Intel Core i7 5960X review

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Advances in cutting-edge processing technology have been minimal in recent years. AMD has concentrated resources on its APU chips, combining CPU and GPU in one, while Intel's primary focus has been on efficiency rather than increased performance. The exception that proves the rule was the release of the six-core Sandy Bridge-E processors back in 2011. Three years on, we finally have another substantial leap in CPU power: the Core i7 5960X, star of the show in the latest enthusiast line, packs eight full cores - with hyper-threading - onto one chip. Performance-wise, it is a colossus.
Haswell-E (E for enthusiast if you hadn't guessed) debuts on a fresh platform, based on the new Intel X99 chipset. This brings a range of modern features to the enthusiast line, including full support for PCI Express-based SSDs and the debut of next-gen DDR4 RAM. This new memory standard effectively picks up where the top-end DDR3 modules left off - speeds start at 2133MHz, with the spec ramping up to 4000MHz (taking us into low-end GDDR5 bandwidth territory). DDR4 does everything its predecessor does at significantly lower voltages, and while its advantages won't impact gaming so much, it's a different story should you use your PC for demanding media creation or productivity tasks. There's no backwards compatibility though - DDR3 modules won't fit into DDR4 slots - so those looking to upgrade won't be able to carry over the existing RAM, meaning additional expense.
The most noteworthy aspect about Haswell-E is that it marks out its own patch, separate and distinct from the mainstream platform. The standard Haswell tops out with the Devil's Canyon Core i7 4790K - a highly-clocked quad-core part with hyper-threading. The entry-level Haswell E processor - the Core i7 5820K - features six full Intel cores (with HT) and is fully unlocked, costing just $50 more than the 4790K. Indeed, Intel's top-end enthusiast line no longer supports quad-core processors at all - and even the 'bargain basement' offering is a substantial leap over the mainstream platform. The 5820K is joined by the marginally faster - and substantially more expensive - 5930K, distinguished by its support for 40 PCI Express lanes rather than 28 in the cheaper part (this effectively limits the 5820K to dual GPU support).
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