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Intel

Core i7-3970X

▲ 5175 ▼

6 Cores, 12 Threads @3.5 GHz, Sandy Bridge E.
Release date ≤ Q2 2014.

Average Bench: 77.9% (266th of 1442)

Based on 2,677 user benchmarks.  Device: BFEBFBFF000206D7 Model: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3970X CPU @ 3.50GHz
Poor: 69%Average: 77.9% Great: 87%
Gaming
Gaming 78%
Battleship
Desktop
Desktop 79%
Battleship
Workstation
Workstation 67%
Battle cruiser

Popular builds with this CPU

Good average bench

The Intel Core i7-3970X averaged 22.0% lower than the peak scores attained by the group leaders. This is an excellent result which ranks the Intel Core i7-3970X near the top of the comparison list.

Strengths

Avg. Memory Latency 86Pts
Avg. Quad Core Speed 378Pts

Very good consistency

The range of scores (95th - 5th percentile) for the Intel Core i7-3970X is just 18.2%. This is a relatively narrow range which indicates that the Intel Core i7-3970X performs reasonably consistently under varying real world conditions.

Weaknesses

Avg. Multi Core Speed 737Pts
Avg. Octa Core Speed 595Pts
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Average Bench

(Based on 2,677 samples)
Rank 26677.9%
Min Avg Max
79.2 Memory 86 94.7
80.4 1-Core 99.9 115
165 2-Core 198 227
73.7% 128 Pts
Min Avg Max
301 4-Core 378 444
476 8-Core 595 710
59.9% 487 Pts
Min Avg Max
601 64-Core 737 870
45.6% 737 Pts
User Benchmarks BenchNormalHeavyServer
The fastest CPU (mainstream) averages a speed of 100%
SOCKET 0, 1 CPU, 6 cores, 12 threads
Base clock 5.6 GHz, turbo 6 GHz (avg)
83.2% Excellent
Memory 94.7
1-Core 98.6
2-Core 199
76% 131 Pts
4-Core 387
8-Core 584
60% 486 Pts
64-Core 743
46% 743 Pts
LGA2011, 1 CPU, 6 cores, 12 threads
Base clock 3.5 GHz, turbo 3.95 GHz (avg)
80.8% Excellent
Memory 82.6
1-Core 106
2-Core 213
76% 134 Pts
4-Core 425
8-Core 681
68% 553 Pts
64-Core 788
49% 788 Pts
LGA2011, 1 CPU, 6 cores, 12 threads
Base clock 3.5 GHz, turbo 3.65 GHz (avg)
77.6% Very good
Memory 89.4
1-Core 95.8
2-Core 188
73% 124 Pts
4-Core 356
8-Core 552
56% 454 Pts
64-Core 564
35% 564 Pts
LGA2011, 1 CPU, 6 cores, 12 threads
Base clock 3.5 GHz, turbo 3.7 GHz (avg)
76.5% Very good
Memory 86.8
1-Core 95.2
2-Core 186
72% 123 Pts
4-Core 358
8-Core 557
56% 457 Pts
64-Core 688
43% 688 Pts
LGA2011, 1 CPU, 6 cores, 12 threads
Base clock 3.5 GHz, turbo 3.7 GHz (avg)
75.9% Very good
Memory 80.1
1-Core 100
2-Core 196
72% 126 Pts
4-Core 386
8-Core 623
62% 505 Pts
64-Core 724
45% 724 Pts
SOCKET 0, 1 CPU, 6 cores, 12 threads
Base clock 3.8 GHz, turbo 4.05 GHz (avg)
75.4% Very good
Memory 81.4
1-Core 94.6
2-Core 190
70% 122 Pts
4-Core 374
8-Core 603
60% 488 Pts
64-Core 725
45% 725 Pts
LGA2011, 1 CPU, 6 cores, 12 threads
Base clock 3.5 GHz, turbo 3.7 GHz (avg)
74% Very good
Memory 83.1
1-Core 97.3
2-Core 184
71% 122 Pts
4-Core 351
8-Core 562
56% 456 Pts
64-Core 708
44% 708 Pts
SOCKET 0, 1 CPU, 6 cores, 12 threads
Base clock 3.5 GHz, turbo 3.6 GHz (avg)
71.6% Very good
Memory 82.9
1-Core 96
2-Core 180
70% 120 Pts
4-Core 325
8-Core 534
52% 430 Pts
64-Core 648
40% 648 Pts
LGA2011, 1 CPU, 6 cores, 12 threads
Base clock 3.5 GHz, turbo 3.55 GHz (avg)
69.4% Good
Memory 80.7
1-Core 91.6
2-Core 169
67% 114 Pts
4-Core 314
8-Core 517
51% 416 Pts
64-Core 625
39% 625 Pts
2,677 MORE »

 Market Share (See Leaders)

The number of benchmark samples for this model as a percentage of all 67,761,377 CPUs tested

 Prices

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AmazonUS $2177 mins
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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
Typical Core i7-3970X Builds (Compare 1,565 builds) See popular component choices, score breakdowns and rankings
Gaming
Gaming 43%
Speed boat
Desktop
Desktop 82%
Aircraft carrier
Workstation
Workstation 38%
Jet ski

Motherboard: Asus RAMPAGE IV EXTREME - $589

CPU
Core i7-3970XIntel  $217Bench 78%, 2,677 samples1x
GPU
GTX 970Nvidia  $200Bench 49%, 834,238 samples122x
GTX 1080-TiNvidia  $485Bench 124%, 840,268 samples116x
GTX 1080Nvidia  $400Bench 102%, 1,082,454 samples112x
SSD
850 Evo 500GBSamsung  $94Bench 112%, 695,664 samples49x
850 Evo 250GBSamsung  $100Bench 103%, 951,591 samples40x
860 Evo 1TBSamsung  $130Bench 112%, 602,853 samples38x
RAM
HyperX DDR3 2400 C11 4x8GBKingstonBench 70%, 5,910 samples37x
Vengeance DDR3 1600 C9 4x4GBCorsairBench 53%, 34,385 samples22x
RipjawsZ DDR3 2133 C9 4x4GBG.SKILLBench 73%, 3,160 samples21x
EDIT WITH CUSTOM PC BUILDER Value: 63% - Good Total price: $1,101

Popular Core i7-3970X compatible motherboards:

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.

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  • - CPU tests include: integer, floating and string
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  • - 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
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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]

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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.

 Specifications

Essentials

DescriptionIntel® Core™ i7-3970X Processor Extreme Edition (15M Cache, up to 4.00 GHz)
Code NameSandy Bridge E
Launch DateQ4'12
Processor Numberi7-3970X
# of Cores6
# of Threads12
Cache15 MB SmartCache
Instruction Set64-bit
Instruction Set ExtensionsSSE4.2, AVX, AES
Embedded Options AvailableNo
Lithography32 nm
VID Voltage Range0.6V-1.35V
Recommended PriceN/A
Clock Speed3.5 GHz
Max Turbo Frequency4 GHz
Bus Speed5 GT/s DMI2
Max TDP150 W

Memory

Max Memory Size64 GB
Memory TypesDDR3 1066/1333/1600
Memory Channels4
Memory Bandwidth51.2 GB/s
ECC Memory SupportedNo

Expansion Options

PCI Express Revision2.0
Max # of PCI Express Lanes40

Data Protection

AES New InstructionsYes

Advanced Technologies

Virtualization Tech (VT-x)Yes
Intel 64Yes
Idle StatesYes
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® TechYes
Thermal Monitoring TechnologiesYes
Turbo Boost Tech2.0
Hyper-Threading TechYes
Virtualization for Directed I/O (VT-d)Yes
VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)Yes
Demand Based SwitchingNo
vPro TechNo
Identity Protection TechYes
Smart Response TechYes

Package

Package Size52.5mm x 45.0mm
Max CPU Configuration1

Platform Protection

Execute Disable BitYes
Trusted Execution TechNo

 Comments

Added n/a ago.
USA-User
Avatar level
9,838

Disliked (edit your comment) Add link

2 years ago.

BEL-User
Avatar level
2,534

Poor

2 months ago.

insane overclockable running at 5.2 ghz on 6c 12 threads 360 watercooling idle 51 celcius on full load 85 celcius 235 watt tdp :)

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Age: 10 years

Speed Comparisons

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1442 Processors (Compared) Thousands of user benchmarks compiled into one comparison list

See how consistently different CPUs perform with varying real world conditions. The charts also illustrate overall performance, popularity and rank.

 Frequently Asked Questions

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ALL FAQs »

 Best User Rated
The Best.
CPUGPUSSD
Intel Core i5-13600K $273Nvidia RTX 4060 $295Crucial MX500 250GB $40
Intel Core i5-12400F $133Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti $385Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $80
Intel Core i5-12600K $179Nvidia RTX 4070 $539Samsung 860 Evo 250GB $52
HDDRAMUSB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $39Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $45SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $37Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $43SanDisk Extreme 32GB $28
Seagate Barracuda 2TB (2016) $51G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $351SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $16
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