Specifications

	i7-4960X	i7-4930K	i7-4820K	i7-3960X
Codename	Haswell	Ivy Bridge	Haswell	Ivy Bridge
Socket	LGA2011	LGA2011	LGA2011	LGA2011
Manufacturing	22 nm	22 nm	22 nm	32 nm
Transistors	1.86 Billion	1.86 Billion	1.86 Billion	2.27 Billion
Die-size	257 mm2	257 mm2	257 mm2	435 mm2
Clock	3.60 GHz (4.00 GHz Turbo)	3.40 GHz (3.90 GHz Turbo)	3.70 GHz (3.90 GHz Turbo)	3.30 GHz (Turbo 3.90 GHz)
Cores / Threads	6C / 12T	6C / 12T	4C / 8T	6C / 12T
Turbo	Yes (2.0)	Yes (2.0)	Yes (2.0)	Yes (2.0)
Bus Speed	100 MHz	100 MHz	100 MHz	100 MHz
Memory	DDR3-1866	DDR3-1866	DDR3-1866	DDR3-1600
Memory controller	Quad Channel	QuadChannel	QuadChannel	Quad Channel
L1 Execution Cache	32 KByte	32 KByte	32 KByte	32 KByte
L1 Data Cache	32 KByte	32 KByte	32 KByte	32 KByte
L2 Cache	256 KByte	256 KByte	256 KByte	256 KByte
L3 Cache	15 MB shared	12 MB shared	10 MB shared	15 MB shared
TDP	130 Watt	130 Watt	130Watt	130 Watt
C1E technology	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Enhanced Intel Speed Step	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Virtualisation	Vanderpool	Vanderpool	Vanderpool	Vanderpool
Instruction sets	MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AES, AVX, EM64T	MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AES, AVX, EM64T	MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AES, AVX, EM64T	MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4.2, AVX, AES, EM64T

Ivy Bridge-E

At launch Intel presents three new Ivy Bridge-E CPUs. There is a Core i7-4960X, a Core i7-4930K and a Core i7-4820K. The first is the extreme model which comes with 15 Megabyte of shared L3-Cache and an open multiplier. The 4930K ships with twelve Megabyte of cache and also an open multiplier. When it comes to the Core i7-4820K there were some more changes compared to the predecessor. Whereas the Core i7-3820 was a non-K CPU, which meant that it didn't feature an open multiplier, the 4820K will allow overclocking via multiplier. This as well as the fact, that there is a price tag of a about 300 US-Dollar makes the entry level HEDT Intel CPU the most interesting model in the new line-up. Therefore it's a pity that we haven't had this CPU for testing yet.



In direct comparison with the predecessor Sandy Bridge-E, the new Ivy Bridge-E processors die is significantly smaller. If you start searching for reasons, then you might remember, that before the launch there were lots of rumors, that said, the new Ivy Bridge-E CPU's will be based on a native hexacore design. It turns out these rumors were actually true. When Sandy Bridge-E was released about two years ago, there were quite a few people complaining that it's just a crippled Xeon CPU, where Intel deactivated parts of the cache as well as two cores. Ivy Bridge-E is not such a cripple CPU anymore, which is creating hope for overclockers, who have a tendency to believe in the golden sample. When it comes to size, and when we look at the sheer numbers, we see that the old CPU measured 435 mm² whereas the new one is only 257mm². Also the transistor count went down drastically from 2.26 billion to 1.86 billion.



And then there was the chipset. For end users it's basically a very good thing when a chip manufacturer such as Intel or AMD decides to not change the socket. Apparently, for obvious reasons. But still, the X79 has two issues. Already when it came out, people were complaining that two native SATA 6 Gbps ports are just not enough and apart from that there are only native USB 2.0 ports. These days, competition for Intel's X79 chipset is even tougher. With the Z87 chipset out there available in the market, there is a cheaper part, that offers native USB 3.0 ports as well as six SATA 6 Gbps ports. Looking at this circumstance from the perspective of somebody who just spent 1000 US-Dollar for a CPU and at least 300 US-Dollar for a board, to get a state of the art system, this is quite an odd situation - to put it in nice words. We would really love to see Intel further keeping the LGA2011 socket, but upgrading the X79 chipset.
Overall the only change you can find with Ivy Bridge-E is the fact, that the CPU's memory controller officially supports DDR3-1866 compared to DDR3-1600 you got with Sandy Bridge-E. Other than that no changes have been made. There are still 40 PCI-Express 3.0 lanes.

Page 1 - Introduction	Page 8 - SuperPi / WPrime
Page 2 - Specifications	Page 9 - WinRar
Page 3 - Test Setup	Page 10 - Crysis
Page 4 - Futuremark	Page 11 - Resident Evil 5
Page 5 - Cinebench	Page 12 - Street Fighter 4
Page 6 - SiSoft Sandra 1	Page 13 - Power consumption
Page 7 - SiSoft Sandra 2	Page 14 - Conclusion