UserBenchmark: Intel Core i7-3960X vs i7-8700K

CPU
RANKINGS

TEST
YOUR CPU

ADD TO PC
BUILD

IntelBX80684I78700K

BUY • $186

IntelBX80619I73960X

BUY • $265

BenchYourCPU

Real World Speed

Performance profile from 748,452 user samples

Benchmark your CPU here

746,287 User Benchmarks

Best Bench: 100% Base clock 3.7 GHz, turbo 5.05 GHz (avg)
Worst Bench: 76% Base clock 3.7 GHz, turbo 0.8 GHz (avg)

Poor: 76% Great: 100%

SPEED RANK: 148^th / 1442

Gaming 88%

Aircraft carrier

Desktop 90%

Nuclear submarine

Workstation 80%

Battleship

2,165 User Benchmarks

Best Bench: 89% Base clock 3.3 GHz
Worst Bench: 66% Base clock 3.3 GHz, turbo 0.85 GHz (avg)

Poor: 66% Great: 89%

SPEED RANK: 270^th / 1442

Gaming 78%

Battleship

Desktop 79%

Battleship

Workstation 67%

Battle cruiser


Effective Speed Effective CPU Speed		88.4 %	Faster effective speed. +14%		77.7 %


Memory Avg. Memory Latency	90.1 Pts	+3%	87.1 Pts
1-Core Avg. Single Core Speed	128 Pts	Much faster single-core speed. +32%	96.7 Pts
2-Core Avg. Dual Core Speed	249 Pts	Faster dual-core speed. +30%	192 Pts
4-Core Avg. Quad Core Speed	466 Pts	Faster quad-core speed. +26%	369 Pts
8-Core Avg. Octa Core Speed	770 Pts	Much faster octa-core speed. +32%	585 Pts


Memory OC Memory Latency	96.5 Pts	+1%	95.3 Pts
1-Core OC Single Core Speed	148 Pts	Faster OC single-core speed. +25%	118 Pts
2-Core OC Dual Core Speed	292 Pts	Faster OC dual-core speed. +25%	233 Pts
4-Core OC Quad Core Speed	558 Pts	Faster OC quad-core speed. +22%	457 Pts
8-Core OC Octa Core Speed	892 Pts	Faster OC octa-core speed. +25%	715 Pts

Market Share

Based on 67,716,400 CPUs tested

See market share leaders


Market Share Market Share (trailing 30 days)	1.33 %	Insanely higher market share. +∞%	0 %
Value Value For Money	98.7 %	Better value. +25%	78.7 %
User Rating UBM User Rating	81 %	Much more popular. +53%	53 %
Price Price (score)	$186	Cheaper. +30%	$265


Age Newest	78 Months	Much more recent. +48%	151 Months
TDP Thermal Design Power (TDP)	95 Watts	More energy efficient. +27%	130 Watts
Cores CPU Processing Cores	6 cores		6 cores
Threads CPU Processing Threads	12 threads		12 threads
Lithography Manufacturing process	14 nm	Much newer manufacturing. +56%	32 nm
Base Clock Base Clock Speed	3.7 GHz	Faster base frequency. +12%	3.3 GHz
Turbo Clock Turbo Clock Speed	4.7 GHz	Faster turbo frequency. +21%	3.9 GHz
64-Core OC Multi Core Speed	1147 Pts	Faster OC 64-core speed. +29%	888 Pts
64-Core Avg. Multi Core Speed	971 Pts	Much faster 64-core speed. +33%	728 Pts


Series CPU Architecture	Coffee Lake	Sandy Bridge-E
Socket Motherboard Socket	FCLGA1151	FCLGA2011
Graphics Integrated Graphics	UHD 630	None
Launch Date Launch Date	Q4'17	Q4'11
Cache Cache	12 MB	15 MB SmartCache
Instruction Set Extensions Instruction Set Extensions	SSE4.1/4.2, AVX2	SSE4.2, AVX, AES
Lithography Lithography	14 nm	32 nm
Max Turbo Frequency Max Turbo Frequency	4.70 GHz	3.9 GHz
Bus Speed Bus Speed	8 GT/s DMI3	5 GT/s DMI2
Memory Types Memory Types	DDR4-2666	DDR3 1066/1333/1600
Memory Channels Max # of Memory Channels	2	4
Package Size Package Size	37.5mm x 37.5mm	52.5mm x 45.0mm
vPro Tech Intel® vPro™ Technology ‡	Yes	No
Trusted Execution Tech Intel® Trusted Execution Technology ‡	Yes	No
PCI Express Revision PCI Express Revision	3.0	2.0
Max # of PCI Express Lanes Max # of PCI Express Lanes	16	40
	More specs »	More specs »

The i7-8700K is Intel’s latest, top of the range, 8th generation Coffee Lake processor. Like Kaby Lake and Sky Lake before that, Coffee Lake is based on Intel’s 14nm architecture which has been slightly optimized on each iteration. Following AMD’s modus operandi, Intel has upped the cores and threads across the range of their CPUs. In previous generations, a 6-core processor would have been a high-end desk-top (HEDT) processor, however the i7-8700K is the first Intel CPU with 6 cores and 12 threads to be classified (and priced) as a mainstream consumer processor. Specifically, the i7-8700K features a base clock speed of 3.7 GHz which boosts to 4.7 GHz (4.5 GHz for the previous generation i7-7700k), 12MB of smart (L3) cache and 2 channels of DDR4 RAM. The majority of the performance improvements over the 7th generation stem from the higher core count which results in a 50% increase in multi-core speed between the i7-7700k and i7-8700k. A new motherboard will need to be factored into the budget when upgrading to the 8700K as it requires a new Intel Z370 chipset which has supposedly been designed to better deliver power to CPUs with a greater number of cores. Also available in this latest release of CPUs is the 6 core 6 thread i5-8600k which is a more rational option (around $100 cheaper) for the vast majority of users that don’t require hyper-threading. Sandy bridge owners can finally justify an upgrade but with the next iteration of AMD's Zen architecture just around the corner the CPU market will be a lot faster moving now that Intel, once again, has to compete. ^{[Sep '17 CPUPro]}

MORE DETAILS

The fact that the near three year old Intel i7-3960X still tops the speed charts reflects just how little competition there is in the CPU market. Intel have dominated for so long that there is simply no economic incentive to push the speed boundaries at anywhere nearly the pace of improvement we saw in previous years. The i7-3960X has 6 cores and 12 threads which is two cores more than the vast majority of Intel's other top end processors. The extra two cores explain why the 3960X still performs so well compared to the majority of the 3960X's newer siblings. This processor will offer little more than a far cheaper i3 to regular desktop users but for server orientated workloads it is still one of the best processors available. ^{[Mar '14 CPUPro]}

MORE DETAILS

Systems with these CPUs

Top Builds that include these CPUs

Custom PC Builder (Start a new build) Build your perfect PC: compare component prices, popularity, speed and value for money

CHOOSE A COMPONENT:

CPU

GPU

SSD

HDD

RAM

MBD

Processor Rankings (Price vs Performance) April 2024 CPU Rankings

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]

Group Test Results

Best user rated - User sentiment trumps benchmarks for this comparison.
Best value for money - Value for money is based on real world performance.
Fastest real world speed - Real World Speed measures performance for typical consumers.

How Fast Is Your CPU? (Bench your build) Size up your PC in less than a minute

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.

UserBenchmark of the month

Gaming

Desktop

ProGaming

CPU

GPU

SSD

HDD

RAM

USB

How it works

- Download and run UserBenchmark
- CPU tests include: integer, floating and string
- GPU tests include: six 3D game simulations
- Drive tests include: read, write, sustained write and mixed IO
- RAM tests include: single/multi core bandwidth and latency
- SkillBench (space shooter) tests user input accuracy
- Reports are generated and presented on userbenchmark.com
- Identify the strongest components in your PC
- See speed test results from other users
- Compare your components to the current market leaders
- Explore your best upgrade options with a virtual PC build
- Compare your in-game FPS to other users with your hardware

Frequently Asked Questions

Processors FAQ

AMD vs Intel: Gaming performance 2012-2021

How does IPC compare between AMD's Ryzen and Intel's Kaby Lake?

What is multi core mixed speed?

What is multi core integer speed?

What is multi core floating point speed?

What is single core mixed CPU speed?

What is quad core mixed CPU speed?

What is quad core floating point speed?

What is quad core integer speed?

What is single core floating point speed?

What is single core integer speed?

What is the GeekBench single core score?

What is a CPU?

What is the effective CPU speed index?

What is overclocking?

What is thermal design power (TDP)?

ALL FAQs »

CPU	GPU	SSD
Intel Core i5-13600K $279	Nvidia RTX 4060 $300	Crucial MX500 250GB $40
Intel Core i5-12400F $134	Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti $385	Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $80
Intel Core i5-12600K $184	Nvidia RTX 4070 $409	Samsung 860 Evo 250GB $52

HDD	RAM	USB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $39	Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $40	SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $30	Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $43	SanDisk Extreme 32GB $28
Seagate Barracuda 2TB (2016) $51	G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $351	SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $16

MORE DETAILS

MORE DETAILS

CHOOSE A COMPONENT:

Group Test Results

UserBenchmark of the month

How it works

Frequently Asked Questions

Best User Rated

Feedback