AMD Athlon X4 730 vs Intel Core i7-2600K

Comparative analysis of AMD Athlon X4 730 and Intel Core i7-2600K processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Compatibility, Peripherals, Advanced Technologies, Virtualization, Graphics, Graphics interfaces, Security & Reliability. 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 Athlon X4 730

Intel Core i7-2600K

Differences

Reasons to consider the AMD Athlon X4 730

CPU is newer: launch date 1 year(s) 8 month(s) later
4x more L2 cache, more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later
Around 46% lower typical power consumption: 65 Watt vs 95 Watt

Launch date	2 Oct 2012 vs 3 January 2011
L2 cache	4 MB vs 1024 KB
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	65 Watt vs 95 Watt

Reasons to consider the Intel Core i7-2600K

Processor is unlocked, an unlocked multiplier allows for easier overclocking
4 more threads: 8 vs 4
Around 19% higher clock speed: 3.80 GHz vs 3.2 GHz
Around 33% more L1 cache; more data can be stored in the L1 cache for quick access later
Around 86% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1745 vs 937
2.4x better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 5492 vs 2278

Specifications (specs)
Unlocked	Unlocked vs Locked
Number of threads	8 vs 4
Maximum frequency	3.80 GHz vs 3.2 GHz
L1 cache	64 KB (per core) vs 192 KB
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	1745 vs 937
PassMark - CPU mark	5492 vs 2278

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: AMD Athlon X4 730
CPU 2: Intel Core i7-2600K

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

937

1745

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

2278

5492

Name	AMD Athlon X4 730	Intel Core i7-2600K
PassMark - Single thread mark	937	1745
PassMark - CPU mark	2278	5492
Geekbench 4 - Single Core		811
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core		3117
3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score		1845
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)		4.524
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)		77.745
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)		0.602
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s)		2.129
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)		5.018

Compare specifications (specs)

	AMD Athlon X4 730	Intel Core i7-2600K
Essentials
Architecture codename	Trinity	Sandy Bridge
Launch date	2 Oct 2012	3 January 2011
Place in performance rating	2315	2304
Launch price (MSRP)		$317
Price now		$189.99
Processor Number		i7-2600K
Series		Legacy Intel® Core™ Processors
Status		Discontinued
Value for money (0-100)		13.10
Vertical segment		Desktop
Performance
Base frequency	2.8 GHz	3.40 GHz
Die size	246 mm²	216 mm
L1 cache	192 KB	64 KB (per core)
L2 cache	4 MB	1024 KB
Manufacturing process technology	32 nm	32 nm
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	74 °C
Maximum frequency	3.2 GHz	3.80 GHz
Number of cores	4	4
Number of threads	4	8
Transistor count	1303 million	995 Million
Unlocked
64 bit support
Bus Speed		5 GT/s DMI
L3 cache		8192 KB
Maximum core temperature		72.6°C
Memory
ECC memory support
Max memory channels	2	2
Supported memory frequency	1866 MHz
Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR3 1066/1333
Maximum memory bandwidth		21 GB/s
Maximum memory size		32 GB
Compatibility
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	1	1
Sockets supported	FM2	LGA1155
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	65 Watt	95 Watt
Low Halogen Options Available
Package Size		37.5mm x 37.5mm
Peripherals
PCI Express revision	2.0	2.0
Max number of PCIe lanes		16
Advanced Technologies
Enhanced Virus Protection (EVP)
Fused Multiply-Add 3 (FMA3)
Fused Multiply-Add 4 (FMA4)
Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX)
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® technology
Flexible Display interface (FDI)
Idle States
Instruction set extensions		Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX
Intel 64
Intel® AES New Instructions
Intel® Fast Memory Access
Intel® Flex Memory Access
Intel® Hyper-Threading technology
Intel® Turbo Boost technology
Intel® vPro™ Platform Eligibility
Thermal Monitoring
Virtualization
AMD Virtualization (AMD-V™)
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)
Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)
Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)
Graphics
Device ID		0x112
Graphics base frequency		850 MHz
Graphics max dynamic frequency		1.35 GHz
Graphics max frequency		1.35 GHz
Intel® Clear Video HD technology
Intel® Flexible Display Interface (Intel® FDI)
Intel® InTru™ 3D technology
Intel® Quick Sync Video
Processor graphics		Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Graphics interfaces
Number of displays supported		2
Wireless Display (WiDi) support
Security & Reliability
Execute Disable Bit (EDB)
Intel® Identity Protection technology
Intel® Trusted Execution technology (TXT)