In Q2 Intel will finally launch the new enthusiast processor architecture Ivy Bridge-E, for the now current LGA2011 socket. Now that the first benchmarks are out for top model Core i7-4960X it becomes clear we can expect a marginal boost at best.
Intel launched the LGA2011 platform in Q4 2011 and has since been inhabited by the Sandy Bridge-E processors. The successor based on Intel’s Ivy Bridge architecture has taken a long time and by the looks of it Ivy Bridge-E will not launch before Intel releases the new Haswell architecture for retail.
Despite nearly two years has passed it doesn’t look like we should expect more than 5-10 percent boost despite a higher clock frequency.
User Toppc at the Coolaler.com forum has published several comparative benchmarks between Intel Core i7-3970X (Sandy Bridge-E) and successor Core i7-4960X (Ivy Bridge-E) where the average performance boost is around 7 percent. He used is a mix of CPU intensive tests like SuperPi, Cinebench and wprime.
Intel Core i7-4960X is just like its precursor equipped with 6 cores and HyperThreading, and 15MB cache. Besides a stock frequency of 3.6 GHz, 100 MHz more than Core i7-3970X, the new model is made with 22 nanometer technology. This makes it possibly for Intel to keep the TDP in the 130 W envelope. Intel Core i7-3970X was rated 150W TDP.
Performance upgrades of 10 percent are common for Intel’s CPU generation shifts, but in this case it might feel a bit weak considering how long consumers have been waiting. The numbers may of course improve before launch, but we would not expect any major upgrades to happen before the launch later this year.
Source: CPU World
