel first announced it!

It seems like it likes 4.5 to 4.6 Ghz for a daily overclock, but what about the Memory Kit???

I know Tom reviews with Dominatior 2400Mhz kits so he can mess around clocks and timings, but what frenquency does this chip hold at 4.5 to 4.6 Ghz

I was thinking 1600 would be boring, because I would always know it had more....

1866 would be just about right, without spending more than needed just to get a few extra benchmark points(law of diminishing returns)

2133 are just coming down in price but can this chip hold it? and more importantly use the extra bandwith without a stupid overclock and daily use unfriendly volts?

2400 are out but if Tom can't find a chip to hold that , I'm not even gonna try, money could be used elsewhere.

I personally feel that 1866 is best performance to price at the mo

 

[Thaloc]

Hello,

First off just wanted to say that I love your reviews

I'm building a new rig at the end of April, and I was planing on using the I7 3930k after your review on my rampage 4.

However I have been reading that it only supports 1600Mhz ram, I just wanted to know if you can run with lets say Corsair Dominator-GT 4 x 4 GB 2133 MHz.

from the Intel forums they say it can cause issues.

So what's your view on this ?

Sorry for spelling mistakes - Dyslexia =/

 

[daDonn]

Hello,

First off just wanted to say that I love your reviews

I'm building a new rig at the end of April, and I was planing on using the I7 3930k after your review on my rampage 4.

However I have been reading that it only supports 1600Mhz ram, I just wanted to know if you can run with lets say Corsair Dominator-GT 4 x 4 GB 2133 MHz.

from the Intel forums they say it can cause issues.

So what's your view on this ?

Sorry for spelling mistakes - Dyslexia =/

In most cases yes - it'll depend on the memory chips and motherboard, though.

If you want to be certain you could always look up the "approved memory module" documentation list that the motherboard vendor makes available.

 

[Hawker_Ant]

Has anyone bothered to notice Intel® Identity Protection Technology on the 2nd gen i7 processors?

Just building a new machine, how do I turn off the spying mechanism? Can I turn off this 'feature'? I know there is 'software' to turn it off... but can I turn it off at the hardware level?

Really, it's not necessary, in any way or form. There are SSL certificates, and AT-TLS... my understanding that was identification of CPU's at the hardware level was denied by Congress years ago??? Why is this there?

Thanks, Ant.