Xeon E3-1280 v5 vs i7-3960X

Aggregate performance score

Core i7-3960X
2011
6 cores / 12 threads, 130 Watt
5.34
+0.6%
Xeon E3-1280 v5
2015
4 cores / 8 threads, 80 Watt
5.31

Core i7-3960X outperforms Xeon E3-1280 v5 by a minimal 1% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-3960X and Xeon E3-1280 v5 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking11701173
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation0.371.80
Market segmentDesktop processorServer
SeriesCore i7 (Desktop)Intel Xeon E3
Power efficiency3.876.26
Architecture codenameSandy Bridge-E (2011−2013)Skylake-S (2015)
Release date14 November 2011 (13 years ago)19 October 2015 (9 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$861$612

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Xeon E3-1280 v5 has 386% better value for money than i7-3960X.

Detailed specifications

Core i7-3960X and Xeon E3-1280 v5 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 GHz3.7 GHz
Boost clock speed3.9 GHz4 GHz
Bus typeno dataDMI 3.0
Bus rate5 GT/s4 × 8 GT/s
Multiplierno data37
L1 cache64 KB (per core)256 KB
L2 cache256 KB (per core)1 MB
L3 cache15 MB (shared)8 MB (shared)
Chip lithography32 nm14 nm
Die size435 mm2122 mm2
Maximum case temperature (TCase)67 °Cno data
Number of transistors2,270 million1,400 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--
Unlocked multiplier+-

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-3960X and Xeon E3-1280 v5 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 (Uniprocessor)
SocketFCLGA2011FCLGA1151
Power consumption (TDP)130 Watt80 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-3960X and Xeon E3-1280 v5. 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)++
Turbo Boost Technology2.02.0
Hyper-Threading Technology++
TSX-+
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring++
Smart Response+no data
Demand Based Switching-no data

Security technologies

Core i7-3960X and Xeon E3-1280 v5 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT-+
EDB++
Secure Keyno data+
MPX-+
Identity Protection+-
SGXno dataYes with both Intel® SPS and Intel® ME
OS Guardno data+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-3960X and Xeon E3-1280 v5 are enumerated here.

AMD-V-+
VT-d++
VT-x++
EPT++

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-3960X and Xeon E3-1280 v5. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR3, DDR4
Maximum memory size64 GB64 GB
Max memory channels42
Maximum memory bandwidth51.2 GB/s34.134 GB/s
ECC memory support-+

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i7-3960X and Xeon E3-1280 v5 integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

Max resolution over HDMI 1.4no dataN/A
Max resolution over eDPno dataN/A
Max resolution over DisplayPortno dataN/A
Max resolution over VGAno dataN/A

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i7-3960X and Xeon E3-1280 v5 integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectXno dataN/A
OpenGLno dataN/A

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-3960X and Xeon E3-1280 v5.

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 5.34
+0.6%
Xeon E3-1280 v5 5.31

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 8445
+0.5%
Xeon E3-1280 v5 8407

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
Xeon E3-1280 v5 1297
+94.2%

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
Xeon E3-1280 v5 4430
+37.7%

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
Xeon E3-1280 v5 8470
+1.7%

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.

i7-3960X 5.12
+85.5%
Xeon E3-1280 v5 9.5

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
+18.1%
Xeon E3-1280 v5 9

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
+42.1%
Xeon E3-1280 v5 815

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
Xeon E3-1280 v5 163
+2.5%

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
Xeon E3-1280 v5 1.92
+26.3%

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
+15.6%
Xeon E3-1280 v5 4.5

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
+8.1%
Xeon E3-1280 v5 51

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
Xeon E3-1280 v5 188
+8.4%

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
Xeon E3-1280 v5 5224
+24.2%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 5.34 5.31
Recency 14 November 2011 19 October 2015
Physical cores 6 4
Threads 12 8
Chip lithography 32 nm 14 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 130 Watt 80 Watt

i7-3960X has a 0.6% higher aggregate performance score, and 50% more physical cores and 50% more threads.

Xeon E3-1280 v5, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 3 years, a 128.6% more advanced lithography process, and 62.5% lower power consumption.

Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between Core i7-3960X and Xeon E3-1280 v5.

Note that Core i7-3960X is a desktop processor while Xeon E3-1280 v5 is a server/workstation one.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-3960X and Xeon E3-1280 v5, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Core i7-3960X
Core i7-3960X
Intel Xeon E3-1280 v5
Xeon E3-1280 v5

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Community ratings

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