Intel Core i7-2600K vs Intel Core i7-5960X

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i7-2600K CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Core i7-5960X
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-5960X

CPU comparison

Intel Core i7-2600K or Intel Core i7-5960X - which processor is faster? In this comparison we look at the differences and analyze which of these two CPUs is better. We compare the technical data and benchmark results.

The Intel Core i7-2600K has 4 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.80 GHz. Up to 32 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i7-2600K was released in Q1/2011.

The Intel Core i7-5960X has 8 cores with 16 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.50 GHz. The CPU supports up to 64 GB of memory in 4 memory channels. The Intel Core i7-5960X was released in Q3/2014.
Intel Core i7 (293) Family Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition (24)
Intel Core i 2000 (28) CPU group Intel Core i 5000X (3)
2 Generation 5
Sandy Bridge S Architecture Haswell E
Desktop / Server Segment Desktop / Server
-- Predecessor Intel Core i7-4960X
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core i7-2600K has 4 CPU cores and can calculate 8 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Intel Core i7-2600K is 3.40 GHz (3.80 GHz) while the Intel Core i7-5960X has 8 CPU cores and 16 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the Intel Core i7-5960X is at 3.00 GHz (3.50 GHz).

Intel Core i7-2600K Characteristic Intel Core i7-5960X
4 Cores 8
8 Threads 16
normal Core architecture normal
Yes Hyperthreading Yes
Yes Overclocking ? Yes
3.40 GHz Frequency 3.00 GHz
3.80 GHz Turbo Frequency (1 Core) 3.50 GHz
3.80 GHz Turbo Frequency (All Cores) 3.20 GHz

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. Algorithms for ML improve their performance the more data they have collected via software. ML tasks can be processed up to 10,000 times faster than with a classic processor.

Intel Core i7-2600K Characteristic Intel Core i7-5960X
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

The Intel Core i7-2600K or Intel Core i7-5960X has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short. The iGPU uses the system's main memory as graphics memory and sits on the processor's die.

Intel HD Graphics 3000 GPU no iGPU
0.85 GHz GPU frequency --
1.35 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
6 GPU Generation --
32 nm Technology
2 Max. displays
12 Compute units --
96 Shader --
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
2 GB Max. GPU Memory --
10.1 DirectX Version --

Hardware codec support

A photo or video codec that is accelerated in hardware can greatly accelerate the working speed of a processor and extend the battery life of notebooks or smartphones when playing videos.

Intel HD Graphics 3000 GPU no iGPU
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
Decode / Encode Codec h264 No
No Codec VP9 No
No Codec VP8 No
No Codec AV1 No
Decode / Encode Codec AVC No
Decode Codec VC-1 No
No Codec JPEG No

Memory & PCIe

The Intel Core i7-2600K can use up to 32 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 21.3 GB/s. The Intel Core i7-5960X supports up to 64 GB of memory in 4 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 68.2 GB/s.

Intel Core i7-2600K Characteristic Intel Core i7-5960X
DDR3-1066, DDR3-1333 Memory DDR4-2133
32 GB Max. Memory 64 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 4 (Quad Channel)
21.3 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 68.2 GB/s
No ECC No
1.00 MB L2 Cache --
8.00 MB L3 Cache 20.00 MB
2.0 PCIe version 3.0
16 PCIe lanes 40
8.0 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth 39.4 GB/s

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Intel Core i7-2600K is 95 W, while the Intel Core i7-5960X has a TDP of 140 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.

Intel Core i7-2600K Characteristic Intel Core i7-5960X
95 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 140 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Intel Core i7-2600K is manufactured in 32 nm and has 9.00 MB cache. The Intel Core i7-5960X is manufactured in 22 nm and has a 20.00 MB cache.

Intel Core i7-2600K Characteristic Intel Core i7-5960X
32 nm Technology 22 nm
Monolithic Chip design Monolithic
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX ISA extensions SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2
LGA 1155 Socket LGA 2011-3
VT-x, VT-x EPT Virtualization VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d
Yes AES-NI Yes
Windows 10, Linux Operating systems Windows 10, Linux
Q1/2011 Release date Q3/2014
270 $ Release price 829 $
show more data show more data


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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 3 CPU benchmarks
⌀ Multi core performance in 6 CPU benchmarks

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-2600K
4C 8T @ 3.80 GHz
808 (81%)
Intel Core i7-5960X Intel Core i7-5960X
8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz
1002 (100%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-2600K
4C 8T @ 3.80 GHz
3098 (40%)
Intel Core i7-5960X Intel Core i7-5960X
8C 16T @ 3.20 GHz
7843 (100%)

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The single-core benchmark only evaluates the performance of the fastest CPU core, the number of CPU cores in a processor is irrelevant here.
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-2600K
4C 8T @ 3.80 GHz
707 (61%)
Intel Core i7-5960X Intel Core i7-5960X
8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz
1154 (100%)

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The multi-core benchmark evaluates the performance of all of the processor's CPU cores. Virtual thread improvements such as AMD SMT or Intel's Hyper-Threading have a positive impact on the benchmark result.
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-2600K
4C 8T @ 3.80 GHz
2457 (32%)
Intel Core i7-5960X Intel Core i7-5960X
8C 16T @ 3.20 GHz
7640 (100%)

Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark

Some of the CPUs listed below have been benchmarked by CPU-monkey. However the majority of CPUs have not been tested and the results have been estimated by a CPU-monkey’s secret proprietary formula. As such they do not accurately reflect the actual Passmark CPU mark values and are not endorsed by PassMark Software Pty Ltd.
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-2600K
4C 8T @ 3.80 GHz
5488 (43%)
Intel Core i7-5960X Intel Core i7-5960X
8C 16T @ 3.20 GHz
12709 (100%)

Blender 2.81 (bmw27)

Blender is a free 3D graphics software for rendering (creating) 3D bodies, which can also be textured and animated in the software. The Blender benchmark creates predefined scenes and measures the time (s) required for the entire scene. The shorter the time required, the better. We selected bmw27 as the benchmark scene.
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-2600K
4C 8T @ 3.80 GHz
741.6 (100%)
Intel Core i7-5960X Intel Core i7-5960X
8C 16T @ 3.20 GHz
254.1 (34%)

CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Multi-Core)

The CPU-Z benchmark measures a processor's performance by measuring the time it takes the system to complete all benchmark calculations. The faster the benchmark is completed, the higher the score.
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-2600K
4C 8T @ 3.40 GHz
1690 (43%)
Intel Core i7-5960X Intel Core i7-5960X
8C 16T @ 3.00 GHz
3944 (100%)

Cinebench R15 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-2600K
4C 8T @ 3.80 GHz
128 (72%)
Intel Core i7-5960X Intel Core i7-5960X
8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz
177 (100%)

Cinebench R15 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-2600K
4C 8T @ 3.80 GHz
612 (45%)
Intel Core i7-5960X Intel Core i7-5960X
8C 16T @ 3.20 GHz
1360 (100%)

Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)

The Cinebench 2024 benchmark is based on the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxon's 3D program Cinema 4D. The benchmark runs are each 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-2600K
4C 8T @ 3.80 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-5960X Intel Core i7-5960X
8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz
55 (100%)

Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)

The Multi-Core test of the Cinebench 2024 benchmark uses all cpu cores to render using the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxons Cinema 4D. The benchmark run is 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-2600K
4C 8T @ 3.80 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-5960X Intel Core i7-5960X
8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz
498 (100%)

Cinebench R20 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-2600K
4C 8T @ 3.80 GHz
263 (100%)
Intel Core i7-5960X Intel Core i7-5960X
8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R20 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-2600K
4C 8T @ 3.80 GHz
1865 (100%)
Intel Core i7-5960X Intel Core i7-5960X
8C 16T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)

iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

The theoretical computing performance of the internal graphics unit of the processor with simple accuracy (32 bit) in GFLOPS. GFLOPS indicates how many billion floating point operations the iGPU can perform per second.
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-2600K
Intel HD Graphics 3000 @ 1.35 GHz
259 (100%)
Intel Core i7-5960X Intel Core i7-5960X
@ 0.00 GHz
0 (0%)

CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Single-Core)

The CPU-Z benchmark measures a processor's performance by measuring the time it takes the system to complete all benchmark calculations. The faster the benchmark is completed, the higher the score.
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-2600K
4C 8T @ 3.80 GHz
365 (100%)
Intel Core i7-5960X Intel Core i7-5960X
8C 16T @ 3.20 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-5960X
Unknown Unknown

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