AMD Athlon II X4 645 vs Intel Core i7-960

Comparative analysis of AMD Athlon II X4 645 and Intel Core i7-960 processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Compatibility, Security & Reliability, Advanced Technologies, Virtualization. Benchmark processor performance analysis: PassMark - Single thread mark, PassMark - CPU mark, Geekbench 4 - Single Core, Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core, CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s), 3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score, CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s).

 

Differences

Reasons to consider the AMD Athlon II X4 645

  • CPU is newer: launch date 11 month(s) later
  • 2x more L1 cache, more data can be stored in the L1 cache for quick access later
  • 2x more L2 cache, more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later
  • Around 37% lower typical power consumption: 95 Watt vs 130 Watt
  • Around 89% better performance in CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s): 2.103 vs 1.115
Specifications (specs)
Launch date September 2010 vs October 2009
L1 cache 128 KB (per core) vs 64 KB (per core)
L2 cache 512 KB (per core) vs 256 KB (per core)
Thermal Design Power (TDP) 95 Watt vs 130 Watt
Benchmarks
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s) 2.103 vs 1.115

Reasons to consider the Intel Core i7-960

  • Around 12% higher clock speed: 3.46 GHz vs 3.1 GHz
  • Around 16% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1458 vs 1256
  • Around 43% better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 3347 vs 2348
  • Around 51% better performance in Geekbench 4 - Single Core: 565 vs 375
  • Around 81% better performance in Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core: 2198 vs 1215
  • 6.2x better performance in CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s): 59.327 vs 9.496
Specifications (specs)
Maximum frequency 3.46 GHz vs 3.1 GHz
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark 1458 vs 1256
PassMark - CPU mark 3347 vs 2348
Geekbench 4 - Single Core 565 vs 375
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core 2198 vs 1215
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s) 59.327 vs 9.496

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: AMD Athlon II X4 645
CPU 2: Intel Core i7-960

PassMark - Single thread mark
CPU 1
CPU 2
1256
1458
PassMark - CPU mark
CPU 1
CPU 2
2348
3347
Geekbench 4 - Single Core
CPU 1
CPU 2
375
565
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core
CPU 1
CPU 2
1215
2198
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)
CPU 1
CPU 2
2.103
1.115
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)
CPU 1
CPU 2
9.496
59.327
Name AMD Athlon II X4 645 Intel Core i7-960
PassMark - Single thread mark 1256 1458
PassMark - CPU mark 2348 3347
Geekbench 4 - Single Core 375 565
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core 1215 2198
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s) 2.103 1.115
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s) 9.496 59.327
3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score 0
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s) 0.374
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s) 0.395
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s) 4.942

Compare specifications (specs)

AMD Athlon II X4 645 Intel Core i7-960

Essentials

Architecture codename Propus Bloomfield
Launch date September 2010 October 2009
Launch price (MSRP) $80 $316
Place in performance rating 2780 2765
Price now $49.99 $99.99
Value for money (0-100) 20.48 17.14
Vertical segment Desktop Desktop
Processor Number i7-960
Series Legacy Intel® Core™ Processors
Status Discontinued

Performance

64 bit support
Die size 169 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 45 nm 45 nm
Maximum frequency 3.1 GHz 3.46 GHz
Number of cores 4 4
Transistor count 300 million 731 million
Base frequency 3.20 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 AM3 FCLGA1366
Thermal Design Power (TDP) 95 Watt 130 Watt
Low Halogen Options Available
Package Size 42.5mm x 45.0mm

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

Virtualization

Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)
Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)