We run the below benchmarks, tests and calculations as part of our CPU reviews. All the methods settings and procedures detailed below are held constant for all CPUs included in the graphs. This means all results are comparable and the only changed testing parameters are the CPU and motherboard.
Cinebench R11.5 Single and Multi-Threaded Benchmarks
Super Pi V1.1 4Million Calculation
WinRar V5 Beta 8 Benchmark – 500MB average
AIDA 64 Extreme Edition – Memory and Cache, CPU Queen, CPU PhotoWorxx and CPU Hash tests
3DMark 11 – Performance And Extreme pre-set tests
3DMark 13 – Performance And Extreme FireStrike Pre-set tests
PCMark7 V1.4 – PCMark Suite only
BioShock Infinite – Benchmarking utility; settings 3 then 2 (read: Ultra) and at 1920 x 1080
Metro Last Light – Benchmarking utility; settings (DX11/1920×1080/Very High/ AF4X/ Normal Shadows/ Normal Tessellation/ No SSAA/ Sequence D6/ Runs 1/ No PhysX)
Power consumption – Idle power consumption is measured with 0% system usage at the Windows 7 desktop over a 5 minute period. Load power consumption is measured with AIDA 64’s Extreme Edition CPU Stress test running for 5 minutes. The power is measured at system-level at the wall via a killawatt meter. By holding the power consumption of all other components to a stable low level CPU power consumption can be derived from the system results.
Temperatures – Are measured after 5 minutes of system idle at the Windows 7 desktop. Load temperatures are measured after 5 minutes of AIDA 64 Extreme Edition CPU stress test. These temperatures are converted into deltas when inserted into the graphs (Delta temperature = Actual recorded temperature – ambient room temperature). The ambient temperature recorded with digital thermometer in fixed location.
We have three test systems for each of the main sockets of comparison in this review; LGA 2011, AM3+ and LGA 1150.
Intel LGA 2011 Test System
Motherboard – Asus Rampage IV Extreme X79
Processor – Intel Core i7 3960X (at stock with Turbo enabled and OC at 4.6GHz with 1.375 volts) and Intel Core i7 4960X (at stock with Turbo enabled and OC at 4.5GHz with 1.4 volts)
RAM – Corsair Vengeance Pro 1866MHz 9-10-9-27-2T (4 X 8GB) (four DIMMs necessary for quad channel)
CPU Cooler – Corsair H100i with Quiet Fan Profile and Noctua NT-H1 Thermal Paste
Power Supply – Corsair HX1050W
Main Storage Drive – Kingston HyperX 240GB SSD over SATA III interface
Chassis – Lian Li T60 Test Bench
Displays – Dell U2711 Ultra Sharp
Operating System – Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bit
We would like to thank Asus, Intel, AMD, Corsair, Kingston, Lian Li, Dell, Noctua and all our other partners who supplied us with test equipment and hardware. Their generosity makes our testing possible and without them we wouldn’t be able to produce the reviews we do, so thank you!