The one I bought was "Intel Core i7-965 Extreme Edition Bloomfield Quad-Core 3.2GHz LGA 1366". I bought an extreme edition chip back in 2009.
Pros: For all the haters, I'm going to explain why this chip is worth the xtra money. The 4770K is a much better choice for single-core/single-thread applications for about $700 less. With 12 threads, it can handle literally anything you throw at it.īut if you're wanting a gaming computer, steer clear of this one. Overall Review: This is by far a perfect choice for a workstation. I worry slightly how temps so close to the maximum might affect its longevity in the longrun, but I have yet to see the temperature come within 8☌ of the maximum, so I don't consider it a huge deal.
With a Corsair H100i closed-circuit water cooler, this CPU idles around 38-42☌, hovers between 48-50☌ during heavy use, and nears 54☌ at full load. It won't match a 4770K with a higher single-core performance, but this processor is meant to be used in hyperthreaded situations more than single-threaded ones, so I definitely wouldn't call that a "con".Ĭons: If I recall correctly, the maximum operating temperature for this CPU is 62-64☌. My old CPU very rarely failed to keep up/cause audio stutter, but this one has yet to let me down in even the most complex projects.Īlthough the 4960X is primarily a workstation CPU, it still handles games like a champ, almost tripling my FPS in many CPU-limited games like Planetside 2. What used to take me upwards of five minutes on my old AMD Phenom II X6 1090T now takes me around 30-45 seconds.Īlthough it's probably overkill for this use, this CPU also performs like a dream in Ableton Live and FL Studio.
When it comes to highly computationally demanding tasks like Cinema 4D and Autodesk Maya, 4960X still blows my mind with its rendering speeds. Pros: Fast is a bit of an understatement in most cases.