Intel Core i7-3960X Review

[SieB]

Prices are already out, it's £431.99 for the 3930K and £767.99 for the 3960X.

Prices of the ASUS mobos are

P9X79 Deluxe £233.79

P9X79 Pro £189.79

P9X79 Standard £183.79

Rampage IV £266.79

Sabertooth £207.79

I haven't looked up the prices for other boards only ASUS.

EDIT: motherboard prices are without 20% VAT.

 

[yassarikhan786]

Prices are already out, it's £431.99 for the 3930K and £767.99 for the 3960X.

Prices of the ASUS mobos are

P9X79 Deluxe £233.79

P9X79 Pro £189.79

P9X79 Standard £183.79

Rampage IV £266.79

Sabertooth £207.79

I haven't looked up the prices for other boards only ASUS.

The 3930K + Rampage IV looks pretty good considering what a lot of us paid for Sandy Bridge MB + CPU

.

 

[SieB]

Forgot to say those mother board prices are without VAT

 

[yassarikhan786]

Forgot to say those mother board prices are without VAT

Hahaha. It would still be worth it if I had the money

 

[Diablo]

Just waiting for cpus to be in stock, which doesn't seem to be anywhere.

 

[Azurite]

Hehe

I love how this chip performes. Wonder how well the benches are when it is clocked.

 

[hmmblah]

Just waiting for cpus to be in stock, which doesn't seem to be anywhere.

You can pre order at Aria.

Edit: And the i7 3960X is in stock at Overclockers.

 

[yassarikhan786]

The specs for the 3930k and 3960X are very similar so I don't understand why the 3960X costs so much more.

i7-3930K

- Core Size: 32nm

- Socket: LGA2011

- Six Core

- Frequency: 3.20GHz (3.80GHz TURBO)

- Multiplier: 32x (Upto 40x available)

- L2 Cache: 6x 256KB

- L3 Cache: 12MB

- TDP: 130W

- DOES NOT INCLUDE COOLER

- 3yr Warranty

i7 3960X

- Core Size: 32nm

- Socket: LGA2011

- Six Core

- Frequency: 3.30GHz (3.90GHz TURBO)

- Multiplier: 33x (Unlocked Multiplier)

- L2 Cache: 6x 256KB

- L3 Cache: 15MB

- TDP: 130W

- DOES NOT INCLUDE COOLER

- 3yr Warranty

The differences seem minimal to me, so why is the price difference so large. Will the 3960X clock higher or what?

 

[Diablo]

The highest end chip is always the most expensive, despite not giving that much more. Also aria's dates slipped from 18th --> 29th so I'm probably going to hope scan or somebody else can provide. Aria are definitely the best for the motherboards as far as I can tell though.

 

[yassarikhan786]

The highest end chip is always the most expensive, despite not giving that much more. Also aria's dates slipped from 18th --> 29th so I'm probably going to hope scan or somebody else can provide. Aria are definitely the best for the motherboards as far as I can tell though.

It looks like the 3930K would be the more sensible option then, given that the differences don't warrant £200+.

 

[Azurite]

The specs for the 3930k and 3960X are very similar so I don't understand why the 3960X costs so much more.

i7-3930K

- Core Size: 32nm

- Socket: LGA2011

- Six Core

- Frequency: 3.20GHz (3.80GHz TURBO)

- Multiplier: 32x (Upto 40x available)

- L2 Cache: 6x 256KB

- L3 Cache: 12MB

- TDP: 130W

- DOES NOT INCLUDE COOLER

- 3yr Warranty

i7 3960X

- Core Size: 32nm

- Socket: LGA2011

- Six Core

- Frequency: 3.30GHz (3.90GHz TURBO)

- Multiplier: 33x (Unlocked Multiplier)

- L2 Cache: 6x 256KB

- L3 Cache: 15MB

- TDP: 130W

- DOES NOT INCLUDE COOLER

- 3yr Warranty

The differences seem minimal to me, so why is the price difference so large. Will the 3960X clock higher or what?

Yes its not worth it. Though, i dont blame those who will spend money on it. Intel have done this for a long time now

Im getting the K model myself.

 

[yassarikhan786]

Yes its not worth it. Though, i dont blame those who will spend money on it. Intel have done this for a long time now

Im getting the K model myself.

Yep, the K model is the much better option. I've read a few other reviews and they perform identically on most tests when OC'd to the same level

.

 

[Azurite]

Yep, the K model is the much better option. I've read a few other reviews and they perform identically on most tests when OC'd to the same level

.

Yeah it reminds me of the i7 920-930 vs the X. If i break my first chip i can get a new one. I couldnt do that if i bought the X one

Do you know what 24/7 vcore they suggest using?

 

[yassarikhan786]

Yeah it reminds me of the i7 920-930 vs the X. If i break my first chip i can get a new one. I couldnt do that if i bought the X one

Do you know what 24/7 vcore they suggest using?

Iirc it was 1.4V for 4.7GHz, but the full system power draw was more than the 990x for both the 3930K and 3960X. It was 200+w more than the 2600K @ 5.0GHz, lol.

 

[treboRR]

mby they handpick the colden chips....thats why X series will cost more!

 

[yassarikhan786]

mby they handpick the colden chips....thats why X series will cost more!

From reviews I have seen that they OC to pretty much the same levels and are pretty equal in almost all of the benchmark scores so I wouldn't say they are cherry picked.

 

[ruthless_villain]

Hehe

I love how this chip performes. Wonder how well the benches are when it is clocked.

so 32% more performance for £500 more monies... hmmm so thats like paying £15 for a 1% increase in performance

 

[nothingspecial]

Gigabyte board prices (Aria):

X79-UD3: £178.79

X79-UD5: £218.39

X79-UD7(OC): £250.79

G1 Asassin 2: £290.39

Planning on getting a 3930K and a X79-UD5. Hopefully by christmas, stock levels permitting.

 

[dugdiamond]

...

I wonder how long it will be before some hardcore guys try activate those 2 other cores and see if the succeed.

the two extra cores have been physically fused off, unlike other chips in the past that have been software locked

 

[Solidarity]

Here's hoping that a large sum of money magically appears in my bank account.