Intel Core i7-5960X Haswell-E 8-Core 3.0 GHz LGA 2011-v3 140W BX80648I75960X Desktop Processor

Pros: -Very overclockable
-Quick with heavy workloads
-Able to sustain overclocks requiring 230W form the socket

Cons: -Absolutely none as of 2018; it has not yet become irrelevant for many intensive modern applications

Overall Review: Was able to overclock it to 4.7Ghz at 1.315v

Pros: I'm writing more of a 2.5 year follow-up review. I'm not here to write for a tech site (as that has been done a long time ago by many tech sites).

There is not much to say except that it handles everything I throw at it. The only reason for me to move on to Skylake-X is due to encoding times, editing times, and other similar workloads. My current rig was built in 2015 with this specific CPU as the focal point of the build. With my combination of parts, I have been running this CPU at a constant 4.6GHz on all 8 cores/16 threads @ 1.255V with the ring/cache running at 4.0GHz @ 1.1V. I have not had any degradation or voltage creep up at all. Granted, I do keep the CPU cool as I have a custom dual-loop water-cooled system. Keeping the heat down plays a huge role in CPU life.

- Obviously, a great overclocking CPU with the potential to overclock well over 50% from the base clock. Again, I have mine at 4.6GHz on all 8 cores (I may have gotten a good overclocker but that is another story for another time).
- The 40 PCI-E 3.0 lanes helps tremendously with multiple card setups.
- Quad-channel memory makes those synthetics or benchmarks look great (when running overclocked memory pushing 3000MHz+ with tight timings).

Overall, a great CPU.

Cons: There is really only one con to mention at-the-time this CPU was the best on the Intel HEDT platform. Since the fiasco with microcode updates for the recent vulnerabilities, I'd say there are now two cons.

The obvious con at-the-time of purchase was the price of the CPU. Most people were being asked to pay $1000 to $1100 for this CPU. Personally, I feel it is justified on account that most materialistic things or things involving the highest service possible are overpriced to begin with. Does that stop people from buying said things? Heck no! It is justified in their minds. Regardless of how you look at this, it is, ultimately, a financial decision for them. It is not up to anyone else to defend or attack their decision. In-the-end, I chose to make this purchase as it was a justified expense to meet my demand for performance.

Secondly, the Meltdown and Spectre, variants 1 and 2, security vulnerabilities warrant a second con now. Has Intel released microcode updates for 5th Generation CPUs? Yes. Has if affected performance? I'd say it is negligible, at-best. Most consumers will not be affected once the patches or microcode updates have been patched or installed.

Overall Review: Sure, there are obviously, better CPUs out there now as this is 3 Intel generations old. Does it still perform? Yes. In many ways, this is still the CPU to beat in terms of performance at the 6 core/12 thread to 8 core/16 thread level of competition. Many good i7-5960X CPUs can be had for much lower prices new or used if you are willing to accept the X99 set of features (which, let's face it, is plenty good enough for most people).

Pros: Smokes. Billed as an 8-core, but each core has 2 threads, so it's really a 16-core (according to Aida 64). So far I've had no problems with it choking up on any of my tests. And I'm only running stock speeds at this point. Easy to install.

Cons: None

Overall Review: Edit 2/6/2018: there is no firmware fix yet for this type of CPU, regarding the Spectre/Meltdown issue. It is severely affected by the software fixes that were provided by Microsoft, and there is still no hardware protection. Intel has a lot of work to do to make this right. I am not happy. Removing 2 eggs.

Pros: Awesome

Cons: None that I could find

Pros: This Processor is special, for one its a eight core which is the sweet spot for rending and editing with crunches everything I can throw at.. Its all and more than what I need. It can be overclocked significantly well and its a 40 lane Cpu what else can you ask you for.. Rending (Beast), Gaming (Monster), Editing (Winner). Read my Specs below... best to my knowledge to pair with..
(HIGH END SPECS)

Cons: none, I would say price but you get what you pay for, that will be forever and always.. Intel is far the most reliable chips to date nothing bad to say... even if I wanted too.

Overall Review: Evga DG-86 Full Tower Case

Evga SuperNova 1600 T2

Evga X99 Motherboard Classified

Evga Gtx 1080 Classified 4-Way Sli

Evga 280mm Closed Loop Cooler

Evga 3200 MHz DDR 4 64gb

Evga Torq X10 Carbon Mouse
Evga Torq X10 Mousepad
Evga Powerlink (4)
Evga Power Cable (Red) Sleeved
Evga Pro 4-way Sli Bridge
Evga Cooler Fans (push pull)
Evga Case Fans (3)

Intel i7-5960X
Intel SSD 512gb M.2

Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Monkee Mods (Basement Cover)
DeLL 27" NVIDIA G Sync MonitorSSD6 M.2 512gb

Logitech G230 headset
Logitech z506 speakers
Logitech z31o speakers
Logitech G413 "Carbon"

Pros: The 5960X is a monster despite being older technology. I have this CPU and a Ryzen 1800X and the 5960X is far easier to overclock and when overclocked, it passes the Ryzen. I cannot get the Ryzen to overclock beyond 4.1 as anything faster and it locks up. The Ryzen is still a great CPU and I use it often enough to keep it. My 5960X build is my go to machine. Overclocked to 4.6, the 5960X flies and renders videos at a more rapid rate than the Ryzen 1800X. It just seems a lot faster than the Ryzen although it is fairly close to the Ryzen. What really sold me on the 5960X was the price......about a third of what they were new......and at that price, the 5960X is at the doorstep of the Ryzen 1800X on pricing.

I do a lot of video and photo work. The 5960X chews through rendering and photoshop like nothing. My Ryzen 1800X does too, but the 5960X machine has better other hardware so it gets the most work.

Cons: The price when first brought out was high. As time went by and competition got into gear, (thank you AMD!!!!!!), the prices of this CPU went down. Still not a Threadripper but for now it is good enough.

Overall Review: The 5960X is soon to be not available new as the remaining stock is dwindling down. It was a CPU ahead of its time and was the King of CPU's for about a year. Still a great CPU, it is going to be my go to CPU until the 50 core 10 GHZ CPU's come out. That should be next year the way AMD and Intel are battling out the CPU war.

Competition is a wonderful thing !!!!!!!!!!!!

Pros: This CPU is certainly fast and the software allows you to easily overclock both manually and preset. Benchmarks are right on the money.

Cons: I came into a little cash and upgraded from AMD 8350. Running all of my programs, games, antivirus, etc. this is no faster than the AMD. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY!!

Pros: It is just Stupid fast at 4.5 mhz will ring out any Crossfire or SLI.
Runs really hot at those speeds but it is worth it. Even with a custom water system 4.5 is a friendly zone.
It is so easy to overclock its not worth talking about.

Cons: A wee bit of a mention if u think a AMD FX-9590 runs hot compared to this it is tame at 4500mhz

Overall Review: But it is rock solid and simple and reliable