Intel Core i7-3970X Benchmark, Test and specs

Last updated: 2023-04-03

The Intel Core i7-3970X has 6 cores with 12 threads and is based on the 3. gen of the Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition series. The processor uses a mainboard with the LGA 2011 socket and was released in Q4/2012. The Intel Core i7-3970X scores 812 points in the Geekbench 5 single-core benchmark. In the Geekbench 5 multi-core benchmark, the result is 4,981 points.

CPU lineage
The segment in which we have classified the Intel Core i7-3970X. Here you can see if it is a desktop processor or a mobile processor or which processor may be the successor of the Intel Core i7-3970X.
Name:	Intel Core i7-3970X
Family:	Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition
CPU group:	Intel Core i 3000X
Architecture:	Sandy Bridge E
Segment:	Desktop / Server
Generation:	3
Predecessor:	--
Successor:	--

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core i7-3970X has 6 CPU cores and can calculate 12 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Intel Core i7-3970X is 3.50 GHz (4.00 GHz). The number of CPU cores greatly affects the speed of the processor and is an important performance indicator.

CPU Cores / Threads:	6 / 12
Core architecture:	normal
Cores:	6x

Hyperthreading / SMT:	Yes
Overclocking:	Yes
Frequency:	3.50 GHz
Turbo Frequency (1 Core):	4.00 GHz
Turbo Frequency (6 Cores):	4.00 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.

AI hardware:	--
AI specifications:	--

Internal Graphics

The Intel Core i7-3970X has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short. Specifically, the Intel Core i7-3970X uses the no iGPU, which has texture shaders and execution units. The iGPU uses the system's main memory as graphics memory and sits on the processor's die.

GPU name:	no iGPU
GPU frequency:
GPU (Turbo):	No turbo
Compute units:
Shader:
Max. GPU Memory:	--

Max. displays:
Generation:
Direct X:	--
Technology:
Release date:

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.

h265 / HEVC (8 bit):	No
h265 / HEVC (10 bit):	No
h264:	No
VP8:	No
VP9:	No

AV1:	No
AVC:	No
VC-1:	No
JPEG:	No

Memory type:	Memory bandwidth:
Memory & PCIe The processor can use up to 64 GB memory in 4 (Quad Channel) memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 51.2 GB/s. The memory type as well as the amount of memory can greatly affect the speed of the system.

DDR3-1600	51.2 GB/s
Max. Memory:	64 GB
Memory channels:	4 (Quad Channel)
ECC:	No
PCIe:	2.0 x 40
PCIe Bandwidth:	20.0 GB/s

Thermal Management The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the processor is 150 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently. The TDP usually gives a rough idea of the actual power consumption of the CPU.

TDP (PL1 / PBP):	150 W
TDP (PL2):	--
TDP up:	--
TDP down:	--
Tjunction max.:	--

Technical details

The Intel Core i7-3970X is made in 32 nm. The smaller the manufacturing process of a CPU, the more modern and energy-efficient it is. Overall, the processor has 15.00 MB cache. A large cache can greatly speed up the processor's speed in some cases such as games.

Technology:	32 nm
Chip design:	Monolithic
Socket:	LGA 2011
L2-Cache:	--
L3-Cache:	15.00 MB
AES-NI:	Yes
Operating systems:	Windows 10, Linux

Virtualization:	VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d (C2 Stepping)
Instruction set (ISA):	x86-64 (64 bit)
ISA extensions:	SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX
Release date:	Q4/2012
Release price:	820 $
Part Number:	--
Documents:	Technical data sheet

Intel Core i7-3970X
6C 12T @ 3.50 GHz (4.00 GHz)

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Benchmark results

The benchmark results for the Intel Core i7-3970X have been carefully checked by us. We only publish benchmark results that have been created by us or that have been submitted by a visitor and then checked by a team member. All results are based on and fullfill our benchmark guidelines.

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.


	AMD Ryzen Embedded R1505G 2C 4T @ 3.30 GHz	814
	Intel Core i3-L13G4 5C 5T @ 2.80 GHz	814
	Intel Core i7-5750HQ 4C 8T @ 3.40 GHz	814
	Intel Core i7-3970X 6C 12T @ 4.00 GHz	812
	Intel Core i3-4130 2C 4T @ 3.40 GHz	812
	Intel Core i5-3470T 2C 4T @ 3.60 GHz	811
	Intel Xeon E5-2650 v4 12C 24T @ 2.90 GHz	811

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 i3-10325 4C 8T @ 4.50 GHz	5027
	Intel Core i5-1240U 10C 12T @ 2.30 GHz	5021
	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy 8C 8T @ 3.36 GHz	5017
	Intel Core i7-3970X 6C 12T @ 4.00 GHz	4981
	Intel Xeon D-1548 8C 16T @ 2.00 GHz	4981
	Intel Core i5-8600 6C 6T @ 3.80 GHz	4977
	Intel Core i7-3960X 6C 12T @ 3.90 GHz	4973

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 i7-4930K 6C 12T @ 3.90 GHz	746
	MediaTek Dimensity 810 8C 8T @ 2.40 GHz	746
	Intel Core i3-6157U 2C 4T @ 2.40 GHz	745
	Intel Core i7-3970X 6C 12T @ 4.00 GHz	742
	Intel Xeon Bronze 3206R 8C 8T @ 1.90 GHz	742
	Intel Core i5-3570 4C 4T @ 3.80 GHz	741
	Intel Core i7-4820K 4C 8T @ 3.90 GHz	740

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.


	Samsung Exynos 2200 8C 8T @ 2.80 GHz	3528
	MediaTek Dimensity 8100 8C 8T @ 2.85 GHz	3521
	Intel Core i7-4710MQ 4C 8T @ 2.50 GHz	3517
	Intel Core i7-3970X 6C 12T @ 4.00 GHz	3512
	Intel Core i7-4710HQ 4C 8T @ 2.50 GHz	3510
	Intel Processor N200 4C 4T @ 3.40 GHz	3504
	Intel Core i7-4770T 4C 8T @ 3.20 GHz	3497

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 i7-8809G 4C 8T @ 3.70 GHz	8578
	Intel Core i5-8600T 6C 6T @ 3.20 GHz	8570
	AMD EPYC Embedded 3201 8C 8T @ 1.50 GHz	8566
	Intel Core i7-3970X 6C 12T @ 4.00 GHz	8517
	Apple A14 Bionic 6C 6T @ 3.00 GHz	8514
	Intel Xeon W-2123 4C 8T @ 3.90 GHz	8506
	Intel Core i7-1065G7 4C 8T @ 3.50 GHz	8477

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.


	AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4650U 6C 12T @ 2.10 GHz	2654
	Intel Core i7-3960X 6C 12T @ 3.30 GHz	2643
	Intel Core i3-10320 4C 8T @ 3.80 GHz	2633
	Intel Core i7-3970X 6C 12T @ 3.50 GHz	2623
	Intel Core i7-11370H 4C 8T @ 3.30 GHz	2613
	Intel Core i7-1195G7 4C 8T @ 2.90 GHz	2602
	Intel Core i7-3930K 6C 12T @ 3.20 GHz	2588

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 i3-4130 2C 4T @ 3.40 GHz	136
	Intel Core i5-4340M 2C 4T @ 3.50 GHz	136
	Intel Core i5-4690T 4C 4T @ 3.50 GHz	136
	Intel Core i7-3970X 6C 12T @ 4.00 GHz	135
	Intel Pentium Gold G6400TE 2C 4T @ 3.20 GHz	135
	Intel Core i7-4710HQ 4C 8T @ 3.50 GHz	135
	Intel Core i7-8500Y 2C 4T @ 4.20 GHz	135

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 i7-5820K 6C 12T @ 3.40 GHz	1085
	Intel Core i3-10320 4C 8T @ 4.40 GHz	1080
	Intel Core i7-8700T 6C 12T @ 3.20 GHz	1068
	Intel Core i7-3970X 6C 12T @ 4.00 GHz	1065
	Intel Xeon E5-1650 v2 6C 12T @ 3.70 GHz	1065
	Intel Core i7-4930K 6C 12T @ 3.60 GHz	1064
	Intel Core i7-8750H 6C 12T @ 3.90 GHz	1063

Benchmarks

Geekbench 5 (SC)
2,398 entries

Geekbench 5 (MC)
2,371 entries

Geekbench 6 (SC)
1,646 entries

Geekbench 6 (MC)
1,597 entries

PassMark CPU-Mark
2,319 entries

CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (MC)
725 entries

Cinebench R15 (SC)
1,102 entries

Cinebench R15 (MC)
1,097 entries

Geekbench 3 (SC)
941 entries

Geekbench 3 (MC)
937 entries

Cinebench R11.5 (SC)
825 entries

Cinebench R11.5 (MC)
836 entries

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