Is the Intel 5960X a native 8 core?

Boomstick777 · 27 Aug 2014 at 14:07

Nobody seems to know the answer, previously we thought the 5960X was a harvested Xeon 12 core chip with 4 cores disabled, the recent Die Shots show the 5960X as a native 8 core chip, but is this not showing the full die?

Anybody know which is correct?

Boomstick777 · 27 Aug 2014 at 14:10

I.e.

This,

VS this,

Boomstick777 · 27 Aug 2014 at 14:12

Wandering if the die shot cold be from this part,

mmj_uk · 27 Aug 2014 at 16:06

Is it really that important from an end user perspective?

With a native 12 core die Intel can guarantee a greater amount of higher quality processors by disabling the 4 weakest cores. If they are a native 8 core die then Intel have less control over quality.

Manufacturing processors is not a perfect science so if you want to mass produce a consistently high quality processor it's best to design them with redundancy (cores intended to be disabled). Both AMD/NVidia do it throughout their CPU/GPU product lines.

When people call them "gimped Xeon's" etc it's wrong, it's just a generic die which is sold optimised for either a high number of low clocked cores (Xeon), or a reduced number of higher quality cores (i7). If you wanted the best of both worlds you'd have to pay through the roof.

Boomstick777 · 27 Aug 2014 at 16:15

mmj_uk said:
Is it really that important from an end user perspective?

With a native 12 core die Intel can guarantee a greater amount of higher quality processors by disabling the 4 weakest cores. If they are a native 8 core die then Intel have less control over quality.

Manufacturing processors is not a perfect science so if you want to mass produce a consistently high quality processor it's best to design them with redundancy (cores intended to be disabled). Both AMD/NVidia do it throughout their CPU/GPU product lines.

When people call them "gimped Xeon's" etc it's wrong, it's just a generic die which is sold optimised for either a high number of low clocked cores (Xeon), or a reduced number of higher quality cores (i7). If you wanted the best of both worlds you'd have to pay through the roof.

So you don't know either then..

They aren't referred to as 'gimped Xeon's' but Harvested from Xeon's.

I was wondering just purely out of interest, whether these were native 8 core, i.e like the 4960X (Native 6 core design) no wasted die space..

Silent_Scone · 27 Aug 2014 at 16:24

It will be, I'm betting. They're at the very least an iteration which is why they're always cheaper

Orangey · 27 Aug 2014 at 16:43

Noticed this also, don't like the idea of having disabled junk silicon packed in there with a £1000 CPU. I'm sure it affects OCing/cooling somehow too. So hopefully it's native 8.

Silent_Scone · 27 Aug 2014 at 16:53

I've seen reviewers hit 4.4 so...

Boomstick777 · 27 Aug 2014 at 17:21

Orangey said:
Noticed this also, don't like the idea of having disabled junk silicon packed in there with a £1000 CPU. I'm sure it affects OCing/cooling somehow too. So hopefully it's native 8.

+1

Orangey · 27 Aug 2014 at 17:40

MjFrosty said:
I've seen reviewers hit 4.4 so...

The chap on OCN? It does look promising given the BIOSes etc are pre-release.

kaku · 27 Aug 2014 at 19:06

It's possible, but we're long past the days where you could re-enable locked cores so I don't really think it makes a difference.

If they were harvested from Xeons the 4 disabled cores would be lasered. If anything wouldn't 'junk silicon' be a boon for overclocking since it would absorb heat from the other cores and more easily transfer it to the IHS? (No clue if this actually happens, just a thought)

Stas823 · 27 Aug 2014 at 19:12

MjFrosty said:
I've seen reviewers hit 4.4 so...

Just like the 4770k hit 5ghz, and the 4790k 5ghz on air?

Orangey · 27 Aug 2014 at 19:32

Here is the thread on OCN:

http://www.overclock.net/t/1506847/intel-5960x-haswell-e-8-core-quick-observations

Don't know if it's an engineering sample or a retail, also the mobo used was reportedly very buggy still.

Boomstick777 · 27 Aug 2014 at 19:38

All them cores..

So much want..

Mal X · 27 Aug 2014 at 20:31

hard to tell, it'll be one of the Xeons on this website.

those temps look too low for 4.4...........46 to 52 degrees, load 99% i dont believe that for one minute, our cpus wont be like that

Dave2150 · 27 Aug 2014 at 21:12

Mal X said:
hard to tell, it'll be one of the Xeons on this website.

those temps look too low for 4.4...........46 to 52 degrees, load 99% i dont believe that for one minute, our cpus wont be like that

Read the link, thats on water, not air.

vsg28 · 30 Aug 2014 at 19:12

So thanks to Intel we now know that yes, the Intel 5960x is a native 8 core:

Boomstick777 · 30 Aug 2014 at 19:53

vsg28 said:
So thanks to Intel we now know that yes, the Intel 5960x is a native 8 core:

Nice find ! TTL was saying this was a cut down 12 core Xeon in his 5960X review, but from these pics this certainly looks like a native 8 core die to me.

Orangey · 30 Aug 2014 at 20:47

1st 8core "client processor"?

What about workstations?

Tuvoc · 31 Aug 2014 at 10:19

vsg28 said:
So thanks to Intel we now know that yes, the Intel 5960x is a native 8 core:

Yes, an awesome CPU.

Funny how back in the day, it was AMD that made a big deal marketing wise of its true 4 cores, compared to the Q6600 generation which was sort of two dual cores stitched together. Then the X6 was a really affordable true 6-core. And then AMD blew it with the Bulldozer and Piledriver architecture with its modular approach, which it seems is a server design pushed to the desktop.

Only issue of the Intel 8-core is the price of course...