i7-3960X Extreme Edition vs Xeon E5-1660 v3
Aggregate performance score
Xeon E5-1660 v3 outperforms Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition by a considerable 41% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Xeon E5-1660 v3 and Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 943 | 1141 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Market segment | Server | Desktop processor |
| Series | no data | Intel Core i7EE |
| Power efficiency | 5.31 | 4.07 |
| Architecture codename | Haswell-EP (2014−2015) | Sandy Bridge (2011−2013) |
| Release date | 8 September 2014 (10 years ago) | 14 November 2011 (13 years ago) |
Detailed specifications
Xeon E5-1660 v3 and Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition 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 cores | 8 (Octa-Core) | 6 (Hexa-Core) |
| Threads | 16 | 12 |
| Base clock speed | 3 GHz | no data |
| Boost clock speed | 3.5 GHz | 3.3 GHz |
| Bus type | no data | DMI 2.0 |
| Bus rate | 0 GT/s | 5 GT/s |
| Multiplier | no data | 33 |
| L1 cache | 64K (per core) | no data |
| L2 cache | 256K (per core) | 1,536 KB |
| L3 cache | 20 MB (shared) | 15 MB |
| Chip lithography | 22 nm | 32 nm |
| Die size | 356 mm2 | 434.72 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | 66 °C | no data |
| Number of transistors | 2,600 million | 2270 Million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
| Unlocked multiplier | + | - |
Compatibility
Information on Xeon E5-1660 v3 and Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition 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 configuration | 1 | 1 (Uniprocessor) |
| Socket | FCLGA2011 | no data |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 140 Watt | 130 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon E5-1660 v3 and Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | Intel® AVX2 | no data |
| AES-NI | + | + |
| AVX | + | + |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | 2.0 | no data |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | + | no data |
| Idle States | + | no data |
| Thermal Monitoring | + | - |
| Flex Memory Access | - | no data |
| Demand Based Switching | + | no data |
| PAE | 46 Bit | no data |
Security technologies
Xeon E5-1660 v3 and Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | + | no data |
| EDB | + | no data |
| Secure Key | + | no data |
| Identity Protection | + | - |
| OS Guard | + | no data |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon E5-1660 v3 and Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition are enumerated here.
| VT-d | + | no data |
| VT-x | + | no data |
| EPT | + | no data |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon E5-1660 v3 and Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR4-1333, DDR4-1600, DDR4-1866, DDR4-2133 | no data |
| Maximum memory size | 768 GB | 64 GB |
| Max memory channels | 4 | no data |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 68 GB/s | no data |
| ECC memory support | + | - |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon E5-1660 v3 and Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition.
| PCIe version | 3.0 | 2.00 |
| PCI Express lanes | 40 | 40 |
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 7.89 | 5.61 |
| Recency | 8 September 2014 | 14 November 2011 |
| Physical cores | 8 | 6 |
| Threads | 16 | 12 |
| Chip lithography | 22 nm | 32 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 140 Watt | 130 Watt |
Xeon E5-1660 v3 has a 40.6% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, 33.3% more physical cores and 33.3% more threads, and a 45.5% more advanced lithography process.
i7-3960X Extreme Edition, on the other hand, has 7.7% lower power consumption.
The Xeon E5-1660 v3 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition in performance tests.
Be aware that Xeon E5-1660 v3 is a server/workstation processor while Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon E5-1660 v3 and Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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.
