Winner
Intel Core i7 4790K
CPUBoss recommends the Intel Core i7 4790K based on its .
See full details Intel Core i7 4790K vs 3960X |
Released April, 2014
Intel Core i7 4790K
- 4 GHz
- Quad core
- Unlocked
7.6 Out of 10
Reasons to buy the Intel Core i7 4790K
 | Has a built-in GPU Yes |
VS
CPUBoss Review Our evaluation of 4790K vs 3960X among desktop CPUs (over 75W)
Performance | |
Benchmark performance using all cores | |
| PCMark 8 Home 3.0 Accelerated, PassMark and 1 more | |
Single-core Performance | |
Individual core benchmark performance | |
| PassMark (Single Core), Geekbench 3 Single Core and 1 more | |
Integrated Graphics | |
Integrated GPU performance for graphics | |
| Fire Strike | |
Integrated Graphics (OpenCL) | |
Integrated GPU performance for parallel computing | |
| CompuBench 1.5 Bitcoin mining and 4 more | |
Performance per Watt | |
How efficiently does the processor use electricity? | |
| Fire Strike, CompuBench 1.5 Bitcoin mining and 11 more | |
Value | |
Are you paying a premium for performance? | |
| Fire Strike, CompuBench 1.5 Bitcoin mining and 11 more | |
| 7.6 | CPUBoss Score |
Combination of all six facets | |
 | Winner |
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Differences What are the advantages of each
| |||||||
| Has a built-in GPU | Yes | vs | No | Somewhat common; A separate graphics adapter is not required | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| CPUBoss is not aware of any important advantages of the 3960X Extreme Edition vs the 4790K. | |||||||
Report a correction
Benchmarks Real world tests of Core i7 4790K vs 3960X
CompuBench 1.5 (Ocean surface simulation) Data courtesy CompuBench
GeekBench 3 (Multi-core) Data courtesy Primate Labs
GeekBench 3 (Single core) Data courtesy Primate Labs
GeekBench 3 (AES single core) Data courtesy Primate Labs
GeekBench (32-bit) Data courtesy Primate Labs
GeekBench (64-bit) Data courtesy Primate Labs
PassMark Data courtesy Passmark
PassMark (Single Core)
Reviews Word on the street
Specifications Full list of technical specs
summary | Core i7 4790K | vs | 3960X |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clock speed | 4 GHz | 3.3 GHz | |
| Turbo clock speed | 4.4 GHz | 3.9 GHz | |
| Cores | Quad core | Hexa core | |
| Is unlocked | Yes | Yes | |
features | |||
| Has a NX bit | Yes | Yes | |
| Supports trusted computing | No | No | |
| Has virtualization support | Yes | Yes | |
| Instruction set extensions | |||
| SSE2 | |||
| F16C | |||
| MMX | |||
| SSE4 | |||
| AVX | |||
| SSE3 | |||
| EM64T | |||
| SSE | |||
| SSE4.1 | |||
| FMA3 | |||
| SSE4.2 | |||
| Supplemental SSE3 | |||
| AES | |||
| AVX 2.0 | |||
| Supports dynamic frequency scaling | Yes | Yes | |
power consumption | |||
| TDP | 88W | 130W | |
| Annual home energy cost | 21.2 $/year | 56.39 $/year | |
| Annual commercial energy cost | 77.09 $/year | 184.84 $/year | |
| Performance per watt | 11.42 pt/W | 5.04 pt/W | |
| Typical power consumption | 71.5W | 176.72W | |
bus | |||
| Architecture | DMI 2.0 | DMI 2.0 | |
| Number of links | 0 | 1 | |
| Transfer rate | 5,000 MT/s | 5,000 MT/s | |
details | Core i7 4790K | vs | 3960X |
|---|---|---|---|
| Architecture | x86-64 | x86-64 | |
| Threads | 8 | 12 | |
| L2 cache | 1 MB | 2 MB | |
| L2 cache per core | 0.25 MB/core | 0.33 MB/core | |
| L3 cache | 8 MB | 15 MB | |
| L3 cache per core | 2 MB/core | 2.5 MB/core | |
| Manufacture process | 22 nm | 32 nm | |
| Max CPUs | 1 | 1 | |
| Operating temperature | Unknown - 74.04°C | Unknown - 66.8°C | |
overclocking | |||
| Overclocked clock speed | 4.63 GHz | 4.76 GHz | |
| Overclocked clock speed (Water) | 4.8 GHz | 4.58 GHz | |
| PassMark (Overclocked) | 6,925.3 | 7,065.9 | |
| Overclocked clock speed (Air) | 4.63 GHz | 4.76 GHz | |
integrated graphics | |||
| GPU | GPU | None | |
| Label | Intel® HD Graphics 4600 | N/A | |
| Number of displays supported | 3 | N/A | |
| GPU clock speed | 350 MHz | N/A | |
| Turbo clock speed | 1,250 MHz | N/A | |
memory controller | |||
| Memory controller | Built-in | Built-in | |
| Memory type | |||
| DDR3-1600 | |||
| DDR3L-1600 | |||
| DDR3-1333 | |||
| DDR3-1066 | |||
| DDR3 | |||
| Channels | Dual Channel | Quad Channel | |
| Supports ECC | No | No | |
| Maximum bandwidth | 25,600 MB/s | 51,200 MB/s | |
| Maximum memory size | 32,768 MB | 65,536 MB | |
 Intel Core i7 4790K  Report a correction |  Intel Core i7 3960X Report a correction |
Desktops
Looking for a desktop?
- 8 desktops with the Intel Core i7 4790K, starting from $1,399
- 1 desktop with the Intel Core i7 3960X, starting from $1,589
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