Intel Core i7-6950X, 10 Cores & 20 Threads Turbo Unlocked Extreme Edition X-Series Desktop Processor

In comparison to today high tech processors the 6950X is not in the same league. It does not have as many performance features and it is pretty costly comparatively speaking. So why is it so great. I'm a old school computer guy. When I find something that I like and something that performs very well for me I stick with it. I'm the same way with cars, I'll dive my favorite until the doors fall off. Seriously since I'm a huge Windows 7 Ultra fan I need to maintain a computer system that works well with Windows 7. The ASUS motherboard I use is compatible with the 6950X socket and they were top dogs in their day. Since I know Windows 7 inside and out I want to keep using it regardless of Microsoft lack of support. They only want you to upgrade so they make more money however they have yet to make a better operating system in my opinion that's user friendly and easily controlled by the user. Therefore my need and love for the Intel 6950X is based on not only how well the chip performs but it allow me to keep using all my favorite software and hardware.

This walks the line nicely between enthusiast and server grade....and anyone that owns this chip can tell you, the price is justified, in fact, it might even be a little low considering what you're getting here.This has been stated so many times but, most of us that are in the market for this chip, we have required workloads and this chip makes sense...but to anyone who's primary reason for owning this chip is something like gaming or just because you are an enthusiast that always upgrades, this is NOT a chip for any of that kind of stuff. I'm sure Intel would love to make that sale but you're probably not going to be very happy with your purchase. But if you're into editing, transcoding, streaming, scrubbing through tons of data, rendering, and still have power in reserve to play GTA V on your PG279Q ROG Swift (or similar) while Premier is running, and have plenty of horsepower to do both without a hiccup, then this is definitely a chip you should consider.***Update*** Remember there is always the silicon lottery to consider when purchasing a processor. That's definitely going to come into play when you go and overclock these things. Will this Broadwell-E OC as well as the 5960x? NO!! But that shouldn't be news to anyone who actually needs and uses processors at this level. As the rule goes, the higher your core count, the slower your clock speed...because of the extra heat generated from having more cores.With all of that being said, using my Rampage V Edition 10, Corsair ax1500i, 8dimms of Dominator Platinum DDR4 clocked at 2800MHz (gotta bring your RAM down when pushing your CPU or you will find instability, especially with this processor) I easily am sitting at 4.4GHz @ 1.29v on all 10 cores...but I'd say this one is a lottery winner and I wouldn't expect but a handful of these to get to 4.4 stable on this low voltage. I pushed for 4.5 but didn't want to go to 1.35, after all we're talking about $1700 here...but man this thing is smokin' fast. Cinebench15 scores 2225 on the OC (2 EVGA GTX 1080 FE's w/EVGA hybrid kits OC'd to 2139mhz each in SLI)

Kind of a late review, but...I didn't buy this chip for gaming but primarily for running a lot of VMware and Hyper-V labs at home for testing. It chews through anything I've thrown at it so far, and with stock voltage the Dark Rock Pro 3 from "be quiet!" (it's yuuuge) keeps it at a level 60C while under full load. Bumping all cores up to 3.2 begins to show some heat, and at 3.4 the cooling tower can't keep up with the temps beginning to run away, passing 80C in no time during stress tests. It's a given, but you'll want to liquid cool if overclocking.The Xeon E5-2687W v4 would have been a more ideal chip since it has 12 cores at 3.0 GHz and I'm not overclocking, but 6950x works very well. Coupled with an X99 Taichi board, 128 GB RAM (initially was 64 GB), and some other bits. The Sammy 960 PRO was bought elsewhere, but it is incredible for storing VMs.

What can you say that isnt obvious about this chip. I was able to clock it to 4.2GHz. It ran stable under all stress tests and it just rocks! I would not be able to justify this personally, but when a client pays you to build it, I have no issue. See attached screenshots for results.