Choosing a Gaming CPU October 2013: i7-4960X, i5-4670K, Nehalem and Intel Update
by Ian Cutress on October 3, 2013 10:05 AM ESTFor an article like this getting a range of CPUs, which includes the most common and popular, is very important. I have been at AnandTech for just over two years now, and in that time we have had Sandy Bridge, Llano, Bulldozer, Sandy Bridge-E, Ivy Bridge, Trinity and Vishera, of which I tend to get supplied the top end processors of each generation for testing (as a motherboard reviewer, it is important to make the motherboard the limiting factor). A lot of users have jumped to one of these platforms, although a large number are still on Wolfdale (Core2), Nehalem, Westmere, Phenom II (Thuban/Zosma/Deneb) or Athlon II. I have attempted to pool all my AnandTech resources, contacts, and personal resources, together to get a good spread of the current ecosystem, with more focus on the modern end of the spectrum. It is worth nothing that a multi-GPU user is more likely to have the top line Ivy Bridge, Vishera or Sandy Bridge-E CPU, as well as a top range motherboard, rather than an old Wolfdale. As time progresses I hope to obtain greater ranges of CPU speeds, core counts, and caches to suit almost all tastes.
The CPUs
My criteria for obtaining CPUs was to use at least one from the most recent architectures, as well as a range of cores/modules/threads/speeds. The basic list as it stands is shown below, with the CPU.GPU on the left showing what we were able to test:
VIA | |||||||||
CPU | GPU | Name | IGP | Socket | C / M (T) | Speed | Turbo | L2/L3 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
L2007 | Nano | BGA400 | 1 (1) | 1600 | 1 MB / - | ||||
AMD | |||||||||
CPU | GPU | Name | IGP | Socket | C / M (T) | Speed | Turbo | L2/L3 | |
E-350 | Fusion | FT1 | 2 (2) | 1600 | 1 MB / - | ||||
A6-3650 | Llano | FM1 | 4 (4) | 2600 | 4 MB / - | ||||
A8-3850 | Llano | FM1 | 4 (4) | 2900 | 4 MB / - | ||||
A8-5600K | Trinity | FM2 | 2 (4) | 3600 | 3900 | 4 MB / - | |||
A10-5800K | Trinity | FM2 | 2 (4) | 3800 | 4200 | 4 MB / - | |||
A6-5200 | Kabini | FT3 | 4 (4) | 2000 | 2 MB / - | ||||
Phenom II X2-555 BE |
Callisto K10 | AM3 | 2 (2) | 3200 | 1 MB / 6 MB | ||||
Phenom II X4-960T |
Zosma K10 | AM3 | 4 (4) | 3200 | 2 MB / 6 MB | ||||
Phenom II X6-1100T |
Thuban K10 | AM3 | 6 (6) | 3300 | 3700 | 3 MB / 6 MB | |||
FX-8150 | Bulldozer | AM3+ | 4 (8) | 3600 | 4200 | 8 MB / 8 MB | |||
FX-8350 | Piledriver | AM3+ | 4 (8) | 4000 | 4200 | 8 MB / 8 MB | |||
Intel | |||||||||
CPU | GPU | Name | IGP | Socket | C / M (T) | Speed | Turbo | L2/L3 | |
E6400 | Conroe | 775 | 2 (2) | 2133 | 2 MB / - | ||||
E6550 | Conroe | 775 | 2 (2) | 2333 | 4 MB / - | ||||
E6700 | Conroe | 775 | 2 (2) | 2667 | 4 MB / - | ||||
Q9400 | Yorkfield | 775 | 4 (4) | 2667 | 6 MB / - | ||||
Core i7-920 |
Nehalem | 1366 | 4 (8) | 2667 | 2933 | 1 MB / 8 MB | |||
Core i7-950 |
Nehalem | 1366 | 4 (8) | 3067 | 3333 | 1 MB / 8 MB | |||
Core i7-990X |
Westmere | 1366 | 6 (12) | 3467 | 3733 | 1.5 MB / 12 MB | |||
Xeon X5690 |
Westmere | 1366 | 6 (12) | 3467 | 3733 | 1.5 MB / 12 MB | |||
2 x Xeon X5690 |
Westmere | 1366 | 12 (24) | 3467 | 3733 | 1.5 MB / 12 MB | |||
Celeron 847 |
Sandy Bridge ULV |
BGA1023 | 2 (2) | 1100 | 0.5 MB / 2 MB | ||||
Celeron G465 |
Sandy Bridge |
1155 | 1 (2) | 1900 | 0.25 MB / 1.5 MB | ||||
Core i5-2500K |
Sandy Bridge |
1155 | 4 (4) | 3300 | 3700 | 1 MB / 6 MB | |||
Core i7-2600K |
Sandy Bridge |
1155 | 4 (8) | 3400 | 3800 | 1 MB / 8 MB | |||
Core i7-3930K |
Sandy Bridge-E |
2011 | 6 (12) | 3200 | 3800 | 1.5 MB / 12 MB | |||
Core i7-3960X |
Sandy Bridge-E |
2011 | 6 (12) | 3300 | 3900 | 1.5 MB / 15 MB | |||
2 x Xeon E5-2690 |
Sandy Bridge-EP |
2011 | 16 (32) | 2900 | 3800 | 2 MB / 20 MB | |||
4 x Xeon E5-4650L |
Sandy Bridge-EP |
2011 | 32 (64) | 2600 | 3100 | 2 MB / 20 MB | |||
Core i3-3225 |
Ivy Bridge | 1155 | 2 (4) | 3300 | 0.5 MB / 3 MB | ||||
Core i7-3770K |
Ivy Bridge | 1155 | 4 (8) | 3500 | 3900 | 1 MB / 8 MB | |||
Core i7-4960X |
Ivy Bridge-E | 2011 | 6 (12) | 3600 | 4000 | 1.5 MB / 15 MB | |||
Core i5-4430 |
Haswell | 1150 | 4 (4) | 3000 | 3200 | 1 MB / 6 MB | |||
Core i5-4670K |
Haswell | 1150 | 4 (4) | 3400 | 3800 | 1 MB / 6 MB | |||
Core i7-4770K |
Haswell | 1150 | 4 (8) | 3500 | 3900 | 1 MB / 8 MB | |||
Core i7-4750HQ |
Haswell + Crystalwell |
BGA1364 | 4 (8) | 2000 | 3200 |
1 MB / 6 MB 128 MB L4 |
|||
Xeon E3-1280 V3 |
Haswell | 1150 | 4 (8) | 3600 | 4000 | 1 MB / 8 MB | |||
Xeon E3-1285 V3 |
Haswell | 1150 | 4 (8) | 3600 | 4000 | 1 MB / 8 MB |
Note: the indication on the left hand side is whether we have tested the CPU in terms of our CPU tests or our GPU tests. In certain circumstances GPU tests were unavailable, but the CPU tests provide interesting data points.
This is Part 2 of our Gaming CPU series, with Part 1 covering a basic range of CPUs and a Haswell update covering the i7-4770K. For Part 2 this is primarily an Intel 4670K/Nehalem update, whereas Part 3 of our testing will focus on the AMD side. I currently have many AMD CPUs in house (Richland, Trinity, K10) and am on the request list for a few more (Vishera, more Richland).
The GPUs
My first and foremost thanks go to both ASUS and ECS for supplying me with these GPUs for my test beds. They have been in and out of 60+ motherboards without any issue, and will hopefully continue. My usual scenario for updating GPUs is to flip AMD/NVIDIA every couple of generations – last time it was HD5850 to HD7970, and as such in the future we will move to a 7-series NVIDIA card or a set of Titans (which might outlive a generation or two).
The ASUS HD 7970 we use is the reference model at the 7970 launch, using GCN architecture, 2048 SPs at 925 MHz with 3 GB of 4.6 GHz GDDR5 memory. We had four cards to be used in 1x, 2x, 3x and 4x configurations where possible, also using PCIe 3.0 when enabled by default, although for this update we were limited to three.
ECS GTX 580 (NGTX580-1536PI-F)
ECS is both a motherboard manufacturer and an NVIDIA card manufacturer, and while most of their VGA models are sold outside of the US, some do make it onto e-e-tailers like Newegg. This GTX 580 is also a reference model, with 512 CUDA cores at 772 MHz and 1.5 GB of 4 GHz GDDR5 memory. We have two cards to be used in 1x and 2x configurations at PCIe 2.0.
The Motherboards
The CPU is not always the main part of the picture for this sort of review – the motherboard is equally important as the motherboard dictates how the CPU and the GPU communicates with each other, and what the lane allocation will be. As mentioned on the previous page, there are 20+ PCIe configurations for Z87/Z77 alone when you consider some boards are native, some use a PLX 8747 chip, others use two PLX 8747 chips, and about half of the Z87/Z77 motherboards on the market enable four PCIe 2.0 lanes from the chipset for CrossFireX use (at high latency). We have tried to be fair and take motherboards that may have a small premium but are equipped to deal with the job. As a result, some motherboards may also use MultiCore Turbo, which as we have detailed in the past, gives the top turbo speed of the CPU regardless of the loading.
As a result of this lane allocation business, each value in our review will be attributed to both a CPU, whether it uses MCT, and a lane allocation.
Motherboards | |||
---|---|---|---|
Socket | Chipset | Motherboard | PCIe |
1150 | Z87 | ASUS Z87-Pro | PCIe 3.0 x8/x8 + PCIe 2.0 x4 |
MSI Z87-GD65 Gaming | PCIe 3.0 x8/x8/x4 | ||
GIGABYTE Z87X-UD3H | PCIe 3.0 x8/x8 + PCIe 2.0 x4 | ||
MSI Z87 XPower | PCIe 3.0 x8/x8/x8/x8 via PLX8747 | ||
1155 | Z77 | ASUS Maximus V Formula | PCIe 3.0 x8/x4/x4 |
GIGABYTE Z77X-UP7 | PCIe 3.0 x8/x8/x8/x8 via PLX8747 | ||
GIGABYTE G1.Sniper M3 | PCIe 3.0 x8/x8 or x16 + PCIe 2.0 x4 | ||
2011 | X79 | ASRock X79 Professional | PCIe 2.0 x16/x8/x8/x8 |
ASUS Rampage IV Extreme | PCIe 3.0 x16/x8/x8/x8 | ||
Gigabyte X79-UD3 | PCIe 3.0 x16/x8/x8/x8 | ||
1366 | X58 | GIGABYTE X58A-UD9 | PCIe 2.0 x16/x16/x16/x16 via NF200 |
ASRock X58 Extreme3 | PCIe 2.0 x16/x16 + x4 | ||
5520 | EVGA SR-2 | PCIe 2.0 x16/x16/x16/x16 via NF200 | |
775 | 975X | MSI Platinum Power Up | PCIe 1.1 x8/x8 |
P965 | ASUS Commando | PCIe 1.1 x16 + x4 | |
FM1 | A75 | GIGABYTE A75-UD4H | PCIe 2.0 x8/x8 |
ASRock A75 Extreme6 | PCIe 2.0 x8/x8 + x4 | ||
FM2 | A85X | GIGABYTE F2A85X-UP4 | PCIe 2.0 x8/x8 + x4 |
AM3 | 990FX | ASUS Crosshair V Formula | PCIe 2.0 x16/x8/x8 |
BGA400 | VX900 | ECS VX900-I | N/A |
BGA1023 | NM70 | ECS NM70-I2 | N/A |
FT3 | A6-5200 | ASRock IMB-A180-H | N/A |
The Memory
Our good friends at G.Skill are putting their best foot forward in supplying us with high end kits to test. The issue with the memory is more dependent on what the motherboard will support – in order to keep testing consistent, no overclocks were performed. This meant that boards and BIOSes limited to a certain DRAM multiplier were set at the maximum multiplier possible. In order to keep things fairer overall, the modules were adjusted for tighter timings. All of this is noted in our final setup lists.
Our main memory testing kit is our trusty G.Skill 4x4 GB DDR3-2400 9-11-11 1.65 V RipjawsX kit which has been part of our motherboard testing for over twelve months. For times when we had two systems being tested side by side, a G.Skill 4x4 GB DDR3-2400 10-12-12 1.65 V TridentX kit was also used.
For The Beast, which is one of the systems that has the issue with higher memory dividers, we pulled in a pair of tri-channel kits from X58 testing. These are high-end kits as well, currently discontinued as they tended to stop working with too much voltage. We have a sets of 3x2 GB OCZ Blade DDR3-2133 8-9-8 and 3x1 GB Dominator GT DDR3-2000 7-8-7 for this purpose, which we ran at 1333 6-7-6 due to motherboard limitations at stock settings.
Our Core2Duo CPUs clearly gets their own DDR2 memory for completeness. This is a 2x2 GB kit of OCZ Platinum DDR2-666 5-5-5.
For Haswell we were offered new kits for testing, this time from Corsair and their Vengeance Pro series. This is a 2x8 GB kit of DDR3-2400 10-12-12 1.65 V.
137 Comments
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konondrum - Thursday, October 3, 2013 - link
Thank you for doing this, it's quite informative. I just have one suggestion, perhaps you could get a Lynnfield CPU into these benchmarks. I've been happily using my i5-750 for about 4 years now, but I'm unsure if the performance would be closer to a i7-920 or Q9400. I'm thinking it may be getting close to time to upgrade, but I've still never come across a game or app that seems to choke it.teiglin - Saturday, October 5, 2013 - link
+1 to Lynnfield. My i5-750 is still running great at a gentle ~3.5GHz, and I haven't really felt the burn in games, but I also am not running multi-GPU. Still I'd love to see how well it stacks up to the competition.cbrownx88 - Thursday, October 3, 2013 - link
BF3/4 pleeeease.BF4 beta seems very CPU-bound on an i7920 at 4.2ghz at 1920x1200... very different story than BF3 (where I currently didn't feel the need to update)
pandemonium - Friday, October 4, 2013 - link
I love articles like this! Excellent stuff, thanks!I'm still confused why you guys don't have an i5-3570k in your line-up. Of all of the processors, that's probably the most crucial to have, being it's performance for the price and popularity for builds. These tests give me little to go on without that processor, as important as it is for the general builder!
pandemonium - Friday, October 4, 2013 - link
Also, CPU benchmarks for gaming aren't as necessary with single player games. A necessary contrast for CPU comparison will be for MMOs or multiplayer FPS runs. Obviously it's more difficult to get accurate baseline results for such instances, but a large amount of runs should at least minimize any variables between each testing instance and give a broader definition for how well each processor will perform.If you guys could get on the latest MMOs and test out these rigs, that'd be where I see charts for CPU comparison really come into play for gaming.
Nirvanaosc - Friday, October 4, 2013 - link
Final Fantasy XIV has a benchmark, but I don't know if it fits on their needs. Maybe worth check it although I'm not sure if that represents real world gameplay.BOMBOVA - Friday, October 4, 2013 - link
Guys and Gals:, i have started using Video editing software, Coral, and Photo software ACD17, and need the best out of my i7 960, so, i have spent considerable time fitting with a new SYBA x4 SATA 3 controller, "50" bucks, and a better CPU cooler, double fan, big aluminum / copper beast. out come it works, SSD's are working like they should in Raid 0, / with 2.5 hdd backup, using hot swap. and i went back to the literature " stories " of over clocking, and settled on a 4.2 overclock. Letting you all know it words really, really good. i am almost ashamed of myself, " being techie " that it took me so long to get practical. . i am now resigned to waiting for DDR 4, and PCIe 3.x for future considerations. good article/ thanksBOMBOVA - Saturday, October 26, 2013 - link
update, i really parked the beast cpu 960 at 3.8x Mhz, 4.2 is too HOT, the fan rate is NOISy, and it is unstable, as i am wondering if my hard drive crashes are Malware, or just unstable, NONE of that at 3.8x, i will adjust my PCIe rate up from 133 MHz, say towards 137 or even 140 if stable, on all add in cards. it only works to your least stable card, i have settled on a Marvel, hdd controller card, for cheap , cost effective, bottom line, i like this article, and after 3 days of work, i am on to doing work with my computer. thanks all. Cheers Thomas Gx yvr.ca Vancouver CanadaRanger101 - Friday, October 4, 2013 - link
Every time an article of this sort is written, the conclusion is the same: In the vast majority of cases, due to GPU bottlenecks the differences between Cpus are so minute that no-one would ever notice the performance difference in game. Yawn.Ranger101 - Friday, October 4, 2013 - link
Every time an article of this sort is written, the conclusion is the same. In the vast majority of cases, due to GPU bottlenecks, the performance differences between CPUs are so minimal that no-one would notice the difference in game. Yawn.