So, for a long time I wasn't interested in Sandy Bridge-E because it's basically the same architecture like Sandy Bridge and it has the same annoying overclocking problems. Just like with Sandy Bridge, you'll just have to test a lot of CPUs to find a good one (or be very lucky). Last night, I drove too Leeghoofd's place to have one quick test with the platform before it was launched so I would at least have some hands-on experience with it. It was quite a long bench session: from 8PM untill ~3AM ... but of course a lot of fun!!
Setup:
- Core i7 3960X (ES)
- MSI GTX 580 Lightning (x5)
- Sabertooth X79
- Dominator GTX8
- AX1200 PSU
- Inflection Point CPU pot
- Ryba Fat GPU pot
OC Results:
- CPU clock: 5320MHz
- MEM clock: DDR3-2240 CL9-11-10
- VGA clock (3way): 910/1150 and 925/1150
- VGA clock (single): 1450/1200 Vantage and 1500/1200 3D11
- 3DMark Vantage - Performance: 44589 marks with GeForce GTX 580 [-155.0 degrees °C under load] at 1450/1200MHz
- 3DMark11 - Performance score: 12034 marks with GeForce GTX 580 [-155.0 degrees °C under load] at 1500/1200MHz
- 3DMark Vantage - Performance score: 62985 marks with 3x GeForce GTX 580 at 925/1200MHz
- 3DMark11 - Performance score: 19094 marks with 3x GeForce GTX 580 at 910/1150MHz
- 3DMark06 score: 40409 marks with 3x GeForce GTX 580 at 925/1200MHz
Pictures:
Conclusion:
So, as expected, Sandy Bridge-E is nothing too special aside from the +5% we can easily get in benchmarks such as Vantage and 11. Aside from those two benchmarks, this chip isn't so interesting for overclockers and even with a gem Gulftown you can get close to the performance of an average Sandy Bridge-E. In Vantage, a 5300MHz Sandy Bridge-E will deliver similar performance like a 6000MHz Gulftown; if you're lucky and find a 5500+ chip, you're safe.
Like I've told some people already: I hate the fact that I care so much about the +5% performance gain we can get by using Sandy Bridge-E. Fact is, however, that it's much easier to get a competitive score with this new chip than with the old one ... it's almost as easy like benching Sandy Bridge.
Fyi, compare between 3x580 Vantage GT and SBE:
- 62919 with 6000 i7 990X
- 62958 with 5300 i7 3960X
Maxed out GPU completely, need to find better CPU, should probably try the R4E, GTX8 needs to be clocked higher. We'll see.
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