Intel Core i7-5930K vs Intel Core i7-2600K

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i7-5930K CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Core i7-2600K
Intel Core i7-5930K Intel Core i7-2600K

CPU comparison

Intel Core i7-5930K or Intel Core i7-2600K - 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 i7-5930K has 6 cores with 12 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.70 GHz. Up to 64 GB of memory is supported in 4 memory channels. The Intel Core i7-5930K was released in Q3/2014.

The Intel Core i7-2600K has 4 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.80 GHz. The CPU supports up to 32 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i7-2600K was released in Q1/2011.
Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition (24) Family Intel Core i7 (293)
Intel Core i 5000X (3) CPU group Intel Core i 2000 (28)
5 Generation 2
Haswell E Architecture Sandy Bridge S
Desktop / Server Segment Desktop / Server
Intel Core i7-4930K Predecessor --
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core i7-5930K has 6 CPU cores and can calculate 12 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Intel Core i7-5930K is 3.50 GHz (3.70 GHz) while the Intel Core i7-2600K has 4 CPU cores and 8 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the Intel Core i7-2600K is at 3.40 GHz (3.80 GHz).

Intel Core i7-5930K Characteristic Intel Core i7-2600K
6 Cores 4
12 Threads 8
normal Core architecture normal
Yes Hyperthreading Yes
Yes Overclocking ? Yes
3.50 GHz Frequency 3.40 GHz
3.70 GHz Turbo Frequency (1 Core) 3.80 GHz
3.60 GHz Turbo Frequency (All Cores) 3.80 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 i7-5930K Characteristic Intel Core i7-2600K
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

The Intel Core i7-5930K or Intel Core i7-2600K 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.

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

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.

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

Memory & PCIe

The Intel Core i7-5930K can use up to 64 GB of memory in 4 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 68.2 GB/s. The Intel Core i7-2600K supports up to 32 GB of memory in 2 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 21.3 GB/s.

Intel Core i7-5930K Characteristic Intel Core i7-2600K
DDR4-2133 Memory DDR3-1066, DDR3-1333
64 GB Max. Memory 32 GB
4 (Quad Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
68.2 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 21.3 GB/s
No ECC No
-- L2 Cache 1.00 MB
15.00 MB L3 Cache 8.00 MB
3.0 PCIe version 2.0
40 PCIe lanes 16
39.4 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth 8.0 GB/s

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Intel Core i7-5930K is 140 W, while the Intel Core i7-2600K has a TDP of 95 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.

Intel Core i7-5930K Characteristic Intel Core i7-2600K
140 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 95 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Intel Core i7-5930K is manufactured in 22 nm and has 15.00 MB cache. The Intel Core i7-2600K is manufactured in 32 nm and has a 9.00 MB cache.

Intel Core i7-5930K Characteristic Intel Core i7-2600K
22 nm Technology 32 nm
Monolithic Chip design Monolithic
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2 ISA extensions SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX
LGA 2011-3 Socket LGA 1155
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d Virtualization VT-x, VT-x EPT
Yes AES-NI Yes
Windows 10, Linux Operating systems Windows 10, Linux
Q3/2014 Release date Q1/2011
499 $ Release price 270 $
show more data show more data


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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 4 CPU benchmarks
⌀ Multi core performance in 7 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 i7-5930K Intel Core i7-5930K
6C 12T @ 3.70 GHz
984 (100%)
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-2600K
4C 8T @ 3.80 GHz
808 (82%)

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 i7-5930K Intel Core i7-5930K
6C 12T @ 3.60 GHz
5788 (100%)
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-2600K
4C 8T @ 3.80 GHz
3098 (54%)

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 i7-5930K Intel Core i7-5930K
6C 12T @ 3.70 GHz
1132 (100%)
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-2600K
4C 8T @ 3.80 GHz
707 (62%)

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 i7-5930K Intel Core i7-5930K
6C 12T @ 3.60 GHz
6032 (100%)
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-2600K
4C 8T @ 3.80 GHz
2457 (41%)

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 i7-5930K Intel Core i7-5930K
6C 12T @ 3.70 GHz
409 (100%)
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-2600K
4C 8T @ 3.80 GHz
263 (64%)

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 i7-5930K Intel Core i7-5930K
6C 12T @ 3.60 GHz
3052 (100%)
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-2600K
4C 8T @ 3.80 GHz
1865 (61%)

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 i7-5930K Intel Core i7-5930K
6C 12T @ 3.60 GHz
10302 (100%)
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-2600K
4C 8T @ 3.80 GHz
5488 (53%)

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 i7-5930K Intel Core i7-5930K
6C 12T @ 3.60 GHz
313.2 (42%)
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-2600K
4C 8T @ 3.80 GHz
741.6 (100%)

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 i7-5930K Intel Core i7-5930K
6C 12T @ 3.50 GHz
3043 (100%)
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-2600K
4C 8T @ 3.40 GHz
1690 (56%)

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 i7-5930K Intel Core i7-5930K
6C 12T @ 3.70 GHz
142 (100%)
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-2600K
4C 8T @ 3.80 GHz
128 (90%)

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 i7-5930K Intel Core i7-5930K
6C 12T @ 3.60 GHz
1149 (100%)
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-2600K
4C 8T @ 3.80 GHz
612 (53%)

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 i7-5930K Intel Core i7-5930K
6C 12T @ 3.70 GHz
54 (100%)
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-2600K
4C 8T @ 3.80 GHz
0 (0%)

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 i7-5930K Intel Core i7-5930K
6C 12T @ 3.70 GHz
378 (100%)
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-2600K
4C 8T @ 3.80 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 i7-5930K Intel Core i7-5930K
@ 0.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-2600K
Intel HD Graphics 3000 @ 1.35 GHz
259 (100%)

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 i7-5930K Intel Core i7-5930K
6C 12T @ 3.60 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i7-2600K
4C 8T @ 3.80 GHz
365 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core i7-5930K Intel Core i7-2600K
Unknown Unknown

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