Intel Core i7-4960X Ivy Bridge-E Processor Review

PCMark 8

We were given an advanced copy of Futuremark PCMark 8 Professional Edition ahead of the public and figured we’d give it a quick test run. PCMark 8 is expected to launch later this month.

PCMark 8 includes five new benchmark tests, each designed around a specific scenario. Each benchmark produces a score you can use to compare systems as well as detailed results from the individual workloads.

PCMark 8 Home, Creative, and Work benchmark tests

These three benchmark tests reflect the most common computer usage patterns – light home use, demanding media and entertainment activities, and typical office productivity tasks. Choose the benchmark that best matches the intended audience for the device being tested, or run all three for a complete picture of the device’s performance.

PCMark 8 Storage test

PCMark 8 Storage benchmark is ideal for testing the performance of SSDs, HDDs and hybrid drives. Using traces recorded from Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office and a selection of popular games, PCMark 8 Storage highlights real-world performance differences between storage devices.

New Adobe and Microsoft application tests

One of the most exciting new features in PCMark 8 is the Applications benchmark which measures system performance using popular applications from the Adobe Creative Suite and Microsoft Office. You can choose which tests to run based on the applications installed on your system.

We ran the default test for each CPU and selected the processor to run the OpenCL workloads.

Benchmark Results: The PCMark 8 ‘Home Score’ for each processor was fairly close with just over 500 points separating the field. The Intel Core i7-4960X was found to be just 3.8% faster than the Intel Core i7-3960X.