Intel Core i7-3970X @ 3.50GHz

Benchmarks for the Intel Core i7-3970X can be found below. Release dates, price and performance comparisons are also listed when available. This is made using thousands of PerformanceTest benchmark results and is updated daily.

The first graph shows the relative performance of the CPU compared to the 10 other common (single) CPUs in terms of PassMark CPU Mark.
The 2nd graph shows the value for money, in terms of the CPUMark per dollar.
The pricing history data shows the price for a single Processor. For multiple Processors, multiply the price shown by the number of CPUs.

Is the Intel Core i7-3970X @ 3.50GHz Good for Gaming?

This is a fairly old CPU that is no longer competitive with newer CPUs. [More ...]

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Intel Core i7-3970X @ 3.50GHz

Description:

Class: Desktop

Socket: LGA2011

Clockspeed: 3.5 GHz

Turbo Speed: 4.0 GHz

Cores: 6 Threads: 12

Typical TDP: 150 W

Cache per CPU Package:
L1 Instruction Cache: 6 x 32 KB
L1 Data Cache: 6 x 32 KB
L2 Cache: 6 x 256 KB
L3 Cache: 15 MB

Other names: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3970X CPU @ 3.50GHz

CPU First Seen on Charts: Q1 2012

CPUmark/$Price: 49.16

Overall Rank:
1708th fastest in multithreading out of 5788 CPUs
2135th fastest in single threading out of 5788 CPUs
506th fastest in out of 1554 Desktop CPUs

Last Price Change: $175.00 USD (2025-03-27)

Average CPU Mark rating

Multithread Rating

8603

Single Thread Rating

1846

Samples: 361*
*Margin for error: Low

PerformanceTest V9
CPU Mark: 12,716
Thread: 2,067

CPU Test Suite Average Results for Intel Core i7-3970X @ 3.50GHz

Integer Math	32,865 MOps/Sec
Floating Point Math	12,664 MOps/Sec
Find Prime Numbers	43 Million Primes/Sec
Random String Sorting	21,395 Thousand Strings/Sec
Data Encryption	2,714 MBytes/Sec
Data Compression	145,763 KBytes/Sec
Physics	731 Frames/Sec
Extended Instructions	6,228 Million Matrices/Sec
Single Thread	1,846 MOps/Sec

From submitted results to PerformanceTest V10 as of 16th of February 2026.

CPU Mark Distribution for Intel Core i7-3970X @ 3.50GHz

Submitted Baseline Distribution Graph as of 12th of February 2026

From submitted results since PerformanceTest V10 as of 12th of February 2026.
For distribution graph only: Results are trimmed to exclude outliers by disregarding the bottom 1% and top 1% of submissions.

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Pricing History

CPU Mark Relative to Top 10 Common Desktop CPUs
As of 17th of February 2026 - Higher results represent better performance
Processor	Average CPU Mark
Intel Core i9-14900K		58,452
Intel Core i9-13900K		58,291
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X		38,940
Apple M4 10 Core		23,702
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X		21,844
Intel Core i5-12400F		19,582
Intel Core i9-9900K @ 3.60GHz		18,084
AMD Ryzen 5 3600		17,678
Apple M2 8 Core 3500 MHz		15,641
Apple M1 8 Core 3200 MHz		14,133
Intel Core i7-3970X @ 3.50GHz		8,603

CPU Value (CPU Mark / $Price )
As of 17th of February 2026 - Higher results represent better value
Processor	CPU Mark / $Price
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X		136.53
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X		130.24
Intel Core i9-14900K		124.63
Intel Core i5-12400F		122.39
AMD Ryzen 5 3600		117.87
Intel Core i9-13900K		107.95
Intel Core i9-9900K @ 3.60GHz		60.60
Intel Core i7-3970X @ 3.50GHz		49.16
Apple M1 8 Core 3200 MHz		NA
Apple M2 8 Core 3500 MHz		NA
Apple M4 10 Core		NA

Single Thread Rating
As of 17th of February 2026 - Higher results represent better performance
Processor	Average Thread Rating
Intel Core i9-14900K		4,694
Intel Core i9-13900K		4,600
Apple M4 10 Core		4,516
Apple M2 8 Core 3500 MHz		3,886
Apple M1 8 Core 3200 MHz		3,676
Intel Core i5-12400F		3,489
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X		3,467
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X		3,365
Intel Core i9-9900K @ 3.60GHz		2,914
AMD Ryzen 5 3600		2,560
Intel Core i7-3970X @ 3.50GHz		1,846

Last 5 Baselines for Intel Core i7-3970X @ 3.50GHz
Most recent listed first
Baseline	CPU Mark
BL3237952 - Jan 24 2026		9584
BL3172751 - Dec 29 2025		9532
BL3095497 - Nov 30 2025		9577
BL3022933 - Nov 02 2025		8561
BL3000563 - Oct 24 2025		7146

Additional baselines can be obtained using Windows version of PerformanceTest's Manage Baselines feature.

Popular comparisons for Intel Core i7-3970X @ 3.50GHz
As of 17th of February 2026 - Higher results represent better performance
Processor	Average CPU Mark
Intel Core i7-3970X @ 3.50GHz		8,603
Intel Core i7-4960X @ 3.60GHz vs Intel Core i7-3970X		9,933 (+15.5%)
AMD Ryzen 5 3400G vs Intel Core i7-3970X		9,197 (+6.9%)
Intel Core i7-4770S @ 3.10GHz vs Intel Core i7-3970X		6,729 (-21.8%)
Intel Core i7-4820K @ 3.70GHz vs Intel Core i7-3970X		6,517 (-24.2%)
Intel Core i5-9600K @ 3.70GHz vs Intel Core i7-3970X		10,653 (+23.8%)
AMD Ryzen 3 4300G vs Intel Core i7-3970X		9,984 (+16.0%)
Intel Core i5-9500 @ 3.00GHz vs Intel Core i7-3970X		9,851 (+14.5%)
Intel Core i5-10400T @ 2.00GHz vs Intel Core i7-3970X		9,796 (+13.9%)
Intel Core i7-7700K @ 4.20GHz vs Intel Core i7-3970X		9,632 (+12.0%)
Intel Core i7-4930K @ 3.40GHz vs Intel Core i7-3970X		9,382 (+9.1%)
Intel Core i3-10105F @ 3.70GHz vs Intel Core i7-3970X		8,893 (+3.4%)
Intel Core i3-10100 @ 3.60GHz vs Intel Core i7-3970X		8,511 (-1.1%)

Is the Intel Core i7-3970X @ 3.50GHz Good for Gaming?
As of 17th of February 2026 - Higher results represent better performance
Processor	Relative Gaming Score
AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2		14,501
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D		12,430
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D		12,123
AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D		11,257
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D		10,794
Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus		10,695
AMD Ryzen 5 7600X3D		10,517
Intel Core Ultra 9 285K		10,381
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D		10,258
AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D		10,196
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D		9,778
AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D		9,775
Intel Core i7-3970X @ 3.50GHz		1,678

CPU Benchmarks

CPU Benchmarks

Intel Core i7-3970X @ 3.50GHz

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CPU Test Suite Average Results for Intel Core i7-3970X @ 3.50GHz

CPU Mark Distribution for Intel Core i7-3970X @ 3.50GHz

Pricing History