Intel Core i7-6950X Broadwell-E Processor Review

Power Consumption and Temperatures

Power Consumption

During idle power states, the processor while operating in its stock configuration is reasonably efficient and consumes less power than the i7-5960X. However, the improvement is remarkably small and any reductions in power saving by using a smaller manufacturing process seems minimal. Saying that, the overclocked TDP is less than the i7-5960X under load and by a decent amount. This is much more promising and outlines the improved efficiency Broadwell-E brings in extreme usage scenarios.

Temperatures

The i7-6950X is remarkably cool when running at the base specification and records a slightly lower temperature than its predecessor. On the other hand, overclocking the processor at 1.3V or higher massively increases the thermal loads to levels which you shouldn’t be using on a permanent basis. Annoyingly, the CPU doesn’t have a gradual transition when setting a higher voltage to maintain stability and struggles to stay within the thermal limits even when paired with exceptionally high-end cooling.