Intel Core i7-3960X vs Core i7-3930K 3-way SLI Gaming-Performance
Category : 2014
Published by Hiwa Pouri on 25.07.14
Gamers are always curious to know what benefit they get from an expensive CPU in terms of frames per second. In this series of articles we will have a look at different CPUs, running at different clock speeds and with each article we will compare two CPUs. These CPUs will be place in a test system that's been equipped with no less than three high-end graphics cards in order to open the GPU bottleneck.
[pagebreak]
Test Setup
Hardware
|
Mainboard |
|
| CPUs |
- Intel Core i7-3960X @ Stock (Turbo On)
- Intel Core i7-3960X @ 4.5GHz (Turbo On)
- Intel Core i7-3930K @ Stock (Turbo On)
- Intel Core i7-3930K @ 4.5GHz (Turbo On)
|
|
Memory |
- 4x4GB Corsair Dominator Platinum @ CL9-9-9-24 1T DDR3-1600 MHz
|
|
Graphic Cards (Driver) |
-
3 x
ASUS GeForce GTX
780 DC2 OC @ 889 MHz /
1'500 MHz
|
| Drivers |
|
| Games and OS |
- Windows 7 x64 (Up to date
on the 25/07/2013
- All
games were up to date on the 25/07/2013)
|
|
HDD |
- OCZ Technology Octane 512 GB SSD
|
PSU
|
- Seasonic Patinum SS-1000XP / 1000 Watts
|
[pagebreak]
3DMark - Fire Strike
| Overall Score |
Points |
Scaling |
| Intel Core i7-3960X Stock |
16'587 |
100.82 % |
| Intel Core i7-3960X 4.5G |
18'890 |
114.82 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K Stock |
16'452 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K 4.5G |
18'740 |
113.91 % |
| |
More is better |
| GPU Score |
Points |
Scaling |
| Intel Core i7-3960X Stock |
25'147 |
100.40 % |
| Intel Core i7-3960X 4.5G |
25'204 |
100.63 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K Stock |
25'047 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K 4.5G |
25'175 |
100.51 % |
| |
More is better |
[pagebreak]
Unigine Heaven 4.0 Extreme Preset
| Basic Preset |
Points |
Scaling |
| Intel Core i7-3960X Stock |
6'718 |
101.17 % |
| Intel Core i7-3960X 4.5G |
6'854 |
103.22 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K Stock |
6'640 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K 4.5G |
6'700 |
100.90 % |
| |
More is better |
| Extreme Preset |
Points |
Scaling |
| Intel Core i7-3960X Stock |
3'789 |
100.11 % |
| Intel Core i7-3960X 4.5G |
4'020 |
106.21 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K Stock |
3'785 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K 4.5G |
3'805 |
100.53 % |
| |
More is better |
[pagebreak]
BattleField 4
| 1280 x 1024, Low
details |
fps |
Scaling |
| Intel Core i7-3960X Stock |
158.27 |
105.81 % |
| Intel Core i7-3960X 4.5G |
165.29 |
110.50 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K Stock |
149.58 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K 4.5G |
151.87 |
101.53 % |
| |
More is better |
| 1920 x 1080, max
details, max AA, max AF |
fps |
Scaling |
| Intel Core i7-3960X Stock |
104.27 |
104.05 % |
| Intel Core i7-3960X 4.5G |
116.32 |
116.08 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K Stock |
100.21 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K 4.5G |
111.35 |
111.12 % |
| |
More is better |
[pagebreak]
BattleField 3
| 1280 x 1024, Low
details |
fps |
Scaling |
| Intel Core i7-3960X Stock |
176.87 |
103.29 % |
| Intel Core i7-3960X 4.5G |
190.20 |
111.07 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K Stock |
171.24 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K 4.5G |
184.97 |
108.02 % |
| |
More is better |
| 1920 x 1080, max
details, max AA, max AF |
fps |
Scaling |
| Intel Core i7-3960X Stock |
110.21 |
100.37 % |
| Intel Core i7-3960X 4.5G |
131.25 |
119.53 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K Stock |
109.80 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K 4.5G |
119.24 |
108.60 % |
| |
More is better |
[pagebreak]
Bioshock Infinite - Benchmark
| 1280 x 1024, Low
details |
fps |
Scaling |
| Intel Core i7-3960X Stock |
246.40 |
111.50 % |
| Intel Core i7-3960X 4.5G |
297.20 |
134.49 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K Stock |
220.99 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K 4.5G |
283.87 |
120.62 % |
| |
More is better |
| 1920 x 1080, max
details, max AA, max AF |
fps |
Scaling |
| Intel Core i7-3960X Stock |
233.36 |
110.84 % |
| Intel Core i7-3960X 4.5G |
285.76 |
135.73 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K Stock |
210.54 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K 4.5G |
277.67 |
131.88 % |
| |
More is better |
[pagebreak]
Crysis 3
| 1280 x 1024, Low
details |
fps |
Scaling |
| Intel Core i7-3960X Stock |
125.21 |
100.27 % |
| Intel Core i7-3960X 4.5G |
153.48 |
122.91 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K Stock |
124.87 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K 4.5G |
150.43 |
120.47 % |
| |
More is better |
| 1920 x 1080, max
details, max AA, max AF |
fps |
Scaling |
| Intel Core i7-3960X Stock |
89.50 |
102.05 % |
| Intel Core i7-3960X 4.5G |
90.10 |
102.73 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K Stock |
87.70 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K 4.5G |
89.05 |
101.54 % |
| |
More is better |
[pagebreak]
Call of Duty Black Ops 2
| 1280 x 1024, Low
details |
fps |
Scaling |
| Intel Core i7-3960X Stock |
390.60 |
101.28 % |
| Intel Core i7-3960X 4.5G |
606.73 |
157.33 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K Stock |
385.65 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K 4.5G |
601.35 |
155.93 % |
| |
More is better |
| 1920 x 1080, max
details, max AA, max AF |
fps |
Scaling |
| Intel Core i7-3960X Stock |
287.74 |
122.44 % |
| Intel Core i7-3960X 4.5G |
301.94 |
128.49 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K Stock |
235.00 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K 4.5G |
280.32 |
119.26 % |
| |
More is better |
[pagebreak]
Sleeping Dogs - Benchmark
| 1280 x 1024, Low
details |
fps |
Scaling |
| Intel Core i7-3960X Stock |
182.20 |
107.30 % |
| Intel Core i7-3960X 4.5G |
217.50 |
128.01 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K Stock |
169.80 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K 4.5G |
178.20 |
104.95 % |
| |
More is better |
| 1920 x 1080, max
details, max AA, max AF |
fps |
Scaling |
| Intel Core i7-3960X Stock |
68.90 |
100.06 % |
| Intel Core i7-3960X 4.5G |
114.90 |
166.86 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K Stock |
68.86 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K 4.5G |
109.54 |
159.08 % |
| |
More is better |
[pagebreak]
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
| 1280 x 720, Low details |
fps |
Scaling |
| Intel Core i7-3960X Stock |
264.42 |
100.78 % |
| Intel Core i7-3960X 4.5G |
332.82 |
126.85 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K Stock |
262.38 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K 4.5G |
319.35 |
125.87 % |
| |
More is better |
| 1920 x 1080, All set to
Max |
fps |
Scaling |
| Intel Core i7-3960X Stock |
129.03 |
108.08 % |
| Intel Core i7-3960X 4.5G |
144.39 |
120.95 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K Stock |
119.38 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K 4.5G |
135.68 |
113.65 % |
| |
More is better |
[pagebreak]
Metro: Last Light - Benchmark
| 1280 x 1024,
Preset low |
fps |
Scaling |
| Intel Core i7-3960X Stock |
132.50 |
106.27 % |
| Intel Core i7-3960X 4.5G |
161.50 |
129.53 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K Stock |
124.68 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K 4.5G |
146.22 |
117.28 % |
| |
More is better |
| 1920 x 1080, Preset
high |
fps |
Scaling |
| Intel Core i7-3960X Stock |
71.20 |
109.59 % |
| Intel Core i7-3960X 4.5G |
74.10 |
114.05 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K Stock |
64.97 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K 4.5G |
67.70 |
104.20 % |
| |
More is better |
[pagebreak]
Power
Consumption
| idle |
Watt |
Index |
| Intel Core i7-3960X Stock |
178 |
114.84 % |
| Intel Core i7-3960X 4.5G |
250 |
161.29 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K Stock |
155 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K 4.5G |
228 |
147.10 % |
| |
less is better |
| Furmark |
Watt |
Index |
| Intel Core i7-3960X Stock |
820 |
103.14 % |
| Intel Core i7-3960X 4.5G |
955 |
120.13 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K Stock |
795 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K 4.5G |
948 |
119.25 % |
| |
less is
better |
[pagebreak]
Performance Index
| Low |
Index |
| Intel Core i7-3960X Stock |
104.56 % |
| Intel Core i7-3960X 4.5G |
127.59 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K Stock |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K 4.5G |
120.15 % |
| |
More is better |
| High |
Index |
| Intel Core i7-3960X Stock |
107.19 % |
| Intel Core i7-3960X 4.5G |
125.55 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K Stock |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-3930K 4.5G |
118.67 % |
| |
More is better |
[pagebreak]
Conclusion
Having a closer look at the results we gathered
while testing eight different
games and two different benchmarks with two different presets, we see that the
Intel Core i7-3960X, with our "low-preset" is on average 5 percent faster than the
Core i7-3930K. Switching to our "high-preset" makes the Intel Core
i7-3960X
become 7 percent quicker than the Core i7-3930K. Overclocking the Intel Core
i7-3960X to 4.5 GHz makes the performance with our "low-preset" go up by
22 percent and when it comes to the high-preset the increase in performance is
17 percent. Regarding the Core i7-3930K the
situation is a little bit different: 20 percent gain with "low-preset" and
19 percent
with "high-preset". Other than that a quick look at power consumption
is also interesting. In this case we see that overclocking the Core
i7-3960X to 4.5 GHz makes power consumption of our system go up by 40 percent. With the
Core i7-3930K we see there is an additional 47
percent needed.
In the past we've been testing the same system equipped with one as well as two high-end
single GPU graphics cards. Especially with one GPU and in case of our high-preset the graphics
card is then going to be the limiting factor, meaning changing the CPU or even
overclocking processors doesn't make for a decent performance difference. As
soon as we're adding a second or even a third high-end graphics card, the bottleneck regarding
graphics cards is open and overclocking CPU architecture as well as CPU clocks
will make a difference even with the high preset.
Usually we add a recommendation at this point where we're talking about whether
upgrading would make sense or not. In case of the CPUs tested here, there is
simply no point in talking about this, since upgrading to a Core i7-3960X, if
you already have a an i7-3930K is nonsense and a complete waste of money. If
you've put some money aside, we highly recommend to wait for Intels upcoming
i7-5000 Series CPUs.
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