Intel Core i7-5960X vs Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i7-5960X CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2
Intel Core i7-5960X Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2

CPU comparison

Intel Core i7-5960X or Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2 - 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 i7-5960X has 8 cores with 16 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.50 GHz. Up to 64 GB of memory is supported in 4 memory channels. The Intel Core i7-5960X was released in Q3/2014.

The Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2 has 6 cores with 12 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.00 GHz. The CPU supports up to 256 GB of memory in 4 memory channels. The Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2 was released in Q3/2013.
Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition (24) Family Intel Xeon E5 (71)
Intel Core i 5000X (3) CPU group Intel Xeon E5 v2 (15)
5 Generation 4
Haswell E Architecture Ivy Bridge EP
Desktop / Server Segment Desktop / Server
Intel Core i7-4960X Predecessor --
-- Successor Intel Xeon E5-1660 v3

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core i7-5960X is a 8 core processor with a clock frequency of 3.00 GHz (3.50 GHz). The Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2 has 6 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 3.70 GHz (4.00 GHz).

Intel Core i7-5960X Characteristic Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2
8 Cores 6
16 Threads 12
normal Core architecture normal
Yes Hyperthreading Yes
Yes Overclocking ? No
3.00 GHz Frequency 3.70 GHz
3.50 GHz Turbo Frequency (1 Core) 4.00 GHz
3.20 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 i7-5960X Characteristic Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

The integrated graphics unit of a processor is not only responsible for the pure image output on the system, but can also significantly increase the efficiency of the system with the support of modern video codecs.

no iGPU GPU no iGPU
GPU frequency --
-- GPU (Turbo) --
-- GPU Generation --
Technology
Max. displays
-- Compute units --
-- Shader --
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
-- Max. GPU Memory --
-- 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.

no iGPU GPU no iGPU
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
No Codec h264 No
No Codec VP9 No
No Codec VP8 No
No Codec AV1 No
No Codec AVC No
No Codec VC-1 No
No Codec JPEG No

Memory & PCIe

The Intel Core i7-5960X supports a maximum of 64 GB of memory in 4 memory channels. The Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2 can connect up to 256 GB of memory in 4 memory channels.

Intel Core i7-5960X Characteristic Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2
DDR4-2133 Memory DDR3-1866
64 GB Max. Memory 256 GB
4 (Quad Channel) Memory channels 4 (Quad Channel)
68.2 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 59.7 GB/s
No ECC Yes
-- L2 Cache --
20.00 MB L3 Cache 12.00 MB
3.0 PCIe version 3.0
40 PCIe lanes 40
39.4 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth 39.4 GB/s

Thermal Management

The TDP (Thermal Design Power) of a processor specifies the required cooling solution. The Intel Core i7-5960X has a TDP of 140 W, that of the Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2 is 130 W.

Intel Core i7-5960X Characteristic Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2
140 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 130 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Intel Core i7-5960X has a 20.00 MB cache, while the Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2 cache has a total of 12.00 MB.

Intel Core i7-5960X Characteristic Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2
22 nm Technology 22 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 2011
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d Virtualization VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d
Yes AES-NI Yes
Windows 10, Linux Operating systems Windows 10, Linux
Q3/2014 Release date Q3/2013
829 $ Release price 570 $
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 5 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 i7-5960X Intel Core i7-5960X
8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz
1002 (100%)
Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2 Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2
6C 12T @ 4.00 GHz
921 (92%)

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 i7-5960X Intel Core i7-5960X
8C 16T @ 3.20 GHz
7843 (100%)
Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2 Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2
6C 12T @ 3.80 GHz
5503 (70%)

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 i7-5960X Intel Core i7-5960X
8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz
1154 (100%)
Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2 Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2
6C 12T @ 4.00 GHz
726 (63%)

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 i7-5960X Intel Core i7-5960X
8C 16T @ 3.20 GHz
7640 (100%)
Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2 Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2
6C 12T @ 3.80 GHz
3428 (45%)

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 i7-5960X Intel Core i7-5960X
8C 16T @ 3.20 GHz
12709 (91%)
Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2 Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2
6C 12T @ 3.80 GHz
13919 (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 i7-5960X Intel Core i7-5960X
8C 16T @ 3.00 GHz
3944 (100%)
Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2 Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2
6C 12T @ 3.70 GHz
2838 (72%)

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 i7-5960X Intel Core i7-5960X
8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz
177 (100%)
Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2 Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2
6C 12T @ 4.00 GHz
151 (85%)

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 i7-5960X Intel Core i7-5960X
8C 16T @ 3.20 GHz
1360 (100%)
Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2 Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2
6C 12T @ 3.80 GHz
1092 (80%)

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 i7-5960X Intel Core i7-5960X
8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz
55 (100%)
Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2 Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2
6C 12T @ 4.00 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 i7-5960X Intel Core i7-5960X
8C 16T @ 3.50 GHz
498 (100%)
Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2 Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2
6C 12T @ 4.00 GHz
0 (0%)

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 i7-5960X Intel Core i7-5960X
8C 16T @ 3.20 GHz
254.1 (100%)
Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2 Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2
6C 12T @ 3.80 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core i7-5960X Intel Xeon E5-1660 v2
Unknown Unknown

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