All that tech talk is cool, what we really want to know is, how does this new CPU and platform perform versus the previous generations. What's the influence of Quad Channel ram, is it even worth it ? On this page we do a quick tests with the basic suite to get an idea how the 3960X performs out of the box.

All tested CPUs were equipped with Corsair Dominator rams running at 1600 C8-8-8-24 Command rate 1T (where possible) Either in dual, triple (X58) and finally a quadruple ram config for the 3960X. Graphical power comes from a GTX480 Nvidia GPU, running at reference clocks. Operating System of preference was Windows 7 Professional 64bit, with all updates and SP1 installed.

Let's start with our super single threaded SuperPi to already quickly find out if this latest Intel creation can keep up with it's predecessors. The other test in the two below charts is Wprime, reknown for loading all the available cores.

The 3960X immediately securing first spot in Superpi 1M and Wprime 32.  This platform is off to a good start. Superpi 1M is probably nicely aided by the Turbo boost feature. From all the Intels CPUs, the 3960X has got 3900Mhz to work with in single/dual core threaded apps. While the Gulftown i970 only get's one/two added multipliers. Our two Socket 1155 SandyBridge CPUs are limited at 3800Mhz. The Wprime 32 is crunched in a matter of a few secs. The 12 cores running at 3600Mhz each, thrash the competition. Similar outcome for the extended versions of SuperPi and Wprime. The 3960X not tolerating any competition, when all CPUs are ran out of the box. It's so sad to see the entire AMD lineup limping behind.

AIDA 64 results are surprisingly low for quad channel, either due to some issues with the software itself, even though it has been Sandybridge E certified. Or the Intel Siler board has serious issues somewhere, somehow as only AIDA software was detecting the correct timings and speeds for the rams. All the other software including CPU-Z latest 1.58.8 had erratic over the top readouts.

Cinebench release 10 64bit is still included in our test suite as we tested more older CPUs on it. We have tested the newer version on the next page, but only with a more recent CPU lineup. A great test, as output is reliable and it thoroughly tests single as multithreaded performance of our beloved silicon.

The 3960X again king of the pack, being fastest in the single and the multithreaded test. The new Intel socket 2011 packs some serious punch. The fusion between the hexacore and SandyBridge technology seems to be a winner in our synthetic test suite.

Encoding a video fragment with the X264 video codec is again completely dominated by the 3960X. The high core speed and 12 cores, are an encoders treat. Later on we run a few more rendering tests with POVRay and SpecPerview. Ofcourse we had to include Futuremarks 3dmark01 and 06. 3Dmark01 directly reveals this platform will not be a replacement for the initial Sandy Bridge CPU. The latter are still the fastest CPUs you can find to bench 3DMark01. We however spot a decent boost from the Gulftown CPU, but we are nowhere near the 2500K and 2600K CPUs. 3Dmark06 however sheds another light. The amount of cores, plus running them at a high speed, consolidates the first spot.

Mafia II and Far Cry 2 were tested at the 1280 x 1024 resolution, not intended to simulate a real world gaming scenario. I absolutely adore them real world scenario discussions amongst hardware purists, but to show any indication of CPU power you have to eliminate the graphics from the equation. So we dropped down massively in resolution and tested the games at just high detail setting without any filtering set.

The new X79 settling itself cosy and comfortably in between the socket 1155 SandyBridge CPUs and the aging socket 1366. Not bad at all, but we tests a few more games more thoroughly on the next pages.