Intel Core i7-5960X vs i7-5930K vs i7-5820K

MSnyder · Oct 13, 2014

We review the Haswell-E lineup by pitting all its processors against each other and the Ivy Bridge-E Intel Core i7-4960X, Haswell Refresh Intel Core i7-4790K, and Haswell Intel Core i7-4770K. If you are looking to build a high-end gaming PC, or are looking to upgrade, then look no further: This review will tell you which CPU you will want to get to cover your needs.

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Darksword · Mar 16, 2015

I love my 5820K. Overclocked currently to 4.5Ghz.

the54thvoid · Mar 16, 2015

I toiled for months (have saved for years) over whether or not to buy an X99 platform. After all my thoughts I decided to stick with my 3930K set up. Going on 3 1/2 years old but not showing signs of age, it will probably keep me going until Broadwell-E. There is a huge benefit going with HEDT and it is the longevity. Good to see another review that makes me happy with being in the (albeit aging) gang.

MikeMurphy · Mar 16, 2015

There was nothing ever wrong with the thermal paste since Sandy Bridge. The problem was the adhesive connecting the circumference of the heat spreader to the PCB was too "tall" therefore creating too much space between the cores and the heat spreader. Some even reused the stock thermal paste once the adhesive was removed to make a point. They enjoyed substantial improvement to core temps.

I can't justify the Intel HEDT program for last-gen cores. It seems that Intel uses it to develop IP when intending to introduce new features to consumers and server admins, in this case DDR4. They do this by matching older well-known cores with new features, not entirely unlike the tick-tock die-shrink strategy. They then use that IP to improve consumer and server implementations. Developing a new memory controller with a new architecture is risky and could result in delays. Having a tried-and-true memory controller to integrate into a new architecture is easier.

Hayder_Master · Mar 17, 2015

perfect review

radrok · Mar 17, 2015

the54thvoid said:
I toiled for months (have saved for years) over whether or not to buy an X99 platform. After all my thoughts I decided to stick with my 3930K set up. Going on 3 1/2 years old but not showing signs of age, it will probably keep me going until Broadwell-E. There is a huge benefit going with HEDT and it is the longevity. Good to see another review that makes me happy with being in the (albeit aging) gang.

Completely agree with you, your 3930K is a damn solid CPU, the only reason I changed mine is because it degraded so bad from my overclocks it couldn't keep 4 GHz stable.

Sometimes I use the embedded renderer in Poser and that uses Firefly which is CPU only and 8 cores do really make a difference! I think I got pretty lucky with 4.8 GHz stable 5960X, I see some not going over 4.4/4.5.

xkm1948 · Mar 17, 2015

My current QX9650 setup is almost 8yrs old and I am still able to get most of work done. However this review does make me wanna finally make the upgrade to a new gen system. Windows 10 and a 5930K, that would be nice~

MSnyder · Mar 17, 2015

Hayder_Master said:
perfect review

Means a lot. Thank you so much.

Ubersonic · Mar 17, 2015

How come the 4770K is beating the 4790K in the gaming tests? Aren't they the exact same CPU just with different clocks :S

Joss · Mar 17, 2015

Excellent review as usual.
The 3D Performance section confirms that for a gaming rig the X99 platform is a total waste of money.

Octopuss · Mar 17, 2015

Are the -E edition CPUs ever worth it if you don't do massive Photoshop work or video editing or something like that? I assume their point is maximum performance at any cost, right?

Air · Mar 17, 2015

It would be helpful if you mentioned ambient temperature in the thermal perfomance section. 25 °C is currently bellow ambient at my country...

REAYTH · Mar 17, 2015

Still not seeing a reason up upgrade my 2600k.

LiveOrDie · Mar 17, 2015

i run my 5930K @ 4.5Ghz still a large price to pay for a system that doesn't run any better than 4 year old tech LOL.

cbupdd · Mar 17, 2015

@MSnyder
Could you please create a cpu bottleneck when testing 3d games? For example, 800x600 and low setting.
Regards

Easo · Mar 17, 2015

Strange that in few places 4770K was ahead of 4790K

Rottenapple · Mar 17, 2015

hmmm... wish there were work application benchmarks, like 3ds max rendering, adobe photoshop, premiere etc.

Ikaruga · Mar 17, 2015

Easo said:
Strange that in few places 4770K was ahead of 4790K

Was wondering about the same! Why would be a 4770K faster than the 4790K if the conditions were the same, or what would be the point of the test if the conditions were different? I mean, it's obvious that the tests were all GPU bond, but still.. I'm curious.

radrok · Mar 17, 2015

Live OR Die said:
i run my 5930K @ 4.5Ghz still a large price to pay for a system that doesn't run any better than 4 year old tech LOL.

The only part that is worth in X99 lineup is the 5960X if you make use of those 8 cores which absolutely destroys 6 cores in multi threaded workloads.

Maybe the 5820K for affordable 6 cores too.

jsfitz54 · Mar 17, 2015

I liked your review. It's to the point. Thank you.

Jesse B · Mar 17, 2015

I love my 2500k, currently overclocked to 4.6GHz.

I eagerly await the next mainstream CPU that can give me a 25% speed improvement for a reasonable price of around $300. Sadly, I'll have to keep waiting a while longer. Maybe by the end of the year...

farjam · Mar 17, 2015

I think 3dmark11 score is not calculated in KB/s lol

Trompochi · Mar 17, 2015

Thanks a lot for this review! :lovetpu:

Mistral · Mar 17, 2015

Nice review. I wish I knew how those compare to the good old i7 920.

Ebo · Mar 18, 2015

Mistral said:
Nice review. I wish I knew how those compare to the good old i7 920.

they run in circles arround your I7 920 when crunching numbers and demanding tasks. In games not so much especially if you got a D0 CPU, then turn it up, and the old X58 platform has new life

Processor	Ryzen 7800X3D
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Processor	Core i7 3930k run at 4.4ghz
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Processor	8700k Intel
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Software	Windows 10 P

Processor	Ryzen 5800X
Motherboard	Asus TUF-Gaming B550-Plus
Cooling	Noctua NH-U14S
Memory	32GB G.Skill Trident Z Neo F4-3600C16D-32GTZNC
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Intel Core i7-5960X vs i7-5930K vs i7-5820K

MSnyder

Darksword

the54thvoid

Super Intoxicated Moderator

MikeMurphy

Hayder_Master

radrok

xkm1948

MSnyder

Ubersonic

Joss

Octopuss

Air

REAYTH

LiveOrDie

cbupdd

Easo

Rottenapple

New Member

Ikaruga

radrok

jsfitz54

Jesse B

New Member

farjam

Trompochi

Mistral

Ebo

Processor	AMD Ryzen 5600X
Motherboard	B550i AORUS PRO AX
Cooling	Noctua NH-D9L
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Video Card(s)	EVGA GTX 1070 SC
Storage	Samsung 980 Pro 1 Tb
Case	Ncase M1 V3
Power Supply	Corsair SF600 Gold
Benchmark Scores	CPU-Z: 655.8 single, 4999.7 multi Cinebench R23: 1563 single, 11275 multi

System Name	hijo de la chingada!
Processor	fx-8150
Motherboard	asus crosshair V
Cooling	xigmatek small fri
Memory	g skill sniper 1866
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Storage	a couple slow fat ones
Display(s)	2 one for tools one for "work"
Case	shinobi fap black
Audio Device(s)	on board
Power Supply	one that works, CrazyEyes ;)
Software	lots that i can color hello kitty with
Benchmark Scores	before fx-8150 P13784 3DMarks

Processor	Intel Core i9 10980XE @ 4.7Ghz 1.2v
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Memory	G.Skill Trident Z RGB F4-3000C14D 64GB
Video Card(s)	Asus ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4090 OC WC
Storage	M.2 990 Pro 1TB / 10TB WD RED Helium / 3x 860 2TB Evos
Display(s)	Samsung Odyssey G7 28"
Case	Corsair Obsidian 500D SE Modded
Power Supply	Cooler Master V Series 1300W
Software	Windows 11

System Name	HWM
Processor	i5 2500k @ 5.2GHz
Motherboard	Asrock extreme4 z77
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Storage	Samsung 830 128GB + Seagate 1TB
Display(s)	Lg 22" 1680x1050
Case	Nzxt lexa
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	TT 750W
Software	Win7 x64
Benchmark Scores	It can play crysis

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Memory	G.SKILL Trident Z5 RGB Black 32GB 6000MHz CL36 \\ 16GB DDR4-2400
Video Card(s)	ASUS RoG Strix 1070 Ti \\ Intel UHD Graphics 620
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Software	Windows 11 \\ Windows 10

Processor	Intel i7 970 // Intel i7 2600K
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