CPUBoss Review Our evaluation of 6700K vs 3960X among all CPUs

Performance

Benchmark performance using all cores
Core i7 6700K
6.5
Core i7 3960X
6.7
Core i7 4790K
6.5
PCMark 8 Home 3.0 Accelerated, PassMark and 1 more

Single-core Performance

Individual core benchmark performance
Core i7 6700K
10.0
Core i7 3960X
9.3
Core i7 4790K
9.8
PassMark (Single Core), Geekbench 3 Single Core and 1 more

Integrated Graphics

Integrated GPU performance for graphics
Core i7 6700K
n.d.
Core i7 3960X
n.d.
Core i7 4790K
n.d.
Sky Diver and Cloud Gate

Integrated Graphics (OpenCL)

Integrated GPU performance for parallel computing
Core i7 6700K
7.6
Core i7 3960X
0.0
Core i7 4790K
6.9
CompuBench 1.5 Bitcoin mining and 4 more

Performance per Watt

How efficiently does the processor use electricity?
Core i7 6700K
5.2
Core i7 3960X
5.0
Core i7 4790K
5.2
Sky Diver, Cloud Gate, CompuBench 1.5 Bitcoin mining and 11 more

Value

Are you paying a premium for performance?
Core i7 6700K
7.3
Core i7 3960X
n.d.
Core i7 4790K
8.4
Sky Diver, Cloud Gate, CompuBench 1.5 Bitcoin mining and 11 more
9.1

CPUBoss Score

Combination of all six facets
Core i7 6700K
9.1
Core i7 3960X
5.7
Core i7 4790K
9.1

Winner
Intel Core i7 3960X 

CPUBoss recommends the Intel Core i7 3960X  based on its performance and value.

See full details

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VS

Intel Core i7 6700K

Front view of Intel Core i7 6700K
Front view of Intel Core i7 3960X

Intel Core i7 3960X

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Differences What are the advantages of each

Front view of Intel Core i7 6700K

Reasons to consider the
Intel Core i7 6700K

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Much better 3DMark06 CPU score 80.5 vs 75.9 More than 5% better 3DMark06 CPU score
Much lower typical power consumption 73.94W vs 176.72W 2.4x lower typical power consumption
Higher clock speed 4 GHz vs 3.3 GHz More than 20% higher clock speed
Much newer manufacturing process 14 nm vs 32 nm A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor
Has a built-in GPU Yes vs No Somewhat common; A separate graphics adapter is not required
Much better CompuBench 1.5 ocean surface simulation score 302.88 fps vs 63.21 fps More than 4.8x better CompuBench 1.5 ocean surface simulation score
Higher turbo clock speed 4.2 GHz vs 3.9 GHz Around 10% higher turbo clock speed
Much lower annual home energy cost 21.92 $/year vs 56.39 $/year 2.6x lower annual home energy cost
Much lower annual commercial energy cost 79.72 $/year vs 184.84 $/year 2.3x lower annual commercial energy cost
Newer Jul, 2015 vs Nov, 2011 Release date over 3 years later
Better PassMark (Single core) score 2,349 vs 2,015 More than 15% better PassMark (Single core) score
Slightly better overclocked clock speed (Water) 4.77 GHz vs 4.58 GHz Around 5% better overclocked clock speed (Water)
Front view of Intel Core i7 3960X

Reasons to consider the
Intel Core i7 3960X

Report a correction
Significantly more l2 cache 2 MB vs 1 MB 2x more l2 cache; more data can be stored in the l2 cache for quick access later
More l3 cache 15 MB vs 8 MB Around 90% more l3 cache; more data can be stored in the l3 cache for quick access later
More cores 6 vs 4 2 more cores; run more applications at once
More threads 12 vs 8 4 more threads
More l3 cache per core 2.5 MB/core vs 2 MB/core 25% more l3 cache per core
Better PassMark score 12,802 vs 11,109 More than 15% better PassMark score
Better performance per watt 5.04 pt/W vs 3.49 pt/W Around 45% better performance per watt
Better performance per dollar 1 pt/$ vs 0.91 pt/$ More than 10% better performance per dollar
More l2 cache per core 0.33 MB/core vs 0.25 MB/core Around 35% more l2 cache per core

Benchmarks Real world tests of Core i7 6700K vs 3960X

CompuBench 1.5 (Ocean surface simulation) Data courtesy CompuBench

Core i7 6700K
302.88 fps
Core i7 3960X
63.21 fps

GeekBench 3 (Multi-core) Data courtesy Primate Labs

Core i7 6700K
17,583
Core i7 3960X
18,528

GeekBench 3 (Single core) Data courtesy Primate Labs

Core i7 6700K
4,510
Core i7 3960X
3,267

GeekBench 3 (AES single core) Data courtesy Primate Labs

Core i7 6700K
6,010 MB/s
Core i7 3960X
2,595,000 MB/s

GeekBench (32-bit) Data courtesy Primate Labs

Core i7 6700K
17,169
Core i7 3960X
19,457

GeekBench

Core i7 6700K
17,169
Core i7 3960X
23,155

PassMark Data courtesy Passmark

Core i7 6700K
11,109
Core i7 3960X
12,802

PassMark (Single Core)

Core i7 6700K
2,349
Core i7 3960X
2,015

Specifications Full list of technical specs

summary

 Core i7 6700K  vs
3960X 
Clock speed 4 GHz 3.3 GHz
Turbo clock speed 4.2 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
MMX
SSE4
AVX
SSE3
SSE
SSE4.1
SSE4.2
Supplemental SSE3
AES
AVX 2.0
Supports dynamic frequency scaling Yes Yes

power consumption
TDP 91W 130W
Annual home energy cost 21.92 $/year 56.39 $/year
Annual commercial energy cost 79.72 $/year 184.84 $/year
Performance per watt 3.49 pt/W 5.04 pt/W
Typical power consumption 73.94W 176.72W

bus
Architecture FSB DMI 2.0
Number of links 0 1
Transfer rate 8,000 MT/s 5,000 MT/s

details

 Core i7 6700K  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 14 nm 32 nm
Max CPUs 1 1
Operating temperature Unknown - 64°C Unknown - 66.8°C

overclocking
Overclocked clock speed 4.61 GHz 4.76 GHz
Overclocked clock speed (Water) 4.77 GHz 4.58 GHz
Overclocked clock speed (Air) 4.61 GHz 4.76 GHz

integrated graphics
GPU GPU None
Label Intel® HD Graphics 530 N/A
Number of displays supported 3 N/A
GPU clock speed 350 MHz N/A
Turbo clock speed 1,150 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 65,536 MB 65,536 MB
Intel Core i7 6700K
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Intel Core i7 3960X
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