Msi Z270 Sli Plus I7 8700k

Intel 5690 motherboard

Intel Core i7-5960x

MSRP $999.00

"The Core i7-5960X is the most powerful consumer processor ever. Information technology's then quick, in fact, that it's overkill even for about enthusiasts."

Pros

Amazing multi-core performance
X99 platform offers excellent connectivity
Surprisingly efficient

Cons

Very expensive
Not compatible with previous LGA2011 sockets
Doesn't work with DDR3 RAM

Time flies, doesn't it? While it still feels relatively fresh, Intel's Haswell architecture is now more than year old. Its replacement, which is lawmaking-named Broadwell, is existence prepared for release this vacation season. Soon, Haswell will exist old news, replaced by even more efficient hardware that will likely outperform its predecessor by every metric. This relentless march frontward has get Intel'south signature style, and delivers a regular burst of excitement to the stagnant PC marketplace.

Earlier Haswell goes away, still, Intel has decided to let information technology have one terminal hurrah in the course of Haswell-Due east. This new line of processors offers six to viii cores, and is launching aslope the X99 platform, which is the first ever to support DDR4 RAM. The star of the evidence is the Core i7-5960X processor, an eight-cadre behemoth clocked at iii GHz.

Such extreme hardware is certain to make enthusiasts salivate but, as usual, Intel's quickest Extreme Edition comes with an every bit farthermost price of $999.

How much performance can a chiliad buy you?

Aforementioned old architecture

From a technical perspective, the Core i7-5960X is the least exciting component of this launch. Though it manages to provide eight cores, which is a get-go for any Intel processor (previous Extreme Editions maxed out at 6), it does and so without any fancy footwork. Intel has simply added more Haswell cores, and slapped on more enshroud (20MB, dissever between all cores) to lucifer.

Of course, plumbing equipment this many cores onto a flake requires more infinite, and the 5960X is physically larger as a result. This means it works only in LGA2011 sockets. In fact, it will piece of work only in the new LGA2011-v3 socket. Owners of older LGA2011 motherboards are out of luck.

That will disappoint some enthusiasts. The technical reasons for this are understandable; the new X99 platform offers several advancements that are incompatible with earlier technology, which we'll soon address. Nonetheless, it's disappointing that owners of older 6-core Farthermost Edition chips accept been locked out of an upgrade path.

In add-on to eight cores, the 5960X of class offers 2 of Intel'southward two signature features; Hyper-Threading, and Turbo Boost. Hyper-Threading, which processes 2 logical threads on a single concrete core, lets the 5960X handle a whopping xvi threads at one time. Turbo Heave, meanwhile, tin can automatically overclock the processor to a default maximum of 3.5 GHz (500 MHz in a higher place the base clock) when thermal conditions allow, and the workload demands information technology. All of the CPU cores are unlocked too, so enthusiasts tin can manually overclock the 5960X to even higher speeds.

Ane affair this processor doesn't include is integrated graphics. This is not odd for a loftier-end Intel chip, only it'southward worth mentioning because it tin surprise people who are new to enthusiast hardware. Every Haswell-E desktop needs a defended graphics carte du jour.

Heady new platform

While the processor itself offers few surprises, the new X99 platform is a different story. Every bit Intel's latest flagship platform, information technology offers a buffet of features, some of which are firsts. While releasing a radically revised platform may seem odd with Broadwell correct around the corner, Intel has indicated that information technology will launch with mobile chips, so follow upwardly with desktop parts. X99 will likely be Intel's latest-and-greatest until the leap of 2015.

Anyone editing video at 4K will do good immensely from the power put forward past Intel's newest CPU.

The big story is support for DDR4 RAM. Everyone needs memory, of course; the quicker is amend. This is a large win for anyone running large, complex programs. For this niche, the fact that X99 supports DDR4 with speeds up to 2133 MHz across four channels may prove to be important. It makes sense that Intel would release DDR4 first on an expensive platform meant for expensive processors, equally buyers interested in such chips are those nearly likely to exist interested in quicker RAM.

DDR4 isn't entirely a boon, however, as there are several problems. Like all new technologies, it comes with a hefty early on adopter tax. 4 sticks of DDR4 memory totaling 16GB (that's four per stick) will gear up yous back well over $200.

That'south about three times more than equivalent DDR3 memory. X99 also supports speeds only up to 2133 MHz, which is lower than the standard'south maximum. Owners of this platform won't be able to use the quickest DDR4 RAM available.

Another point of contention is the LGA2011-v3 socket. This socket provides no backwards compatibility at all. Haswell-East processors will not work in older motherboards, and X99 motherboards with LGA2011-v3 won't accept older processors. This is an intimidating barrier to entry.

While the features mentioned then far have pros and cons, there are some indisputable wins. Ane is the inclusion of back up for up to twoscore third-generation PCI Express lanes. This lets the X99 platform run two video cards at full 16x speed, and a third at 8x speeds. Up to five PCIe cards can be installed in full, all at 8x speed, but this is possible only with specific motherboards that enable it with 3rd-party hardware. Most motherboards volition max out at four discrete cards, which is withal quite impressive.

Note that only the 5960X and 5930K offer this regardless of the motherboard they're paired with. The entry-level 5820K only has 28 PCI Express three.0 lanes, and can devote a total 16 lanes to only a single video card.

The Intel Core i7-5960X pushes the haemorrhage edge of desktop performance frontward.

There's also a wealth of room for connectivity, including upwardly to six USB 3.0 ports, up to 8 USB 2.0 ports, up to 10 SATA 3.0 ports, and back up for multiple Gigabit Ethernet connections along with integrated Wi-Fi. A total of eight PCI Limited 2.0 slots can be provided, and Intel'southward Rapid Storage Technology is available, though support for this characteristic is entirely optional (meaning some motherboards will non back up information technology). The same can be said of Thunderbolt two, which is available, simply non mandatory.

No one can debate that X99 isn't sufficiently advanced. The real question is whether it's also avant-garde for its own skilful. Using DDR4 lone, rather than including backwards compatibility with DDR3, makes the overall cost of a Haswell-E desktop extremely high. You tin can expect to spend at least $500 on the motherboard and RAM alone, and some combinations of the 2 could exceed $1,000. Pricing will come down over fourth dimension, of grade, but X99's early adopter tax is particularly harsh.

Benchmarks

Now that we've gone over the details with a fine-toothed rummage, permit's move on to the chief event; the benchmarks. As complex as they are, processors are really quite simple to judge; it's (virtually) all most performance. We tested the Intel Cadre i7-5960X using an ASUS X99-Palatial motherboard.

Let's start with SiSoft Sandra'due south Processor Arithmetic benchmark. This exam makes adept use of multiple cores, but doesn't excessively prefer them. This makes it a nice, counterbalanced gauge of overall speed. We're also including the Core i7-4960X, the Cadre i7-4970K, the Core i7-4770K (at its default clock), and the Core i5-4590 for comparison'southward sake.

These scores make a potent case for the 5960X, which blows away the six-core 4960X by achieving a score that'due south over 60 points college. In addition, the 5960X almost doubles the i7-4770K, more than than doubles the i7-4970K, and nearly triples the i5-4590. The Intel Core i7-5960X offers incredible performance.

vii-Naught told the same story, delivering a score of 39,431. That easily beats the 4960X's score of 32,992, and trounces the 4970K'due south and 4770K's respective scores of 24,249 and 22,042. The i5-4590 is left far behind, obtaining a upshot of just 15,841.

Geekbench produced a single-core score of 3,308, and a multi-cadre marking of 23,216. The latter hands whips the 4770K'southward multi-cadre result of thirteen,527, just the single core effigy is actually backside the 4770K's grade of iii,587. The newer 4790K "Devil's Canyon" chip also did well, managing a single-cadre score of iv,079, and a multi-core number of 15,058. This means applications that aren't optimized for multiple threads won't benefit from the 5960X.

We also fired upwardly Cinebench R15, a synthetic test that emulates a enervating image rendering workload. In this criterion, the Core i7-5960X scored one,329. This once more annihilates the 4770K, which scored 749, and the 4970K, which got 702. Intel'south quad-core CPUs tin't hope to match a processor with double the number of cores.

Quick and efficient

We hooked upwards the 5960X and the X99 motherboard upward to our wattmeter. Nosotros noted idle power describe of 74.six watts, and load draw of 156.9 watts. An Nvidia GT 650 video card was too installed. These figures are much higher than a typical Intel quad core CPU, only are all the same solid given the platform'southward impressive operation. Falcon Northwest'south Talon, which nosotros reviewed before this year, was equipped with an overclocked Core i7-4770K, and consumed only x watts less.

Determination

The Intel Core i7-5960X pushes the bleeding border of desktop performance forward. In our tests, nosotros found information technology to be up to 43 percent quicker than the vi-core 4960X, Intel's previous Extreme Edition chip, and upward to 77 percent faster than the 4770K quad-core.

Unsurprisingly, Intel'south newest chip achieves its greatest victories in tests which are reliant on multi-threaded operation, similar the 7-Cipher compression benchmark. In Geekbench's single-core test, the 5960X's relatively depression clock speed puts information technology behind some of Intel'due south old quad-cores. This is worth noting, but shouldn't be terribly important, as we can't think of a demanding awarding that's not coded for multiple threads.

While the 5960X is impressive, its incredible operation is gated behind a barrier of Benjamins, Jacksons and Washingtons. The total cost of a 5960X, motherboard, and RAM volition exceed $1,500 at a minimum, and may reach well above $2,000 for buyers who need an extravagant motherboard or 32GBs of memory. Such costs will be difficult for many enthusiasts to justify. Even gamers will detect this processor to be overkill.

The 5960X and its platform, X99, are heady, but they're not meant for play. This is serious hardware that but makes sense for people and organizations that need truly farthermost performance. Anyone editing video at 4K volition do good immensely from the power put forward by Intel'due south newest CPU, and tin can translate to hours saved over the course of a work day. The Intel Core i7-5960X is so powerful that information technology's just evidently overkill for everyone else, even hardcore enthusiasts.

High

Amazing multi-cadre performance
X99 platform offers excellent connectivity
Surprisingly efficient

Lows

Very expensive
Not uniform with previous LGA2011 sockets
Doesn't work with DDR3 RAM

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