Intel i7 3960X EE / Asus P9X79 Deluxe / 32GB Corsair Vengeance (1600mhz) Review

1. Introduction2. Intel i7 3960x Extreme Edition3. Intel Active Thermal Solution (RTS2011LC)4. Intel i7 3960x & RTS2011LC (Super High Res Gallery)5. Corsair 32GB Vengeance (1600mhz) DDR36. Corsair 32GB Vengeance (Super High Res Gallery)7. Intel DX79SL Extreme Series Motherboard8. Intel DX79SL Extreme Series (Super High Res Gallery)9. Asus P9X79 Deluxe Motherboard10. Asus P9X79 Deluxe (Super High Res Gallery)11. Testing Methodology12. Synthetic: PCMark 713. Synthetic: 3DMark Vantage14. Synthetic: 3DMark 1115. Synthetic: SiSoft Sandra16. Synthetic: Cinebench R11.5 64 bit17. Synthetic: SSD Performance18. Image Quality: HQV Benchmark19. Real World: 3D Rendering20. Real World: Media Encoding21. Technical: Bios & Overclocking22. Overclocking Results: Cinebench23. Overclocking Results: SiSoft Sandra24. Overclocking Results: Media Encoding25. Overclocking Results: PCMark 726. Overclocking Results: 3DMark 1127. Overclocking Results: Gaming Performance28. Technical: Power Consumption29. Closing Thoughts30. View All Pages

Asus P9X79 Deluxe Motherboard

Asus have a fantastic reputation for creating some of the finest motherboards available to the enthusiast audience. I have been very impressed with their latest P9X79 Deluxe motherboard since I started testing some time ago. The UEFI bios is fully featured, intuitive and capable of achieving some fantastic, stable, overclocked speeds.

Particularly impressive is the Digi Power section of the bios, which can often help to enhance system stability in high overclocked situations, when all else fails. If we used a hardcore watercooling solution we are positive that 5ghz+ would have been possible from the 3960X EE. As it is, the compact and affordable ‘all in one liquid cooler' was able to hit a stable clock of 4.9ghz, although with the voltage required it wouldn't be feasible long term.

Memory support is also flawless and we achieved almost 40GB/s of memory bandwidth with 32GB of 1600mhz Corsair DDR3 installed. We later checked and found that it posted perfectly fine with 2133mhz memory, if you want even more performance from the system. We will focus on 2,400mhz DDR3 testing with another ASUS motherboard in a separate X79 launch review today.

In regards to connectivity, we have no complaints regarding the P9X79 Deluxe motherboard – it is fully loaded and SATA 3 performance was as good as we have experienced with other high end systems.

ASUS have informed us that pricing for the P9X79 Deluxe will be around £279.99 in the UK, so the price tag clearly reflects the luxury ‘deluxe' status. That said, we feel it offers good value, especially when factoring in the feature list, overclocking capabilities and exceptionally powerful bios configuration.

Pros:

• UEFI bios is fully featured.
• Stable when pushed very hard.
• Great memory support and bandwidth results.
• Solid board layout.

Cons:

• It isn't cheap.

Kitguru says: A fantastic partner motherboard for the Core i7 3960X Extreme Edition and works well with a wide variety of memory modules, even in a 32GB configuration.

Intel Core i7 3960X Extreme Edition Processor

I use the X58 platform on a regular basis, between multi monitor work based environments and for bursts of gaming …. on the rare occasion that I manage to get some downtime that is. Intel's 970, 980X and 990X have been personal favourites of mine now for some time, but X58 was long overdue a refresh. We can safely say that the Core i7 3960X Extreme Edition has rewritten the performance charts, even before we get to overclocking.

Intel are promoting the new X79 platform as a ‘master of all trades', and we fail to find a valid argument against this. It can not only outperform any system on the market when it comes to gaming prowess, but for more serious duties such as 3D rendering and video encoding it is without question, in a class of its own.

While the Core architecture is both efficient and brutally powerful on a clock per core basis, the quad channel memory architecture is responsible for further enhancing the overall system performance. SiSoft Sandra gives an indication of almost 40 GB/s of bandwidth available from this 1600mhz Quad channel configuration, which is roughly double the performance of the previous generation at the same clock speed.

Overclocking the Core i7 3960X EE is relatively easy, with our sample needing a little more ‘Digi Power' bios tuning after pushing past 4.7ghz. Intel supplied a reference sheet with their DX79SI motherboard which said it should only need around 1.44 volts to achieve 4.8ghz, but all chips will vary, even from within the same batch.

Achieving 4.7ghz with our sample only required 1.41 volts and we would probably run this CPU at that speed 24/7. It really will depend on your cooling solution, but there is definitely plenty of headroom in the right hands, even with a mainstream ‘all in one' liquid cooler. In the hands of the hardcore overclockers we are sure that some crazy, yet stable 5.2ghz+ speeds will be possible.

AMD have unfortunately not released a solution to target this ultra high end enthusiast sector and we are left with the latest FX 8150 Black Edition, which in reality fails to even outclass Intel's ‘mainstream high end' Core i7 2600k or 2700k. That said, we were surprised to see that the FX 8150 could actually demand more watts at the socket than this i7 3960X EE, depending on the settings.

UK pricing has not yet been confirmed for the i7 3960X Extreme Edition, but as we said earlier in the review, we would make an educated guess around £800 inc vat. Sure its expensive, but like the last generation 970, 980X and 990X this new chip redefines the ultra high end enthusiast market. A selection of the enthusiast audience will be willing to pay for this.

Pros:

• Sets a new performance level.
• Great overclocking capabilities, only limited by the cooling solution.
• Quad Channel memory architecture is a significant new technology.
• Ideal for 3D Rendering and video encoding.
• Power consumption demands are relatively modest at reference settings.

Cons:

• It is a significant financial investment.

Kitguru says: If performance is your primary concern then the Core i7 3960X EE should be right at the top of your shortlist.

32GB Corsair Vengeance Memory

If you are building a new Core i7 3960X EE system and want a very high memory count, then it doesn't have to cost a fortune. An 8GB kit of Corsair Vengeance 1600mhz CL9 memory is currently on offer for less than half price at Amazon, retailing for only £41 including VAT. To fully populate the Asus P9X79 Deluxe motherboard with 32GB of memory will cost only £164 inc vat (free delivery). It really is hard to believe because I can remember a time when 4GB of memory cost more than this.

Four of the 8GB Corsair Vengeance memory bundles works flawlessly with the Asus P9X79 Deluxe motherboard and delivers almost 40 GB/s of memory bandwith in a Quad channel configuration … more than enough for even the most demanding 3D rendering and video encoding tasks.

Pros:

• Inexpensive.
• good heatspreader design.
• work great with this Asus P9X79 Deluxe motherboard.
• Stable.

Cons:

• There are faster options if you spend more money.

Kitguru says: A really inexpensive option if you need a high memory count for serious duties.

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