i7-870 vs i7-3960X

Aggregate performance score

Core i7-3960X
2011
6 cores / 12 threads, 130 Watt
5.52
+169%

Core i7-3960X outperforms Core i7-870 by a whopping 169% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-3960X and Core i7-870 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking11661924
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation0.400.20
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
SeriesCore i7 (Desktop)no data
Power efficiency3.871.97
Architecture codenameSandy Bridge-E (2011−2013)Lynnfield (2009−2010)
Release date14 November 2011 (12 years ago)8 September 2009 (15 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$861$305

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

i7-3960X has 100% better value for money than i7-870.

Detailed specifications

Core i7-3960X and Core i7-870 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 GHz2.93 GHz
Boost clock speed3.9 GHz3.6 GHz
Bus rate5 GT/s2.5 GT/s
L1 cache64 KB (per core)64 KB (per core)
L2 cache256 KB (per core)256 KB (per core)
L3 cache15 MB (shared)8 MB (shared)
Chip lithography32 nm45 nm
Die size435 mm2296 mm2
Maximum core temperatureno data73 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)67 °Cno data
Number of transistors2,270 million774 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--
Unlocked multiplier+-

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-3960X and Core i7-870 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
SocketFCLGA2011FCLGA1156,LGA1156
Power consumption (TDP)130 Watt95 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-3960X and Core i7-870. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVXIntel® SSE4.2
AES-NI+-
AVX+-
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Turbo Boost Technology2.01.0
Hyper-Threading Technology++
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring+-
Smart Response+no data
Demand Based Switching--
PAEno data36 Bit

Security technologies

Core i7-3960X and Core i7-870 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT-+
EDB++
Identity Protection+-

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-3960X and Core i7-870 are enumerated here.

VT-d++
VT-x++
EPT++

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-3960X and Core i7-870. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR3
Maximum memory size64 GB16 GB
Max memory channels42
Maximum memory bandwidth51.2 GB/s21 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardno dataN/A

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-3960X and Core i7-870.

PCIe version2.02.0
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 5.52
+169%
i7-870 2.05

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.

i7-3960X 8446
+169%
i7-870 3137

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.

i7-3960X 668
+40.6%
i7-870 475

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.

i7-3960X 3218
+107%
i7-870 1555

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.

i7-3960X 5014
+25.1%
i7-870 4007

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.

i7-3960X 8330
+41.6%
i7-870 5881

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.

i7-3960X 11
+98.5%
i7-870 5

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

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

i7-3960X 1158
+133%
i7-870 497

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.

i7-3960X 159
+59%
i7-870 100

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.

i7-3960X 1.52
+27.7%
i7-870 1.19

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.

i7-3960X 5.2
+920%
i7-870 0.5

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.  

i7-3960X 55
+89%
i7-870 29

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.  

i7-3960X 173
+43%
i7-870 121

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.

i7-3960X 4205
+7.2%
i7-870 3923

3DMark Fire Strike Physics

i7-3960X 12460
+171%
i7-870 4590

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 5.52 2.05
Recency 14 November 2011 8 September 2009
Physical cores 6 4
Threads 12 8
Chip lithography 32 nm 45 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 130 Watt 95 Watt

i7-3960X has a 169.3% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, 50% more physical cores and 50% more threads, and a 40.6% more advanced lithography process.

i7-870, on the other hand, has 36.8% lower power consumption.

The Core i7-3960X is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i7-870 in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-3960X and Core i7-870, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

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 i7-870
Core i7-870

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.

Community ratings

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


3.8 73 votes

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

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
3.9 1101 vote

Rate Core i7-870 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about Core i7-3960X or Core i7-870, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.