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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% (277th of 1459)

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 27777.9%
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%
LGA2011, 1 CPU, 6 cores, 12 threads
Base clock 3.5 GHz, turbo 4 GHz (avg)
85.8% Excellent
Memory 94.9
1-Core 103
2-Core 207
78% 135 Pts
4-Core 414
8-Core 619
64% 516 Pts
64-Core 761
47% 761 Pts
LGA2011, 1 CPU, 6 cores, 12 threads
Base clock 3.5 GHz, turbo 4 GHz (avg)
85.3% Excellent
Memory 94.1
1-Core 103
2-Core 206
78% 134 Pts
4-Core 413
8-Core 672
66% 542 Pts
64-Core 793
49% 793 Pts
SOCKET 0, 1 CPU, 6 cores, 12 threads
Base clock 3.5 GHz, turbo 4 GHz (avg)
79.7% Very good
Memory 83
1-Core 104
2-Core 208
75% 132 Pts
4-Core 416
8-Core 569
62% 492 Pts
64-Core 776
48% 776 Pts
LGA2011, 1 CPU, 6 cores, 12 threads
Base clock 3.5 GHz, turbo 3.5 GHz (avg)
79.4% Very good
Memory 87
1-Core 95.7
2-Core 198
73% 127 Pts
4-Core 388
8-Core 616
62% 502 Pts
64-Core 729
45% 729 Pts
SOCKET 0, 1 CPU, 6 cores, 12 threads
Base clock 3.5 GHz, turbo 3.7 GHz (avg)
78.1% Very good
Memory 85.8
1-Core 93.8
2-Core 184
71% 121 Pts
4-Core 379
8-Core 608
61% 494 Pts
64-Core 719
44% 719 Pts
LGA2011, 1 CPU, 6 cores, 12 threads
Base clock 3.5 GHz, turbo 3.7 GHz (avg)
76.4% Very good
Memory 81.1
1-Core 98.3
2-Core 194
71% 125 Pts
4-Core 386
8-Core 601
61% 494 Pts
64-Core 720
45% 720 Pts
LGA2011, 1 CPU, 6 cores, 12 threads
Base clock 3.5 GHz, turbo 4 GHz (avg)
72.1% Very good
Memory 82.9
1-Core 95.8
2-Core 186
70% 122 Pts
4-Core 331
8-Core 585
55% 458 Pts
64-Core 710
44% 710 Pts
2,677 MORE »

 Market Share (See Leaders)

The number of benchmark samples for this model as a percentage of all 68,304,138 CPUs tested

 Prices

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AmazonUS $25021 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 1,601 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  $250Bench 78%, 2,677 samples1x
GPU
GTX 970Nvidia  $200Bench 49%, 834,238 samples125x
GTX 1080-TiNvidia  $499Bench 124%, 840,268 samples120x
GTX 1080Nvidia  $195Bench 102%, 1,082,454 samples113x
SSD
850 Evo 500GBSamsung  $76Bench 112%, 695,664 samples50x
860 Evo 1TBSamsung  $140Bench 112%, 602,853 samples41x
850 Evo 250GBSamsung  $100Bench 103%, 951,591 samples41x
RAM
HyperX DDR3 2400 C11 4x8GBKingstonBench 70%, 5,910 samples38x
Vengeance DDR3 1600 C9 4x4GBCorsairBench 53%, 34,385 samples22x
RipjawsZ DDR3 2133 C9 4x4GBG.SKILLBench 73%, 3,160 samples22x
EDIT WITH CUSTOM PC BUILDER Value: 65% - Good Total price: $1,115

Popular Core i7-3970X compatible motherboards:

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  • 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
9,918

Disliked (edit your comment) Add link

2 years ago.

BEL-User
Avatar level
2,556

Poor

5 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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The Best
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Intel Core i5-12400F $110Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti $389WD Black SN850X M.2 1TB $85
Intel Core i5-13600K $235Nvidia RTX 4070 $499Crucial T700 M.2 4TB $342
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