AMD A4-3420 vs Intel Core i7-950

Comparative analysis of AMD A4-3420 and Intel Core i7-950 processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Compatibility, Virtualization, Security & Reliability, Advanced Technologies. Benchmark processor performance analysis: PassMark - Single thread mark, PassMark - CPU mark, Geekbench 4 - Single Core, Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core, 3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score, CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s).

AMD A4-3420

Intel Core i7-950

Differences

Reasons to consider the AMD A4-3420

CPU is newer: launch date 2 year(s) 5 month(s) later
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 32 nm vs 45 nm
2x lower typical power consumption: 65 Watt vs 130 Watt

Launch date	December 2011 vs June 2009
Manufacturing process technology	32 nm vs 45 nm
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	65 Watt vs 130 Watt

Reasons to consider the Intel Core i7-950

2 more cores, run more applications at once: 4 vs 2
Around 19% higher clock speed: 3.33 GHz vs 2.8 GHz
Around 24% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1380 vs 1113
3.1x better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 3217 vs 1054
Around 55% better performance in Geekbench 4 - Single Core: 535 vs 345
3.4x better performance in Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core: 2092 vs 612

Specifications (specs)
Number of cores	4 vs 2
Maximum frequency	3.33 GHz vs 2.8 GHz
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	1380 vs 1113
PassMark - CPU mark	3217 vs 1054
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	535 vs 345
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	2092 vs 612

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: AMD A4-3420
CPU 2: Intel Core i7-950

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1113

1380

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1054

3217

Geekbench 4 - Single Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

345

535

Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

612

2092

Name	AMD A4-3420	Intel Core i7-950
PassMark - Single thread mark	1113	1380
PassMark - CPU mark	1054	3217
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	345	535
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	612	2092
3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score		2502
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)		1.028
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)		61.244
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)		0.376
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s)		1.712
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)		5.077

Compare specifications (specs)

	AMD A4-3420	Intel Core i7-950
Essentials
Architecture codename	Llano	Bloomfield
Launch date	December 2011	June 2009
Place in performance rating	2634	2639
Vertical segment	Desktop	Desktop
Launch price (MSRP)		$290
Price now		$329.99
Processor Number		i7-950
Series		Legacy Intel® Core™ Processors
Status		Discontinued
Value for money (0-100)		4.96
Performance
64 bit support
Die size	228 mm	263 mm2
L1 cache	128 KB (per core)	64 KB (per core)
L2 cache	512 KB (per core)	256 KB (per core)
Manufacturing process technology	32 nm	45 nm
Maximum frequency	2.8 GHz	3.33 GHz
Number of cores	2	4
Transistor count	1178 million	731 million
Base frequency		3.06 GHz
Bus Speed		4.8 GT/s QPI
Front-side bus (FSB)		1333 MHz
L3 cache		8192 KB (shared)
Maximum core temperature		67.9°C
Number of QPI Links		1
Number of threads		8
VID voltage range		0.800V-1.375V
Memory
Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR3 800/1066
Max memory channels		3
Maximum memory bandwidth		25.6 GB/s
Maximum memory size		24 GB
Compatibility
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	1	1
Sockets supported	FM1	FCLGA1366
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	65 Watt	130 Watt
Low Halogen Options Available
Package Size		42.5mm x 45.0mm
Virtualization
AMD Virtualization (AMD-V™)
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)
Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)
Security & Reliability
Execute Disable Bit (EDB)
Intel® Trusted Execution technology (TXT)
Advanced Technologies
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® technology
Idle States
Instruction set extensions		Intel® SSE4.2
Intel 64
Intel® AES New Instructions
Intel® Demand Based Switching
Intel® Hyper-Threading technology
Intel® Turbo Boost technology
Physical Address Extensions (PAE)		36-bit
Thermal Monitoring