Intel Core i7-990X Extreme Edition Review

Written by Paul Goodhead

March 23, 2011 | 07:58

Tags: #990x #comparative #cpu #extreme #extreme-edition #i7 #lga1155 #lga1366 #overclocking #performance #premium #processor #top-end #x

Companies: #amd #intel

Media Benchmarks

Download from: bit-tech.net

We've developed our own suite of benchmarks using real-world and open-source applications to simulate how PCs are actually used. The suite comprises an image editing test using Gimp, a video encoding test using Handbrake and a multi-tasking test using 7-Zip to archive and encrypt a large batch of files while an HD movie plays in mplayer.

A score of 1,000 means that the test system is as fast as our reference PC, which used a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 at stock speed, 2GB of Corsair 1,066MHz DDR2 memory, a 250GB Samsung SpinPoint P120S hard disk and an Asus P5K Deluxe WiFi-AP motherboard. The scoring system is linear, so a machine scoring 1,200 points is 20 per cent faster than our reference system. Equally, a system scoring 1,200 is 4 per cent faster than a system scoring 1,150.

Multi-tasking with 7-Zip and mplayer

Websites: www.7-zip.org and www.mplayerhq.hu

Multi-tasking is a phrase with which we're all familiar, as most of us are now used to running multiple applications at the same time. However, to run multiple applications well you need a powerful (ideally multi-core) CPU and plenty of RAM.

Our multi-tasking test performs a massive file backup (with encryption) using 7-Zip, while simultaneously playing back an HD movie file using mplayer, making it a demanding test for any PC.

Multi-tasking

Applications: mplayer and 7-Zip

  • Intel Core i7-2600K (4.85GHz)
  • Intel Core i5-2500K (4.9GHz)
  • Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition (4.4GHz)
  • Intel Core i7-990X Extreme Edition (4.6GHz)
  • Intel Core i5-760 (4.1GHz)
  • Intel Core i5-2400 (up to 3.99GHz)
  • Intel Core i7-2600K (3.4GHz)
  • Intel Core i7-950 (4.3GHz)
  • Intel Core i7-990X Extreme Edition (3.46GHz)
  • Intel Core i7-950 (3.06GHz)
  • Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition (3.33GHz)
  • Intel Core i5-2400 (3.1GHz)
  • Intel Core i5-2500K (3.3GHz)
  • AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition (4.2GHz)
  • Intel Core i5-760 (2.8GHz)
  • AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition (3.3GHz)
  • 1937
  • 1936
  • 1846
  • 1754
  • 1683
  • 1652
  • 1636
  • 1614
  • 1519
  • 1503
  • 1498
  • 1494
  • 1423
  • 1241
  • 1227
  • 1038
0
500
1000
1500
2000
Points, higher is better

Overall Score


The overall score is an unweighted mean average of the scores of the three individual tests. A score of 1,000 means that the test system is as fast as our reference PC, which used a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 at stock speed, 2GB of Corsair 1,066MHz DDR2 memory, a 250GB Samsung SpinPoint P120S hard disk and an Asus P5K Deluxe WiFi-AP motherboard. The scoring system is linear, so a machine scoring 1,200 points is 20 per cent faster than our reference system. Equally, a system scoring 1,200 is 4 per cent faster than a system scoring 1,150.

Overall Score

Applications: Gimp, Handbrake, mplayer, 7-Zip

  • Intel Core i7-2600K (4.85GHz)
  • Intel Core i5-2500K (4.9GHz)
  • Intel Core i7-990X Extreme Edition (4.6GHz)
  • Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition (4.4GHz)
  • Intel Core i7-950 (4.3GHz)
  • Intel Core i5-2400 (up to 3.99GHz)
  • Intel Core i7-990X Extreme Edition (3.46GHz)
  • Intel Core i5-760 (4.1GHz)
  • Intel Core i7-2600K (3.4GHz)
  • Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition (3.33GHz)
  • Intel Core i5-2500K (3.3GHz)
  • Intel Core i5-2400 (3.1GHz)
  • Intel Core i7-950 (3.06GHz)
  • AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition (4.2GHz)
  • Intel Core i5-760 (2.8GHz)
  • AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition (3.3GHz)
  • 2702
  • 2687
  • 2645
  • 2581
  • 2195
  • 2152
  • 2145
  • 2082
  • 2080
  • 2002
  • 1889
  • 1850
  • 1762
  • 1727
  • 1490
  • 1442
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
Points, higher is better

Read our Performance Analysis.
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