Legit Processor Reviews
Intel Core i7-3960X Sandy Bridge-E Processor Review
| Manufacturer: | Intel |
| Product: | Intel Core i7-3960X CPU |
| Date: | Mon, Nov 14, 2011 - 02:00 AM |
| Written By: | Nathan Kirsch - |
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The Intel X79 Express Chipset & DX79SI Mobo
In order to understand the Intel X79 platform it is best to take a look at the motherboard chipset that is going to be used.
The Intel X79 Express looks familiar as it is very similar to the Intel Z68 Express Chipset that is shown below. The main difference between the two platforms is, of course, the sockets. The Intel X79 platform only supports LGA2011 Sandy Bridge-E processors and those processors have 40 lanes of PCI Express 3.0 links capable of 8.0 GT/s, and 4 lanes of DMI2/PCI Express 2.0 interface with a peak transfer rate of 5.0 GT/s. Intel doesn't come out and say this board supports PCI Express 3.0 video cards, but once those cards hit the retail market we expect this board to be fully compliant.
The Intel X79 chipset supports Quad Channel DDR3 Memory architecture, so expect to see ~40GB/s of memory bandwidth on new systems using this platform! Intel has updated their Rapid Storage Technology, but we haven't gotten a chance to try it out, yet. The Intel RSTe 3.0 driver package was designed with a default setting that was optimized for additional data protection needed for data center storage configurations. The software is still in the early stages and the official release of the Intel RSTe 3.0 driver package is trending to WW49 (week of Nov. 28th). Speaking of storage, Intel does not offer Smart Response Technology (SSD Caching) on the X79 chipset.
The Intel X79 Express chipset supports 40 lanes PCI Express 2.0 for the Graphics, while the Intel Z68 Express supports only 16 Lanes for the Graphics. This means that while the Intel Z68 platform can run dual graphics, the Intel X79 Express Chipset will support up to five graphics cards in a 1x16, 2x8, and 2x4 configuration. One of the features that was not included on the Intel X79 platform is the Intel Smart Response Technology. We aren't terribly surprised that it isn't included; after all, if you are paying $999.00 for the Intel Core i7 3960X you will likely be using a good sized SSD for your boot drive.
Intel sent over the DX79SI 'Siler' motherboard, which is their top end X79 motherboard. This board will be priced between $280 and $300 when it hits the retail market, which makes it priced on the lower end of the spectrum from what we can tell.
This board is packed full of features like 8 DDR3 DIMM slots, dual Intel Gigabit LAN and support for both NVIDIA SLI and AMD Crossfire multi-GPU setups.
The PCI Express slots are spaced far enough apart that you can run three double slot graphics cards on the board at the same time for 3-way SLI or CrossFire as well!
Expect to see more about this board when we fully review it at a later date!
Next Page - 32 in 32 Promotional Unboxing
| Review Index |
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Page 1 - Intel Sandy Bridge-E LGA 2011 CPUs Arrive
Page 2 - The Intel X79 Express Chipset & DX79SI Mobo Page 3 - 32 in 32 Promotional Unboxing Page 4 - The Test System Page 5 - SiSoftware Sandra 2011 SP5 Page 6 - x264 HD Encoding Page 7 - CyberLink MediaEspresso 6.5 Page 8 - Handbrake Page 9 - POV-Ray 3.7 RC3 Page 10 - Cinebench R11.5 Page 11 - PCMark 7 Page 12 - 3DMark Vantage Page 13 - Resident Evil 5 Page 14 - H.A.W.X. 2 Benchmark Page 15 - S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat Page 16 - Total System Power Consumption Page 17 - Intel Core i7-3960X CPU Air Temp Testing Page 18 - Intel Core i7-3960X CPU Water Temp Testing Page 19 - Core i7-3960X CPU Overclocking Page 20 - Final Thoughts and Conclusions |
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