The Core i7-6950X is Intel’s new top of the range prosumer CPU. This flagship model has a whopping ten cores with base and turbo frequencies of 3.0 and 4.0 GHz respectively. The 6950X is based on the 14 nm Broadwell-E architecture. It has a TDP of 140 watts, 40 PCIe 3.0 lanes and no integrated graphics. Because of its ridiculously high MSRP of around $2,000, this CPU only makes sense for very niche use cases which could include top end graphics design or video production workstations. Comparing the 6950X and 6700K shows that for typical desktop use the 6950X only offers a gain of around 20% for a whopping 6 fold price increase. This is because desktop computing largely depends on single core performance and the Skylake i7-6700K is both clocked higher and has higher IPC due to its one generation lead over the 6950X. That said, if you want the most powerful desktop processor money can buy, then the 6950X hits the spot. [Jun '16CPUPro]
Early Q3 of 2019 sees the release of the new Ryzen 5 3600X: a hex-core, 12-thread processor. AMD are releasing five new CPUs based on their latest Zen 2 microarchitecture which delivers approximately 13% better IPC than the previous 12nm Zen+. For workstation builds the 3600X is viable, however, the $200 USD Ryzen 5 3600 represents a far better value proposition. The additional $40 USD for the 3600X basically buys a better cooler (Spire vs Stealth). This allows for an extra 200 MHz of extra base and boost clock: 3.8 / 4.4 GHz on the 3600X vs 3.6 / 4.2 GHz on the 3600, this translates to approximately 2% higher overclocked performance for 20% more money. Neither of the stock coolers on the 3600 or 3600X are as effective as a $20 USD aftermarket cooler such as the Gammaxx 400. The 3600 with a Gammaxx 400 outperforms the 3600X with a Spire cooler and when both use a Gammaxx 400 they are more or less identical. The 3600X SKU is basically a marketing gimmick designed to milk unsuspecting consumers. Comparing the 3600X to Intel’s overclocked flagship i5-9600K shows that although the 3600X has 29% faster 64-core speed, it is around 11% worse for gaming (sub eight core performance). Additionally, the 3600X's memory controller, although significantly improved over previous Ryzen iterations, still has limited bandwidth and high latency which can also impact gaming. The arrival of Zen 2 marks the end of the "Sandy Bridge (i5-2500K)" era, Intel can no longer rely exclusively on their single-core advantage to dominate the market, they must also compete on price. [Jul '19CPUPro]
We calculate effective speed which measures real world performance for typical users. Effective speed is adjusted by current prices to yield a value for money rating. Our calculated values are checked against thousands of individual user ratings. The customizable table below combines these factors to bring you the definitive list of top CPUs. [CPUPro]
Welcome to our PC speed test tool. UserBenchmark will test your PC and compare the results to other users with the same components. You can quickly size up your PC, identify hardware problems and explore the best value for money upgrades.