Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition vs Xeon E5-2660 v3

Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition

6 Cores12 Thrd150 WWMax: 3.5 GHz2012

Xeon E5-2660 v3

10 Cores20 Thrd105 WWMax: 3.3 GHz2014

Performance Spectrum - CPU

Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition

6 / 12

12,900

0.0%

13,039

+1.1%

About PassMark

PassMark CPU Mark evaluates processor speed through complex mathematical computations. It provides a reliable metric to compare multi-core performance, where higher scores indicate faster processing for multitasking, gaming, and heavy workloads.

Value Upgrade Path

This is the official ChipVERSUS Value Rating, comparing raw performance (PassMark) per dollar. The Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition is positioned at rank #943 in our cost-efficiency ranking, representing a Lower cost-benefit for your build. Components placed above yours deliver better value for money.

MSRP is the manufacturer's suggested retail price.•
Avg price is the current average price collected from markets across the web.

Performance Per Dollar Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition

Ryzen 9 7950X

MSRP: $194|Avg: $20

23923%

Core i9-10900T

MSRP: $120|Avg: $5

22605%

Ryzen 3 PRO 4355GE

MSRP: $423|Avg: $5

16413%

Ryzen Threadripper 3960X

MSRP: $1399|Avg: $85

4945%

Ryzen 9 9950X

MSRP: $649|Avg: $129

3917%

Ryzen 5 8400F

MSRP: $303|Avg: $55

3426%

Ryzen 7 PRO 2700

MSRP: $299|Avg: $60

1962%

Ryzen 5 2600X

MSRP: $229|Avg: $55

1937%

Ryzen 3 PRO 5350G

MSRP: $150|Avg: $60

1763%

#10

Core Ultra 5 245KF

MSRP: $294|Avg: $189

1763%

#11

Ryzen 5 5500

MSRP: $159|Avg: $85

1744%

#12

Ryzen 5 3600

MSRP: $199|Avg: $80

1697%

#13

Core i3-9100E

MSRP: $202|Avg: $30

1673%

#14

Core Ultra 5 245K

MSRP: $319|Avg: $200

1666%

#15

Core i3-8300T

MSRP: $138|Avg: $25

1651%

#943

Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition

MSRP: $990|Avg: $175

100%

#945

Core i5-650

MSRP: $176|Avg: $22

98%

#946

Phenom X3 8600

MSRP: $100|Avg: $20

97%

#947

A10-6790B

MSRP: $122|Avg: $50

97%

#948

Core i3-6100TE

MSRP: $250|Avg: $90

97%

#949

FX-4320

MSRP: $250|Avg: $100

97%

#950

Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition

MSRP: $990|Avg: $150

97%

#951

Celeron E1200

MSRP: $53|Avg: $98

96%

#953

Core i5-660

MSRP: $196|Avg: $150

95%

#954

Athlon II X2 250

MSRP: $87|Avg: $15

95%

#955

Core i3-2120T

MSRP: $127|Avg: $38

95%

#956

Phenom II X3 720

MSRP: $130|Avg: $64

94%

#957

Pentium E6300

MSRP: $84|Avg: $15

94%

Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Per Dollar Xeon E5-2660 v3

#489

EPYC 9654

MSRP: $11805|Avg: $5345

112%

#490

EPYC 7H12

MSRP: $6950|Avg: $1340

111%

#491

EPYC 7742

MSRP: $6950|Avg: $800

111%

#492

Xeon Platinum 8352M

MSRP: $4471|Avg: $4471

110%

#493

Xeon Platinum 8570

MSRP: $9595|Avg: $9595

108%

#494

EPYC 9184X

MSRP: $4928|Avg: $3750

107%

#495

Xeon Platinum 8470

MSRP: $9359|Avg: $9359

106%

#496

Xeon E7-8857 v2

MSRP: $3838|Avg: $2995

105%

#497

Xeon Gold 6148

MSRP: $3072|Avg: $290

105%

#498

Xeon E5-1681 V3

MSRP: $1589|Avg: $200

103%

#499

Xeon W-3275

MSRP: $4449|Avg: $1550

103%

#500

Xeon Gold 6138

MSRP: $2612|Avg: $300

102%

#501

Xeon E5-2690 v4

MSRP: $2090|Avg: $389

102%

#502

Xeon Platinum 8362

MSRP: $6236|Avg: $5740

101%

#503

Xeon W-3275M

MSRP: $4449|Avg: $4449

101%

#504

Xeon E5-2660 v3

MSRP: $1445|Avg: $150

100%

#505

Xeon E5-2679 v4

MSRP: $2702|Avg: $500

99%

#506

Xeon E5-2680 v3

MSRP: $1745|Avg: $212

94%

#507

Xeon Platinum 8562Y+

MSRP: $5945|Avg: $7000

94%

#508

Xeon E7-8895 v2

MSRP: $6841|Avg: $65

93%

#509

EPYC 9754

MSRP: $11900|Avg: $10631

92%

#509

EPYC 9684X

MSRP: $14756|Avg: $14756

92%

#511

Xeon D-1587

MSRP: $1652|Avg: $1443

91%

#512

Xeon E5-2687W v4

MSRP: $2141|Avg: $1138

91%

#513

Xeon W-3265

MSRP: $3684|Avg: $3400

91%

#514

Xeon E5-2658A V3

MSRP: $1832|Avg: $200

90%

#515

Xeon E5-4640 v4

MSRP: $2837|Avg: N/A

88%

#516

Xeon E7-8867 v3

MSRP: $4672|Avg: $4672

88%

#517

Xeon Gold 6150

MSRP: $3358|Avg: $196

87%

#518

Xeon E5-1680 v3

MSRP: $1723|Avg: $200

85%

#519

Xeon E5-2690 v3

MSRP: $2090|Avg: $85

85%

Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Comparison

About PassMark

🏆 Chipversus Verdict

🚀 Performance Leadership

Use Case Distinction: This is a comparison between a Professional Workstation processor ($150) and a Consumer Desktop CPU. The Xeon E5-2660 v3 is engineered for massive parallel workloads (rendering, scientific simulations), offering significantly higher core counts.

Insight	Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition	Xeon E5-2660 v3
Gaming	✅ Superior gaming performance	❌ Lower gaming performance
Workstation	❌ Weaker in multi-core tasks	✅ Better multi-core power
Price	⚠️ Higher cost ($175)	✅ More affordable ($150)
Longevity	🛑 Legacy (Sandy Bridge (2011−2013) / 32 nm)	🛑 Legacy (Haswell-EP (2014−2015) / 22 nm)

💎 Value Proposition

The Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition ($175), however, is optimized for mixed workloads and gaming. For most users, it offers superior single-thread performance and responsiveness at a fraction of the cost ($25 less, 17% cheaper), making it the better choice for daily use and gaming.

Insight	Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition	Xeon E5-2660 v3
Cost Efficiency	❌ Lower cost efficiency	✅ Better overall value (+18%)
Upfront Cost	⚠️ Higher cost ($175)	✅ More affordable ($150)

Performance Check

Paired with RTX 4090

To accurately isolate CPU performance, all benchmarks below use an NVIDIA RTX 4090 as the reference GPU. This eliminates GPU-side bottlenecks and highlights pure processing throughput differences between the CPUs.

Note: Real-world results may vary based on your actual GPU. CPU performance impact is more visible in processing-intensive titles and high-refresh-rate gaming scenarios.

Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition Benchmark Check

Xeon E5-2660 v3 Benchmark Check

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition and Xeon E5-2660 v3

Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition

The Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 12 November 2012 (13 years ago). It is based on the Sandy Bridge (2011−2013) architecture. It features 6 cores and 12 threads. Max frequency: 3.5 GHz. L3 cache: 15 MB. L2 cache: 1,536 kB. Built on 32 nm process technology. Socket: FCLGA2011. Thermal design power (TDP): 150 Watt. Memory support: DDR3-1600. Passmark benchmark score: 12,900 points. Launch price was $149.

Xeon E5-2660 v3

The Xeon E5-2660 v3 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 2015-01-01. It is based on the Haswell-EP (2014−2015) architecture. It features 10 cores and 20 threads. Base frequency is 2.6 GHz, with boost up to 3.3 GHz. L3 cache: 25 MB (total). L2 cache: 256K (per core). Built on 22 nm process technology. Socket: LGA2011. Thermal design power (TDP): 105 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-1600, DDR4-1866, DDR4-2133. Passmark benchmark score: 13,039 points. Launch price was $800.

⚡

Processing Power

The Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition packs 6 cores / 12 threads, while the Xeon E5-2660 v3 offers 10 cores / 20 threads — the Xeon E5-2660 v3 has 4 more cores. Boost clocks reach 3.5 GHz on the Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition versus 3.3 GHz on the Xeon E5-2660 v3 — a 5.9% clock advantage for the Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition. The Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition uses the Sandy Bridge (2011−2013) architecture (32 nm), while the Xeon E5-2660 v3 uses Haswell-EP (2014−2015) (22 nm). In PassMark, the Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition scores 12,900 against the Xeon E5-2660 v3's 13,039 — a 1.1% lead for the Xeon E5-2660 v3. L3 cache: 15 MB on the Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition vs 25 MB (total) on the Xeon E5-2660 v3.

Feature	Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition	Xeon E5-2660 v3
Cores / Threads	6 / 12	10 / 20+67%
Boost Clock	3.5 GHz+6%	3.3 GHz
Base Clock	—	2.6 GHz
L3 Cache	15 MB	25 MB (total)+67%
L2 Cache	1,536 kB+500%	256K (per core)
Process	32 nm	22 nm-31%
Architecture	Sandy Bridge (2011−2013)	Haswell-EP (2014−2015)
PassMark	12,900	13,039+1%
Geekbench 6 Single	742	—

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition uses the FCLGA2011 socket (PCIe 2.0), while the Xeon E5-2660 v3 uses LGA2011 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches DDR3-1600 on the Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition versus DDR4-2133 on the Xeon E5-2660 v3 — the Xeon E5-2660 v3 supports 28.6% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. The Xeon E5-2660 v3 supports up to 768 GB of RAM compared to 64 GB — 169.2% more capacity for professional workloads. Both feature 4-channel memory with ECC support. Both provide 40 PCIe lanes. Chipset compatibility: X79 (Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition) and Intel X99,Intel C612 (Xeon E5-2660 v3).

Feature	Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition	Xeon E5-2660 v3
Socket	FCLGA2011	LGA2011
PCIe Generation	PCIe 2.0	PCIe 3.0+50%
Max RAM Speed	DDR3-1600	DDR4-2133+33%
Max RAM Capacity	64 GB	768 GB+1100%
RAM Channels	4	4
ECC Support	❌	✅
PCIe Lanes	40	40

🔧

Advanced Features

Only the Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition has an unlocked multiplier for overclocking — a significant advantage for enthusiasts seeking extra performance. Only the Xeon E5-2660 v3 supports AVX-512 instructions — important for machine learning and scientific applications. Virtualization support: VT-x, VT-d, EPT (Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition) vs VT-x, VT-d (Xeon E5-2660 v3). Primary use case: Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition targets HEDT Desktop, Xeon E5-2660 v3 targets Server. Direct competitor: Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition rivals FX-9590.

Feature	Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition	Xeon E5-2660 v3
Integrated GPU	No	No
IGPU Model	None	—
Unlocked	Yes	No
AVX-512	No	Yes
Virtualization	VT-x, VT-d, EPT	VT-x, VT-d
Target Use	HEDT Desktop	Server

💰

Value Analysis

The Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition launched at $990 MSRP, while the Xeon E5-2660 v3 debuted at $1445. At current prices ($175 vs $150), the Xeon E5-2660 v3 is $25 cheaper. In terms of value (PassMark points per dollar), the Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition delivers 73.7 pts/$ vs 86.9 pts/$ for the Xeon E5-2660 v3 — making the Xeon E5-2660 v3 the 16.4% better value option.