While we were wild enthusiastic about the high end model as it finally brought 8 core crunching power to the desktop segment the two lower variants have a much harder time to differentiate themselves from the previous LGA 2011 generation. Now it is very good to see that Intel only opted to go for hexacore processors and didn't make the same mistake twice as with the i7-4820K model. The latter had no added value for X79 as this quad core was outperformed on all domains by the more mainstream LGA 1150 quad core processors. Intel still opted to sort of cripple the i7-5820K by only giving it control over 28 PCIe 3.0 lanes, while the slightly higher clocked i7-5930K has got full blown access to 40 PCIe 3.0 lanes. Nevertheless the debate is still open on many fora though the small tests we conducted reveals not much difference in standard Multi-GPU environments.

Performance wise an average of 5-8% can be expected when comparing versus the previous high end LGA2011 X79 platform, this due to the integration of numerous architectural improvements of the Haswell generation. Is it time to upgrad ? All depends on your demands, if you are a gamer, save your money for a faster graphics card if you already in posession a modern quad core processor. For those that do a lot of multi-threaded stuff the affordable six core i7-5820K might be just what many were looking for. To add another 200 dollars for the extra PCIe Lanes of the i7-5930K seems to be out of the question, especially since all the Haswell-E models are multiplier unlocked and can easily reach speeds over 4.3Ghz one can easily content itself to opt for the cheaper i7-5820K.

The only drawback to go for a X99 setup is the elevated DDR4 quad channel memory prices, however our memory tests have revealed that the stock Intel rated speed of DDR4 2133MHz is more than sufficient for all-round usage. Only very bandwidth hungry applications and benchmarks will really benefit from faster and of course far more expensive memory. Take into account a 16GB kit will easily set you back at double the price of a similar rated DDR3 kit. Motherboards are available in all different flavors and prices.

For the tweakers take into account to maximize the performance of your X99 setup one is required to raise the uncore to unleash the real power of the DDR4 memory. Most current motherboards will limit your endeavors to around 3500-3700ish speeds. More than plenty enough, though for the performance seekers only the two previously mentioned ASUS options are available. Gigabyte is catching up with the LN2 version of their SOC Force motherboard and MSI is rumored to have a Bios ready, though that would really surprise me if the uncore overclockability is only Bios related. The dare devils can try out Roman's modification on the CPU itself.

Time to wrap things up: Intel has again delivered, the engineers succeeded again to increase performance over the previous generation by another 5-8%. Secondly this time they brought octa-core power to the desktop market. From our tests we can recommend either the flagship i7-5960X or the very affordable i7-5820K. The i7-5930K seems to be the ugly duckling in the pond this time: the extra money for the extra PCIe lanes can't really be justified. Only for quad GPU users it can, however these probably will opt straight for the i7-5960X as money is no issue. The combination of the Haswell architecture and the brand new DDR4 memory is a high performance cocktail, that sadly due to its pricing will be limited for the happy few. Though once prices fall for the DDR4 memory, especially the 5820K variant could become one hot selling product!

Jan, Kim and Kristof from Intel for the privilege to test the i7-5820K and 5930K processors

Harry Butler from Corsair for the Vengeance LPX memory kit