MSI’s X79 Boards Hitting 5GHz with Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition on Air Cooling

The one-two combo of Intel’s X79 chipset and six-core Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition CPU is a potent one--especially, it seems, for overclockers. MSI reports that overclockers all over the world are juicing their Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition chips to 5GHz on X79-based MSI motherboards using air cooling alone.

MSI singled out one source, Guru 3D, which specifically hit 5.2GHz with an MSI X79A-GD65 (8D) board.



5GHz is nothing to sniff at, especially considering that the Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition has a stock clock of 3.3GHz (3.9GHz Turbo). MSI points to its Military-Class III components, including DrMOS II, as a reason why its boards can handle that kind of heat.


Whatever the reason, it’s exciting to see such performance from today’s components.