Core i7-4790K vs Core i7-3960X

#ad
Buy on Amazon
VS

Aggregated performance score

Core i7-3960X
2011
6 cores / 12 threads
5.43
+4%
Core i7-4790K
2014
4 cores / 8 threads
5.22

Core i7-3960X outperforms Core i7-4790K by 4% based on our aggregated benchmark results.

General info

Comparing Core i7-3960X and Core i7-4790K processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking10701101
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Value for money1.302.20
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
SeriesCore i7 (Desktop)Core i7 (Desktop)
Architecture codenameSandy Bridge-E (2011−2013)Devil's Canyon
Release date14 November 2011 (12 years ago)June 2014 (9 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$861$339
Current price$301 (0.3x MSRP)$164 (0.5x MSRP)

Value for money

Performance per price, higher is better.

i7-4790K has 69% better value for money than i7-3960X.

Technical specs

Core i7-3960X and Core i7-4790K basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.

Physical cores6 (Hexa-Core)4 (Quad-Core)
Threads128
Base clock speed3.3 GHz4 GHz
Boost clock speed3.9 GHz4.4 GHz
L1 cache64 KB (per core)64K (per core)
L2 cache256 KB (per core)256K (per core)
L3 cache15 MB (shared)8 MB (shared)
Chip lithography32 nm22 nm
Die size435 mm2177 mm2
Maximum core temperature67 °C74 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)67 °C72 °C
Number of transistors2,270 million1,400 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--
Unlocked multiplierYesYes

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-3960X and Core i7-4790K compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.

Number of CPUs in a configuration11
SocketFCLGA2011FCLGA1150
Power consumption (TDP)130 Watt88 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-3960X and Core i7-4790K. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVXIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2
AES-NI++
AVX++
vProno data+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
My WiFino data+
Turbo Boost Technology2.02.0
Hyper-Threading Technology++
TSXno data-
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring++
SIPPno data-
Smart Response+no data
Demand Based Switching-no data
FDIno data+
StatusDiscontinuedDiscontinued

Security technologies

Core i7-3960X and Core i7-4790K technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT-+
EDB++
Secure Keyno data+
Identity Protection++
OS Guardno data+
Anti-Theftno data+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-3960X and Core i7-4790K are enumerated here.

AMD-Vno data+
VT-d++
VT-x++
EPT++

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-3960X and Core i7-4790K. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR3
Maximum memory size64 GB32 GB
Max memory channels42
Maximum memory bandwidth51.2 GB/s25.6 GB/s
ECC memory support--

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardno dataIntel HD Graphics 4600
Max video memoryno data2 GB
Quick Sync Videono data+
Clear Video HDno data+
Graphics max frequencyno data1.25 GHz
Execution Unitsno data20
InTru 3Dno data+

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-3960X and Core i7-4790K integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supportedno data3
eDPno data+
DisplayPortno data+
HDMIno data+
DVIno data+
VGAno data+

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i7-3960X and Core i7-4790K integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

Max resolution over HDMI 1.4no data3840x2160@24Hz
Max resolution over eDPno data3840x2160@60Hz
Max resolution over DisplayPortno data3840x2160@60Hz
Max resolution over VGAno data1920x1200@60Hz

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i7-3960X and Core i7-4790K integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectXno data11.2/12
OpenGLno data4.3

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-3960X and Core i7-4790K.

PCIe version2.03.0
PCI Express lanes4016

Synthetic benchmark performance

Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

i7-3960X 5.43
+4%
i7-4790K 5.22

Core i7-3960X outperforms Core i7-4790K by 4% based on our aggregated benchmark results.


Passmark

Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance.

Benchmark coverage: 68%

i7-3960X 8401
+4.1%
i7-4790K 8069

Core i7-3960X outperforms Core i7-4790K by 4% in Passmark.

GeekBench 5 Single-Core

GeekBench 5 Single-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses only a single CPU core.

Benchmark coverage: 42%

i7-3960X 688
i7-4790K 1388
+102%

Core i7-4790K outperforms Core i7-3960X by 102% in GeekBench 5 Single-Core.

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses all available CPU cores.

Benchmark coverage: 42%

i7-3960X 3350
i7-4790K 4389
+31%

Core i7-4790K outperforms Core i7-3960X by 31% in GeekBench 5 Multi-Core.

Cinebench 10 32-bit single-core

Cinebench R10 is an ancient ray tracing benchmark for processors by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. Its single core version uses just one CPU thread to render a futuristic looking motorcycle.

Benchmark coverage: 20%

i7-3960X 5014
i7-4790K 6520
+30%

Core i7-4790K outperforms Core i7-3960X by 30% in Cinebench 10 32-bit single-core.

Cinebench 10 32-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 10 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R10 using all the processor threads. Possible number of threads is limited by 16 in this version.

Benchmark coverage: 19%

i7-3960X 27190
+8.4%
i7-4790K 25082

Core i7-3960X outperforms Core i7-4790K by 8% in Cinebench 10 32-bit multi-core.

3DMark06 CPU

3DMark06 is a discontinued DirectX 9 benchmark suite from Futuremark. Its CPU part contains two scenarios, one dedicated to artificial intelligence pathfinding, another to game physics using PhysX package.

Benchmark coverage: 19%

i7-3960X 8330
i7-4790K 9485
+13.9%

Core i7-4790K outperforms Core i7-3960X by 14% in 3DMark06 CPU.

wPrime 32

wPrime 32M is a math multi-thread processor test, which calculates square roots of first 32 million integer numbers. Its result is measured in seconds, so that the less is benchmark result, the faster the processor.

Benchmark coverage: 18%

i7-3960X 5.12
+16%
i7-4790K 5.94

Core i7-4790K outperforms Core i7-3960X by 16% in wPrime 32.

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 11.5 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R11.5 which uses all the processor threads. A maximum of 64 threads is supported in this version.

Benchmark coverage: 17%

i7-3960X 11
+15.1%
i7-4790K 9

Core i7-3960X outperforms Core i7-4790K by 15% in Cinebench 11.5 64-bit multi-core.

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 15 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R15 which uses all the processor threads.

Benchmark coverage: 15%

i7-3960X 1158
+36.9%
i7-4790K 846

Core i7-3960X outperforms Core i7-4790K by 37% in Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core.

Cinebench 15 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R15 (standing for Release 15) is a benchmark made by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version (sometimes called Single-Thread) only uses a single processor thread to render a room full of reflective spheres and light sources.

Benchmark coverage: 15%

i7-3960X 159
i7-4790K 174
+9.4%

Core i7-4790K outperforms Core i7-3960X by 9% in Cinebench 15 64-bit single-core.

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R11.5 is an old benchmark by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version loads a single thread with ray tracing to render a glossy room full of crystal spheres and light sources.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

i7-3960X 1.52
i7-4790K 1.95
+28.3%

Core i7-4790K outperforms Core i7-3960X by 28% in Cinebench 11.5 64-bit single-core.

TrueCrypt AES

TrueCrypt is a discontinued piece of software that was widely used for on-the-fly-encryption of disk partitions, now superseded by VeraCrypt. It contains several embedded performance tests, one of them being TrueCrypt AES, which measures data encryption speed using AES algorithm. Result is encryption speed in gigabytes per second.

Benchmark coverage: 13%

i7-3960X 5.2
+4%
i7-4790K 5

Core i7-3960X outperforms Core i7-4790K by 4% in TrueCrypt AES.

WinRAR 4.0

WinRAR 4.0 is an outdated version of a popular file archiver. It contains an internal speed test, using 'Best' setting of RAR compression on large chunks of randomly generated data. Its results are measured in kilobytes per second.

Benchmark coverage: 13%

i7-3960X 4205
i7-4790K 5534
+31.6%

Core i7-4790K outperforms Core i7-3960X by 32% in WinRAR 4.0.

x264 encoding pass 1

x264 version 4.0 is a video encoding benchmark uses MPEG 4 x264 compression method to compress a sample HD (720p) video. Pass 1 is a faster variant that produces a constant bit rate output file. Its result is measured in frames per second, which means how many frames of the source video file were encoded per second.  

Benchmark coverage: 13%

i7-3960X 173
i7-4790K 189
+9.3%

Core i7-4790K outperforms Core i7-3960X by 9% in x264 encoding pass 1.

x264 encoding pass 2

x264 Pass 2 is a slower variant of x264 video compression that produces a variable bit rate output file, which results in better quality since the higher bit rate is used when it is needed more. Benchmark result is still measured in frames per second.  

Benchmark coverage: 13%

i7-3960X 55
+6.3%
i7-4790K 52

Core i7-3960X outperforms Core i7-4790K by 6% in x264 encoding pass 2.

3DMark Fire Strike Physics

Benchmark coverage: 4%

i7-3960X 12460
+16.4%
i7-4790K 10700

Core i7-3960X outperforms Core i7-4790K by 16% in 3DMark Fire Strike Physics.

Gaming performance

Advantages and disadvantages


Performance score 5.43 5.22
Recency 14 November 2011 on June 2014
Physical cores 6 4
Threads 12 8
Cost $861 $339
Chip lithography 32 nm 22 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 130 Watt 88 Watt

We couldn't decide between Core i7-3960X and Core i7-4790K. The differences in performance seem too small.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-3960X and Core i7-4790K, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite CPU.


Intel Core i7-3960X
Core i7-3960X
Intel Core i7-4790K
Core i7-4790K

Similar processor comparisons

We picked several similar comparisons of processors in the same market segment and performance relatively close to those reviewed on this page.

User Ratings

Here you can see how users rate the processors, as well as rate them yourself.


4 58 votes

Rate Core i7-3960X on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
4.3 2202 votes

Rate Core i7-4790K on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions and comments

Here you can ask a question about Core i7-3960X or Core i7-4790K, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.