If you read our Intel Core i7-4960X Ivy Bridge-E review posted earlier today, you likely saw our overclocking results. After publication I got contacted by ASUS asking why we didn't attempt to overclock our CPU sample with one of their updated motherboards. In truth we were unable to get any of the pre-release UEFI firmware updates to apply to our P9X79 Pro or Rampage IV Extreme motherboards.
Move on to this afternoon and we were finally able to patch up the v1.02 of the P9X79 Pro and tossed in the same Core i7-4960X sample we used in our initial story. What were the results?
Click to Enlarge
As you can see above we were able to overclock the processor to 4.413 GHz at UEFI set voltage of only 1.40v. Previously we were only reaching a 4.3 GHz overclock and even had to up the voltage a bit higher.
I was hoping that I would be able to reach the 45x multiplier but alas it wasn't meant to be. I will keep messing with our 4960X to see how much further can push it.
That is still a great
That is still a great overclock. I can only push my 3770k to 4.3 but it works and im happy with it. I am a bit disappointed of the gains I have seen in other reviews but I also will probably never buy an enthusiast platform. Maybe if Intel does an actual enthusiast 8 core chip and not a Xeon then I probably would. It will help me browse the internet faster.
I was going to say something
I was going to say something sarcastic about the multiple IVB-E delays and a 2 year later release after SB-E, but whats the point…
Ryan,
Are you able to set up
Ryan,
Are you able to set up a test bed to benchmark between the 3820 and the 4960X (or perhaps include more SB-E vs. IB-E)? I bought into the socket 2011 platform with a 3820 a while back in hopes of eventually upgrading to IB-E 4970X when that comes out, but I’m curious about the performance difference now that it’s here.
Thanks,
-Eric
Umm…the 3820 will be slower
Umm…the 3820 will be slower than the Ivy Bridge standard parts for most CPU tests. And with 50% more cores, that is where the performance delta will creep in.
Haha, I know that! I wondered
Haha, I know that! I wondered if you could produce actual numbers…
Hm…so the newer BIOS
Hm…so the newer BIOS revision improved the overclockability of the chip a bit. I wonder if a more mature revision would add anymore to it.
Not really, this is a
Not really, this is a different MOTHERBOARD. It just took the new BIOS for us to get IVB-E support on the existing ASUS P9X79 Pro.
This is a really
This is a really disappointing result, and thank you for posting it! I was hoping with the lower power requirements that IVB-E would be able to be OCed even higher given adequate cooling. Sadly this is not the case. If you can get a SB-E running at 4.6Ghz with minimal trouble, 4.4Ghz on IVB-E is plain sad.
I just got my 4960x to over
I just got my 4960x to over 4.7 ghz using Asus suite II
I’m using a P9X79 Asus Board.
I’m using a P9X79 Asus Board. Not the pro, deluxe or the LE.
Just the plain one. I upgraded from the 3930k and its really not a whole lot better but im still happy since it overclocks higher.Also be prepared to update your bios first and reload your chipset drivers after dropping it in.
It would be interesting to
It would be interesting to see a direct comparison between this overclocked and and i7 3930K overclocked. My i7 3930k is running at 4.6 Ghz and 1.355V all day long with no troubles at all (of course its got its own water cooling loop and 360mm rad). Its sad to hear the new top model cpu’s cant even manage what the old 3rd fastest could as far as OC’ing.