Intel Core i7-3970X Sandy Bridge-E CPU Review: Intel's Flagship 6-Core

It’s no secret that Intel is readying processors based in its Haswell microarchitecture. The new chips are due to be released in the not too distant future and feature a number of noteworthy enhancements, including a much more powerful integrated graphics core.

When Haswell arrives though, it will supplant current Ivy Bridge-based processors, which target more mainstream market segments than the product we’ll be showing you today. For the foreseeable future, Intel’s big dog remains Sandy Bridge-E, the monstrous six-core beast which utilizes the X79 Express chipset and socket LGA 2011.

Prior to the arrival of Haswell, we figured it would be a good idea to show you just what Intel’s current flagship desktop processor can do. That processor is the Core i7-3970X...