Intel Core i7-3960X
Intel Core i5-3470S
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Intel Core i7-3960X vs Intel Core i5-3470S. Specifications

User rating
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Released
Q4/2011
Intel Core i7-3960X
Intel Core i7-3960X
Released
Q2/2012
User rating
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Intel Core i5-3470S
Intel Core i5-3470S

What's the best choice Intel Core i7-3960X or Intel Core i5-3470S? Which processor is faster?

Compare the available specifications of these models.

Intel Core i7-3960X has a base frequency of 3.30 GHz. 6 CPU Cores / Threads. Stated TDP / base power 130 W. Released in Q4/2011.

Intel Core i5-3470S has a base frequency of 2.90 GHz. 4 CPU Cores / Threads. Stated TDP / base power 65 W. Released in Q2/2012.

Differences

  • Higher clock speed

    Around 14% better clock speed

    3.30 GHz left arrow 2.90 GHz
  • More number of cores

    2 more cores

    6 left arrow 4
  • Higher turbo clock speed

    Around 8% higher specified turbo frequency

    3.90 GHz left arrow 3.60 GHz

Positions in all rankings

Common positions Intel Core i7-3960X CPU in popular benchmarks, for comparison with other models.

  • Cinebench R15 (Single-Core)
    339 place
  • Cinebench R15 (Multi-Core)
    259 place
  • Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)
    593 place
  • Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)
    354 place
  • Geekbench 3, 64bit (Single-Core)
    382 place
  • Geekbench 3, 64bit (Multi-Core)
    176 place
  • Cinebench R11.5, 64bit (Single-Core)
    341 place
  • Cinebench R11.5, 64bit (Multi-Core)
    158 place
  • Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark
    295 place
  • Lower stated TDP / base power

    Power limits alone do not measure performance per watt.

    65 W left arrow 130 W

Positions in all rankings

Common positions Intel Core i5-3470S CPU in popular benchmarks, for comparison with other models.

  • iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)
    1469 place

Specifications

Technical data
Intel Core i7-3960X Intel Core i7-3960X
Intel Core i5-3470S Intel Core i5-3470S
CPU family and group

Background information about the processors being compared, series, generation and market segment.

  • CPU group
    Intel Core i 3000X left arrow Intel Core i 3000
  • Family
    Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition left arrow Intel Core i5
  • Generation
    3 left arrow 3
  • Segment
    Desktop / Server left arrow Desktop / Server
CPU Technical specs

Core counts, threads, cache and clock modes describe the CPU configuration. Performance depends on the workload and comparable measured results.

  • Base Frequency
    3.3 GHz left arrow 2.9 GHz
  • Core architecture
    normal left arrow normal
  • CPU Cores
    6 left arrow 4
  • CPU Threads
    12 left arrow 4
  • Hyperthreading / SMT
    Yes left arrow No
  • Overclocking
    Yes left arrow No
  • Turbo Frequency (1 Core)
    3.9 GHz left arrow 3.6 GHz
  • Turbo Frequency (6 Cores)
    3.9 GHz left arrow -
  • Turbo Frequency (4 Cores)
    - left arrow No turbo
IGPU

Internal Graphics does not affect the performance of the CPU, performs the work of the graphics card in its absence or on mobile devices.

  • DirectX Version
    - left arrow 11.0
  • Execution units
    - left arrow 6
  • Generation
    - left arrow 7
  • GPU Frequency
    - left arrow 650 MHz
  • GPU name
    no iGPU left arrow Intel HD Graphics 2500
  • GPU Turbo
    No turbo left arrow 1100 MHz
  • Max. displays
    - left arrow 3
  • Release date
    - left arrow Q2/2012
  • Shader
    - left arrow 48
  • Technology
    - left arrow 22 nm
Hardware codec support

Built-in codecs used to encode and decode content. Significantly speeds up the required operations.

  • AV1
    No left arrow No
  • H.264 / AVC
    No left arrow Decode / Encode
  • h265 / HEVC (8 bit)
    No left arrow No
  • h265 / HEVC (10 bit)
    No left arrow No
  • JPEG
    No left arrow Decode
  • VC-1
    No left arrow Decode
  • VP8
    No left arrow No
  • VP9
    No left arrow No
Memory specs & PCI

Types, channel quantity of RAM supported by Intel Core i5-3470S and Intel Core i7-3960X. Depending on the motherboards, higher or lower memory frequencies may be supported.

  • ECC
    No left arrow No
  • Max. Memory
    - left arrow 32 GB
  • Memory channels
    4 left arrow 2
  • Memory type
    DDR3-1600 left arrow DDR3-1600
  • PCIe lanes
    - left arrow 16
  • PCIe version
    - left arrow 3.0
Encryption
  • AES-NI
    Yes left arrow Yes
Thermal Management

Compare the TDP requirements of TDP Intel Core i7-3960X and Intel Core i5-3470S Power specifications describe different manufacturer limits. TDP, base power and maximum turbo power are separate values; they do not establish measured system consumption.

  • TDP (PL1, legacy label)
    130 W left arrow 65 W
Technologies and extensions

Architecture, interfaces, additional instructions supported by Intel Core i7-3960X and Intel Core i5-3470S, virtual machine technologies and process technology.

  • Architecture
    Sandy Bridge E left arrow Ivy Bridge S
  • Instruction set (ISA)
    x86-64 (64 bit) left arrow x86-64 (64 bit)
  • ISA extensions
    SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX left arrow SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX
  • L3-Cache
    15 MB left arrow 6 MB
  • Release date
    Q4/2011 left arrow Q2/2012
  • Socket
    LGA 2011 left arrow LGA 1155
  • Technology
    32 nm left arrow 22 nm
  • Virtualization
    VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d (C2 Stepping) left arrow VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d

Benchmarks

Performance tests CPUs

No comparable benchmark results are available yet. Specifications alone do not determine which model is faster.

These are saved results from the earlier catalog. Measurement dates and test configurations were not recorded. Models with no comparable results are omitted.

Recent models: test results with identified primary sources — Cinebench R23 · Cinebench R20 · Cinebench R15 · Cinebench 2026 · RandomX benchmark

Latest comparisons