The LGA 1366 was upgraded from the LGA 775 and 771. It is also known by the term socket B. It is a Flip-chip land grid array chip and has1366 pins. It supports 3 channels of DDR3 Memory. It serves the Intel 9th gen i7 processors and Xeon processors. Once you have a particular type of socket, in most cases one has to match all the other component’s sockets with the aforementioned socket. If you have an LGA 1366 CPU, you can not pair it with an LGA 1151 or LGA 1150 motherboard. Both of them should have the same socket base. Though there are some instances where a particular socket can be paired with other types of socket. However, those are exceptions.

This article is written for choosing the best LGA 1366 CPU. You can choose any one of them, be it for building a new PC build or upgrading your old one. Most of them are super pricey and cost a fortune. Since the LGA 1366 only supports i7 and Xeon processors, we have tried to include all kinds of them here.

LGA 1366 CPU List

Intel Core i7-980X

This i7 processor is one of the supreme and fast LGA 1366 CPUs you can ever find. It is fast, has smooth usage, and also does great multi-threading. It is durable and works pretty well as expected. Despite being so old, it is still on the top list of the CPU  benchmarks. Though Core i7 980x is an expensive CPU, the performance and service are top-notch- worth the money. The heatsink that comes along works perfectly as its job. It is neither noisy nor bad at cooling down. Your PC system can rely on this heatsink unless you overclock and do intense gaming. Moreover, it is an unlocked multiplier and that is why overclocking enthusiasts choose this for the socket LGA 1366. Video editing and the rendering time is so much less than before that it will be finished within some moments.

The six cores make it possible for faster and smoother performance. Their speed is superior, though multitasking seems average when you compare it with other competitors of the same price. However, hyperthreading with these six cores lives up to the expectations. Compared to the previous intel release, its thermal solution is so much better and has been improved. If one uses it properly without putting unnecessary pressure, it runs beastly fast. 

Though this 980X is really the best, it is not for budget-minded people. It is an expensive and high-end processor. However, if you try gaming on higher-level platforms, it does not give improved performance. It does not have any integrated graphics which is why getting an additional one is a must. Graphics and Ram matter the most when you do video editing or film rendering or even playing high-end games.

Key Features: The Intel Core i7 980X features 6/12 cores/threads, 130 W worth of TDP, and a 32nm lithography process. It features a 12 MB Intel cache, 6.4 GT/s Bus Speed, and 1 x QPI Links. It also features 3 x DDR3 memory channels that support 25.6 GB/s of memory bandwidth and 24 GB of max memory size. The base and Turbo Boost frequency of this processor are respectively 3.33 GHz and 3.60 GHz.

Downsides: It has got no integrated graphics. Also, it consumes a lot of power and offers average multitasking.

Intel Core i7-970

The Intel Core i7-970 is the best overall LGA 1366 CPU. It is not too expensive yet does a lot better with its beastly performances. It is impressive with its fast and cool performance. The heatsink that comes with this processor is pretty good and it can handle your CPU if you don’t overclock it. For video editing or encryption, it is truly the right one for you. Encryption time or rendering time will be a lot less and be finished within a moment. It is competitive and has good potential. The price itself is not budget or that affordable but it is less than many other competitive 1366 processors. Also, you will get what you will be paying. The price to performance value is perfect and great. Its overall performance boost is amazing and most of the time you won’t need to push it too hard for heavy works.

If you have multithreading apps or do graphics works, or do the heavy working that needs a powerful and well-benefited CPU, then this one is worth it. This high-end CPU is powerful and is costly. However, LGA 1366 is an old platform, and getting a powerful & well-featured CPU is not that easy. That’s why it is worth spending all that money. It offers good multithreading performance. Also, it is easy to install.

Running multithreading applications, hyperthreading, moderate gaming & overclocking, and video editing- you can do anything with i7 970 easily. Moreover, the performance is impressive with faster speed and cooling. Even though it is an unlocked multiplier, you can push to a certain point to get the max out of it.

Key Features: The Intel Core i7 970 comes with 6/12 cores/threads, 130 W of total TDP, and 32nm manufacturing technology. Its base frequency is 3.20 GHz, and the max turbo frequency is 3.46 GHz. It features 4.8 GT/s Bus speed, 12 MB Intel cache, and 3 x DDR3 memory channels. These channels support 24 GB memory size and 25.6 GB/s max memory bandwidth..

Downsides: It has no unlocked multiplier.

Intel Xeon Processor X5660

This Xeon processor is the best budget processor for your LGA 1366 platform. It is very fast and also runs cool. Once you install it, you can notice a great upgrade from before. It is easy to install and also has pretty good build quality. When you make sure of the compatibility, it is perfect to go. Also, you have to make sure your BIOS is up to date before installing or even buying it. The Xeon X5660 is stable and fast. It runs stable even when you run several applications at the same time, in other words, multitask. Though it is not as powerful or resourceful as the rest of the processors here, it wins when it comes to the price. However, it is really fast, and a great work companion. This one also renders videos or films like nothing. 

The impressive side of this processor is its memory size. If you are a graphics designer, or edit video professionally, or even have work that needs too much memory, this is definitely the one. The 288 GB memory size is not something to ignore as a great feature. Also, its hyperthreading performance is also awesome. That’s why the value of this processor is so high. You will get what you pay for.

Key Features: The Intel Xeon X5660 processor comes with 6/12 cores/threads, 32nm of manufacturing technology, and 95 W of total TDP. It features 2.80 GHz of processor base frequency and 3.20 of max Turbo boost frequency. It also features 6.4 GT/s of Bus Speed, 12 MB Intel cache, and 2 x QPI links. Moreover, it has 3 x DDR3 memory channels supporting 288 GB of max memory and 32 GB/s max memory bandwidth. 

Downsides: This Xeon processor does not have any integrated graphics.

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