Here a roundup of today's Intel Syndy Bridge-E reviews from Techreport, KitGuru, Tweaktown, Benchmark Reviews, HardwareHeaven.com, OCC, Hi Tech Legion, Vortez, Techspot, PC Perspective, OC3D, HotHardware.com, Hardware Canucks, Legit Reviews, Tom's Hardware, HT4U, HardOCP, Anandtech, Bjorn3D, and Techradar



Techreport: Sandy Bridge-E motherboards from Asus, Gigabyte, Intel, and MSI

If you want to get in on Intel's new Sandy Bridge-E CPU, you'll need an LGA2011 motherboard. We've gathered four examples from Asus, Gigabyte, Intel, and MSI to see which one makes the best foundation for an Extreme Sandy build.

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KitGuru: Intel i7 3960X EE / Gigabyte GA X79 UD3 / 16GB GSkill Ripjaws Z (2133mhz) Review

Today we have multiple reviews focusing on the new Intel X79 launch, featuring two high end motherboards from Asus the £280 P9X79 Deluxe and flagship £335 Rampage IV Extreme for those with deeper pockets. That said, we know that many people won't want to spend £300 (or more) on a new motherboard so our third article today focuses on the Gigabyte GA X79 UD3, which retails at a modest £199.

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KitGuru: Intel i7 3960X EE / Asus Rampage IV Extreme / Corsair GTX8 (2400mhz) / Quad GTX590 Review

Today Intel are launching their new high end X79 platform and Kitguru has prepared several reviews for your viewing pleasure. In this specific review we are looking at the new Intel Core i7 3960X Extreme Edition processor when paired up with the flagship ASUS Rampage IV Extreme Edition motherboard and some very exclusive 2,400mhz rated Corsair Dominator GT memory.

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Tweaktown: ASUS Rampage IV Extreme (Intel X79) Motherboard Review

The Rampage IV Extreme. We've already looked at it in preview form and the board looks the goods. It's also been the main board that's behind our 3960X launch coverage for the simple reason it looks to be one of the best available come launch day. Since everything is already sitting so nicely in the Rampage IV Extreme, it seemed like the perfect motherboard to look at first up. The ROG line of boards have a strong past and having already previewed the Rampage IV Extreme, it's pretty fair to say that they're going to have a strong future.

Unfortunately in our preview we couldn't look at everything that was included in the board with the main thing we missed out on being the included bundle and a break down on the PCIe expansion slots. Normally what we'd do is just quickly cover them and move on and while in the coming pages they're really the only two things we will cover, we have included all the pictures of the board in case you didn't get a chance to look at our preview.

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Benchmark Reviews: Intel DX79SI LGA2011 Desktop Motherboard

It's that time again: a new Intel processor line, along with the requisite new chipset and new motherboards. Intel's "Sandy Bridge Extreme" line of processors requires the massive new LGA2011 socket, which in turn is supported by the new X79 chipset. Intel provided a prototype of their top-end DX79SI motherboard with a Core i7-3960X Sandy Bridge E processor for us to test, and Benchmark Reviews will put it through its paces in this review.

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HardwareHeaven.com: Intel Sandy Bridge Extreme and X79 Chipset Launch - Core i7-3960X Processor Review

Intel Core i7-3960X Processor and X79 Chipset Launch Review featuring: ASUS Rampage IV Extreme, ASRock X79 Extreme4, MSI X79A-GD68 8D, ECS X79R-AX and Intel DX79SI Extreme Series Motherboards.

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Benchmark Reviews: Intel Core i7-3690X Extreme Edition CPU

Intel's "Extreme Edition" CPUs have always represented the company's top consumer offerings. Typically priced in the $1,000 range, they have unlocked multipliers, lots of cache, and lots of cores. But until now, Intel's top Extreme Edition offering, the Core i7-990X CPU, was based on the older Gulftown architecture, and the performance gap between this CPU and the newer Sandy Bridge architecture Core i7-2600K and 2700K is pretty damn narrow, especially considering that the latter costs less than a third the price of the former. But now Intel's made a Sandy Bridge Extreme Edition, with six physical cores and a staggering 15 megabytes of cache. Benchmark Reviews takes the new Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition CPU around the benchmark course, testing it against the best CPUs Intel and AMD have to offer.

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OCC: Intel Sandy Bridge Extreme Core i7 3960X Review

After playing with the latest uEFI builds on Z68 boards, going backwards to a traditional BIOS was easy. The BIOS was well laid out and included an overclocking assistant to help the end user reach for specific clock speeds just by choosing one setting in the BIOS. This setting sets the variables such as voltages and memory timings to the parameter needed based on Intel's in-house testing. Over the past few launches, Intel has delivered motherboards that keep getting better. Combined with one of the Core i7 Sandy Bridge Extreme variants, the DX79SI makes for a potent combination. Overall, I would have to say that Sandy Bridge continues to impress and delivers excellent performance that just gets better with a bit of tweaking.

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Tweaktown: Intel Core i7 3960X Extreme Edition (LGA 2011) CPU Review

It's no secret that the X79 platform was launching today; it's no secret that the top of the line processor for the platform is the i7 3960X Extreme Edition, and it's no secret that the platform supports Quad Channel RAM. Like any launch, there's a lot of things we know about the product prior to the release of it.

At the same time, there are a lot of things we don't know about the product and today it's our job to get all down and dirty with the latest high end platform from Intel and find out exactly what it's able to offer us. Intel have been on a really good run lately and with the lack of spark from the Bulldozer platform, no thanks to AMD themselves, it looks like they're going to stay on a good run. Sandy Bridge has cemented itself as an excellent platform that offers fantastic value for money and huge potential via the help of overclocking.

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Hi Tech Legion: Intel Core i7-3960X Processor Extreme Edition Review

The Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition is the highest-end CPU in the first batch of Sandy Bridge Extreme processors. The Intel Core i7-3960X, like the previous generation's six-core i7 Extreme processors are fully unlocked for overclocking. A simple multiplier adjustment and voltage increase can push the hex-core, 12-threaded 3.3GHz i7-3960X processor to a 40% overclock or beyond, depending on the capabilities of the motherboard on hand. With a massive 15MB Intel Smart Cache size and Quad-channel DDR3 memory support, the Intel Core i7-3960X pushes the boundaries of desktop CPU performance beyond anything the personal computing scene has ever witnessed.

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Vortez: Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition Review

Intel's new LGA2011 platform is finally here with a new batch of Sandy Bridge-E CPUs. We compare the new Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme with 4 other popular CPUs.

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Techreport: Intel's Core i7-3960X processor: Sandy Bridge goes Extreme

The new Extreme version of Sandy Bridge doubles up on nearly all of the resources included in the original quad-core variants. The result? Utter domination of our benchmark suite--and, quite possibly, of your pocketbook.

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Neoseeker: Intel Core i7 3960X Sandy Bridge-E Review

Intel's new Core i7 3960X is the latest implementation of the Sandy Bridge CPU architecture and promises outstanding performance in multi-threaded applications, or at least the ones that can use 12 threads at once. It's the top-end processor of Intel's new flagship Sandy Bridge-E platform, with a price equally fitting for large ships. Hitting the market at just under one thousand bucks at launch, one will need to be dead serious if they want the latest in multi-threaded performance. Hit our own review to see if the Core i7 3960X is just as serious at what it does best

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Techspot: Intel Sandy Bridge-E Debuts: Core i7-3960X Reviewed

With the Sandy Bridge processors hitting full stride, the recent release of AMD’s Bulldozer processors was not enough to slow sales. This was largely due to Bulldozer’s inability to compete well enough with the Core i5-2xxx series. Even worse than that, it's next to impossible to actually buy an AMD FX-8150 processor thanks to chip shortages. Meanwhile, Intel is preparing to strike back by bolstering their 2nd generation Core processors even further.

Today marks the arrival of Sandy Bridge-E and three new processors released initially, which include the Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition, Core i7-3930K and Core i7-3820. Powered by a new LGA2011 socket, these 32nm processors provide up to six cores with a dozen threads. Intel has also upgraded the integrated memory controller with four channels supporting DDR3-1600 memory, for a theoretical peak bandwidth of 51.2GB/s.

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Legit Reviews: ASUS P9X79 Pro Intel X79 Motherboard Review

The Intel X79 Express motherboards are finally here! Today we have the first of what will likely be many LGA2011 motherboards, the ASUS P8X79 Pro. The ASUS P9X79 Pro is an Intel Socket 2011 motherboard from the middle of the ASUS product stack. We are going to put it through the paces to see how it compares to an Intel X58 system, an Intel Z68 system, and AMD 'Bulldozer', and Phenom II X6 system! Does it crush the competition, or did it get bulldozed? Join us as we find out what the new Intel X79 system is capable of!

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PC Perspective: Intel Sandy Bridge-E Review - Core i7-3960X and X79 Chipset Tested

Well, Intel did as well and for the holiday they are officially unveiling the Sandy Bridge-E platform and the X79 chipset. The "E" stands for enthusiast in this case and you'll find that many of the same decisions and patterns apply from the Nehalem release to this
one. Nehalem and X58 was really meant as a workstation design but the performance and features were so good that Intel wanted to offer it to the high-end consumer as well. Sandy Bridge-E is the same thing - this design is clearly built for the high-profit areas of computing including workstation and servers but those that want the best available technology will find it pretty damn attractive as well.

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OC3D: Intel Core i7-3960X Review

We've been waiting patiently and now LGA2011 is finally here, so we'll take a look at the range topping Core i7-3960X.

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HotHardware.com: Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition Sandy Bridge-E CPU Review

November 14th, 2011 marks the release of Intel's Sandy Bridge-E microarchitecture and its companion X79 Express chipset. Sandy Bridge-E is the 'tock' in Intel's tick-tock release schedule cadence, that bridges the gap between current Sandy Bridge processors and next year's, totally new Ivy Bridge microarchitecture. The first processor to arrive in the SBE line-up is the Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition, a six-core chip poised to knock Intel's aging Gulftown-based processors from their position atop the PC food chain, one that they've held for almost two years.

We've got a Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition in house, along with a handful of X79 Express-based motherboards, and have pitted them against an assortment of high-end processors in an array of benchmark scenarios...

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KitGuru: Intel i7 3960X EE / Asus P9X79 Deluxe / 32GB Corsair Vengeance (1600mhz) Review

Intel launch their X79 platform today and we have several reviews ready for your enjoyment, focusing on various aspects of the technology and associated performance with partnering hardware. In this article we are going to be testing the Intel i7 3960x with the new Asus P9X79 Deluxe motherboard with a fully loaded array of 32GB 1600mhz memory, courtesy of Corsair.

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Hardware Canucks: Intel Sandy Bridge-E i7-3960X CPU Review

Hardware Canucks is pleased to present our review of the new Intel Sandy Bridge-E i7-3960X processor.

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Legit Reviews: Intel Core i7-3960X Sandy Bridge-E Processor Review

With the introduction of the new Intel LGA2011 socket and X79 chipset comes new processors and today Intel announced the Core i7-3960X, Core i7-3930K and the Core i7-3820. The bad news is that only the Core i7-3960X and the Core i7-3930K are available for purchase today at $990 and $555, respectively. Read on to see how the Core i7-3960X performs against numerous other processors!

The Intel X79 platform for socket LGA2011 processors proved that it is clearly the new enthusiast desktop platform for Intel. The Intel Core i7-3960X processor did a great job of showing just how far ahead Intel is when it comes to processor performance. AMD's new 'Bulldozer' processor series doesn't stand a chance against Intel's new 'Sandy Bridge-E' processors..

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Tom's Hardware: Intels Core i7-3960X im Test: Sandy Bridge-E und der X79-Chipsatz sind da (German)

Intels im Januar vorgestellte Sandy-Bridge-Architektur beeindruckte zwar, war aber für den Desktop gedacht. Für die Enthusiast-Version namens Sandy Bridge-E ließ man sich viel Zeit. Heute sind die LGA-2011-Plattform und ihre CPUs endlich startklar.

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HT4U: Intel Core i7 3960X Extreme Edition im Test - Neuer Weltmeister im Schwergewicht? (German)

Gute 10 Monate nach dem Debüt der "Sandy Bridge"-Architektur in den Mainstream-Prozessoren für den Sockel LGA-1155, entlässt Intel nun endlich auch die High-End-Modelle auf Basis dieser Architektur in den Markt

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Tom's Hardware: Intel Core i7-3960X Review: Sandy Bridge-E And X79 Express

Intel's Sandy Bridge design impressed us nearly a year ago, but it was intended for mainstream customers. The company took its time readying the enthusiast version, Sandy Bridge-E. Now, the LGA 2011-based platform and its accompanying CPUs are ready

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HardOCP: Intel Core i7-3960X - Sandy Bridge E Processor Review

Intel debuts its $1000+ Extreme Edition 3960X processor parroting how great it is for the gamer and enthusiast. With 6 cores and 12 threads, a new motherboard and chipset platform, and quad channel DDR3, Intel as done the impossible, given us everything we don't want, and nothing we do want.

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Anandtech: Intel Core i7 3960X (Sandy Bridge E) Review: Keeping the High End Alive

If you look carefully enough, you may notice that things are changing. It first became apparent shortly after the release of Nehalem. Intel bifurcated the performance desktop space by embracing a two-socket strategy, something we'd never seen from Intel and only once from AMD in the early Athlon 64 days (Socket-940 and Socket-754).

LGA-1366 came first, but by the time LGA-1156 arrived a year later it no longer made sense to recommend Intel's high-end Nehalem platform. Lynnfield was nearly as fast and the entire platform was more affordable.

When Sandy Bridge launched earlier this year, all we got was the mainstream desktop version. No one complained because it was fast enough, but we all knew an ultra high-end desktop part was in the works. A true successor to Nehalem's LGA-1366 platform for those who waited all this time.

Left to right: Sandy Bridge E, Gulftown, Sandy Bridge

After some delays, Sandy Bridge E is finally here. The platform is actually pretty simple to talk about. There's a new socket: LGA-2011, a new chipset Intel's X79 and of course the Sandy Bridge E CPU itself. Read on for our review!

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Bjorn3d: Intel's X79 Chipset, Core i7 3960X & DX79SI Motherboard

With the latest X79 chipset and Intel's latest Core i7 3960X 6-Core Extreme processor running on the SandyBridge-E architecture, you'll be zipping through processing times in no time!

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Techradar: Intel Core i7 3960X

Intel Core i7 3960X: OverviewA new high-end processor from Intel is normally a cue for much rejoicing. After all, who doesn't like exciting technology and the promise of epic new levels of performance? In that context, the all-new Intel Core i7-3960X is as snazzy as they come.It's a properly new chip, not an upclocked respin of an existing design. It even comes with a new socket and chipset, known respectively as LGA 2,011 and Intel X79. But there's another side to the story of this chip, otherwise known as Sandy Bridge E. And it's symptomatic of a broader problem with the PC platform.The story starts with a history lesson - the origins of multi-core PC processing.

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Techradar: Intel's Sandy Bridge E chips are finally here.

This morning Intel launched its all-singing, all-number crunching Sandy Bridge E processors and brand-spanking new X79 motherboard chipset.It's not messing around; these are the fastest desktop CPUs that have ever passed across our test benches. The flagship CPU, the Intel Core i7 3960X, is right up there at the very top-end of processors, and all six-cores of its updated Sandy Bridge E architecture can be yours for nigh-on £750.So it's no value proposition then.There is not a little controversy surrounding it though as despite being sold as a straight six-core CPU the literature Intel has given reviewers clearly shows two dormant or dead CPU cores unused on the die.

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OC3D: Gigabye GA-X79-UD5 Preview

With an array of X79 motherboards flooding the market it's time for a preview of the always popular UD5 variant from Gigabyte.

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Benchmark Reviews: ASUS Sabertooth X79 TUF Motherboard

TUF: The Ultimate Force. ASUS' most stable and reliable motherboard is backed by the industry's best five-year warranty. To attain this honor, the ASUS Sabertooth X79 motherboard endures extreme critical environmental testing that covers low to high chamber oom temperatures up to 55°C at 90% humidity. TUF Thermal Armor combined with US mil-spec electronic components ensures this motherboard will remain mission-ready regardless of how extreme an overclocking experiment gets. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the ASUS Sabertooth X79 TUF motherboard with Intel's Core i7 3960X Extreme Edition CPU.

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Benchmark Reviews: ASUS P9X79 Deluxe Motherboard

Designed to support second-generation Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition processors for the LGA2011 socket, Intel's Sandy Bridge Extreme X79 Express motherboards raise the standard for performance computers. ASUSTek, the largest of Intel's partners, is using this occasion to debut some impressive technology of their own: the ASUS P9X79 Deluxe motherboard. Standard are features such as SuperSpeed USB 3.0, SATA 6Gb/s, Bluetooth 3.0, and PCI-Express 3.0 compatibility. Complete with quad-channel DDR3 2200MHz system memory support, ASUS enables SSD caching and RAM-disk opportunities for high-demand tasks. A fresh new UEFI BIOS allows risk-free USB flashback, while digital power regulators now control every voltage on the system. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the ASUS P9X79 Deluxe motherboard with Intel's Core i7-3690X CPU.

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OC3D: ASUS Rampage 4 Extreme Review

It wouldn't be a new tech release without a new RoG motherboard to go with it. Welcome to the X79 Rampage IV Extreme review.

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Vortez: MSI X79A-GD65 (8D) Review

We have been itching to release details of the Intel X79 chipset and now we can with our first LGA2011 motherboard review, the MSI X79A-GD65(8D).

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Golem: CPU Core i7-3960X im Test: Sechs Kerne gegen 56 GByte RAM (German)

Intel löst endlich die Serie Core i7 900 ab. Der Core i7-3960X alias Sandy Bridge-E verarbeitet 12 Threads parallel und ist viel sparsamer als sein Vorgänger. Workstations mit bis zu 64 GByte und unter 100 Watt Idle sind nun so günstig möglich wie noch nie. (Benchmark, Lüfter)

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Anandtech: Sandy Bridge-E and X79 ? The ASUS P9X79 PRO Review

In the pursuit of sheer performance, a user should aim to combine the ultimate CPU with the ultimate everything else – motherboard, memory, and so on.  The latest enthusiast platform to hit our streets is Intel’s latest Sandy Bridge-E and X79 chipset, released today. 

So to start a series of X79 reviews, we are going to have a look at what the X79 chipset brings to the table over other Intel chipsets, and the first motherboard under our microscope is the ASUS P9X79 Pro, coming in at an RRP of $329.99.  Needless to say, this is fairly expensive in the land of motherboards, even when pairing it with a $1000 CPU.  However, if previous Intel chipsets are anything to go by, ASUS PRO boards get a lot of attention.  So the question becomes ‘Is it worth it?’  Read on for the full review.

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Review: Asus Sabertooth X79

Asus Sabertooth X79: OverviewIntel's latest world beating beast, the Core i7-3960X, has arrived and so has its X79 chipset.And that means a raft of fancy new motherboards based on the equally box-fresh X79 chipset. Intel's own DX79SI aside, our first taste of an X79 mobo comes in the form of the Asus Sabertooth X79. Like previous Sabertooth branded boards, the emphasis is on bang for buck. Well, relatively speaking. All boards based on Intel's new X79 chipset are high end by definition. But compared to Asus's silly money RoG boards, the Sabertooth X79 is positively parsimonious.

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Hi Tech Legion: ASUS P9X79 Deluxe Motherboard Review

The ASUS P9X79 Deluxe Motherboard offers multiple features at a mainstream performance level price. The P9X79 Deluxe includes Dual Intelligent Processor 3 technology for performance power control, Bluetooth 3.0 with WiFi, ASUS USB Boost, ASUS SSD Caching, a new DTS codec for enhanced onboard sound, passive thermal reactive chipset heatsinks with heatpipe, ASmedia USB 3.0 controller, Dual Gigabit LAN, ASUS AI Suite and One of the most advanced UEFI BIOS on the market.

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PC World: Intel Peaks on PC Performance With New Six-core Chip

Intel on Monday announced what it called its fastest chip to date for PCs, the six-core Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition processor, which is based on the Sandy...

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PC World: Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition

Intel's latest Extreme Edition CPU is a worthy successor to the throne, but this $1000 processor is strictly for the enthusiast set.

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PC Games Hardware: Test des Core i7-3960X: Intels Sandy-Bridge-Extreme-Flaggschiff (German)

Test des Intel Core i7-3960X: Passend zur winterlichen Spieleflut lässt Intel seine neuen Flaggschiffe vom Stapel, namentlich die Sandy Bridge Extreme. PC Games Hardware testet den Core i7-3960X und prüft, wie schnell der Chip rechnet, wie viel elektrische Energie der dafür benötigt, wie modern die Plattform ist und vieles mehr.

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eTeknix.com: Intel Core i7 3960X Extreme Edition CPU Processor Review

We have to try and stay impartial at eTeknix when it comes to competative brands. We give a fair share to everyone and let their products do the talking and this is the key point with a couple of major brands on the market. The first is with the graphics card market, and the fight between AMD and Nvidia, and with each company, they both have their good and their bad points and we award them on their merits when we take a look at their products in our labs.

The major one however is the battle between AMD and Intel in the hopeof being crowned the Processor King and for a while that crown has been held by Intel and though we don't tend to do favoritism, Intel pretty much have the higher-end desktop market sown up with Sandy Bridge on the 1155 platform.

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Computerbase: Test: Intel Sandy Bridge-E (German)

Bevor das aktuelle Prozessor-Testsystem in den wohlverdienten Ruhestand geht und durch ein neues, auf das Jahr 2012 ausgelegtes System ersetzt wird, darf es noch einmal einen potentiellen Hochkaräter abwickeln. Mit „Sandy Bridge-E“ liefert Intel mehr als zehn Monate nach der Einführung der neuen Architektur eine High-End-Lösung für den Desktop-Markt. Die „Sandy Bridge-E“ für den heimischen PC sind dabei lediglich Ableger der Server-Prozessor-Serie rund um die „Sandy Bridge-EP“ und „Sandy Bridge-EN“, was an vielen Stellen sichtbar wird. Denn für den Desktop herrschen aktuell immer noch deutlich andere Anforderungen, als sie im professionellen Umfeld anzutreffen sind. Somit ist der „Sandy Bridge-E“ letztendlich nur ein Kompromiss.

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Computerbase: MSIs X79-Mainboard unterstützt 128 GB RAM (German)

Zum offiziellen Start der Sandy Bridge-E Prozessoren (ComputerBase-Test) hat auch MSI seinen ersten beiden X79-Platinen in den Handel geschickt. Die Besonderheit an einem dieser Modelle ist, dass man in den acht Speicherbänken bis zu 128 GByte Arbeitsspeicher verbauen kann ? dies spezifiziert offiziell nicht einmal Intel.

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Heise: Core i7-3960X: Intel überholt sich selbst (German)

Mit dem Core i7-3960X hält die Sandy-Bridge-Technik nun auch Einzug in High-End-PCs und Single-Socket-Workstations. In dieser kleinen, aber teuren Nische hat die 2008 als erste Core-i-Vertreterin eingeführte LGA1366-Plattform drei Jahre lang überlebt: Noch immer liegt der im Februar 2011 nachgeschobene Core i7-990X mit sechs Westmere-Kernen in vielen Multi-Threading-Benchmarks weit vorne.

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PC-Max: Sandy Bridge Extreme: Intel Core i7-3960X Prozessor (German)

Vor knapp drei Jahren stellte der Chipgigant Intel eine Oberklasse-Plattform auf Basis des Sockel LGA1366 samt X58-Chipsatz und den dazugehörigen Core-i7-900-Prozessoren vor, die in Sachen Performance zum Marktstart ihres gleichen suchte. Doch mittlerweile konnte die innovative Sandy-Bridge-Architektur - die Anfang dieses Jahres zusammen mit dem Sockel LGA1155 das Licht der Öffentlichkeit erblickte - die Performance-Krone an sich reißen. Es wird also höchste Zeit für eine neue High-End-Option: Deshalb schickt Intel heute offiziell Sandy Bridge Extreme ins Rennen, um auch Enthusiasten wieder eine kompromisslose Auswahl an entsprechend leistungsfähigen Komponenten bereitstellen zu können. Wir schauen uns das Flaggschiff in Form des Core i7-3960X genauer an und werfen auch einen Blick auf den Sockel LGA2011 und den X79-PCH.

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Overclockers.at: Sandy Bridge-E ist da! (German)

Mit Anfang des Jahres präsentierte Intel ihre Mainstream-Plattform Sandy Bridge mit bis zu vier Kernen. Die äußerst effiziente Architektur macht derzeit nicht nur AMDs Bulldozer das Leben schwer, sondern lässt auch die eigene (noch immer entsprechend teuren) High-End-Modelle auf Sockel 1366 alt aussehen. Sandy Bridge-E soll diese Fronten klären und dem kleinen Bruder zeigen, wo er wirklich hingehört - in punkto Leistung und Preis!

Von der Architektur her hat sich bei Sandy Bridge-E nur wenig getan. Im Prinzip haben wir es mit sechs bzw. vier Prozessorkernen zu tun, die über mehr L3-Cache und zusätzliche PCIe-Anbindungen verfügen. Außerdem sitzt die derzeit größte Intel-CPU auf dem neu eingeführten Sockel LGA2011. Für Übertakter wurde der BClock für CPU und Speicher mittels der sogenannten Gear Ratio vom sensiblen Rest des Systems entkoppelt. Somit kann der BClock nun entweder auf 100, 125 oder 166 MHz gesetzt werden, um das Potenzial des Speichers besser ausnutzen zu können. Dazu gesellt sich der potente X79-Chipsatz, der erstmals Quad-Channel für Speicher anbietet und insgesamt 40 PCIe-Lanes verarbeitet.

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