AMD Athlon X4 845 vs Intel Core i7-950

Comparative analysis of AMD Athlon X4 845 and Intel Core i7-950 processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Compatibility, Peripherals, Advanced Technologies, Security & Reliability, 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), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s), 3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score, CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s).

AMD Athlon X4 845

Intel Core i7-950

Differences

Reasons to consider the AMD Athlon X4 845

Around 14% higher clock speed: 3.8 GHz vs 3.33 GHz
Around 5% higher maximum core temperature: 71.30°C vs 67.9°C
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 28 nm vs 45 nm
2x more L2 cache, more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later
Around 22% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1678 vs 1380
Around 18% better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 3799 vs 3221
3.7x better performance in CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s): 3.853 vs 1.028

Specifications (specs)
Maximum frequency	3.8 GHz vs 3.33 GHz
Maximum core temperature	71.30°C vs 67.9°C
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm vs 45 nm
L2 cache	2 MB vs 256 KB (per core)
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	1678 vs 1380
PassMark - CPU mark	3799 vs 3221
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)	3.853 vs 1.028

Reasons to consider the Intel Core i7-950

4 more threads: 8 vs 4
Around 4% better performance in Geekbench 4 - Single Core: 535 vs 516
Around 35% better performance in Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core: 2092 vs 1548
5.1x better performance in CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s): 61.244 vs 11.946
Around 54% better performance in CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s): 0.376 vs 0.244
Around 20% better performance in CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s): 5.077 vs 4.237

Specifications (specs)
Number of threads	8 vs 4
Benchmarks
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	535 vs 516
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	2092 vs 1548
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)	61.244 vs 11.946
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)	0.376 vs 0.244
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)	5.077 vs 4.237

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: AMD Athlon X4 845
CPU 2: Intel Core i7-950

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1678

1380

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

3799

3221

Geekbench 4 - Single Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

516

535

Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

1548

2092

CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)

CPU 1

CPU 2

3.853

1.028

CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)

CPU 1

CPU 2

11.946

61.244

CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)

CPU 1

CPU 2

0.244

0.376

CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)

CPU 1

CPU 2

4.237

5.077

Name	AMD Athlon X4 845	Intel Core i7-950
PassMark - Single thread mark	1678	1380
PassMark - CPU mark	3799	3221
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	516	535
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	1548	2092
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)	3.853	1.028
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)	11.946	61.244
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)	0.244	0.376
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)	4.237	5.077
3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score		2502
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s)		1.712

Compare specifications (specs)

	AMD Athlon X4 845	Intel Core i7-950
Essentials
Family	AMD Athlon Processors
OPN PIB	AD845XACKASBX
Place in performance rating	2631	2639
Series	AMD Athlon X4	Legacy Intel® Core™ Processors
Vertical segment	Desktop	Desktop
Architecture codename		Bloomfield
Launch date		June 2009
Launch price (MSRP)		$290
Price now		$329.99
Processor Number		i7-950
Status		Discontinued
Value for money (0-100)		4.96
Performance
Base frequency	3.5 GHz	3.06 GHz
L2 cache	2 MB	256 KB (per core)
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	45 nm
Maximum core temperature	71.30°C	67.9°C
Maximum frequency	3.8 GHz	3.33 GHz
Number of cores	4	4
Number of threads	4	8
Unlocked
64 bit support
Bus Speed		4.8 GT/s QPI
Die size		263 mm2
Front-side bus (FSB)		1333 MHz
L1 cache		64 KB (per core)
L3 cache		8192 KB (shared)
Number of QPI Links		1
Transistor count		731 million
VID voltage range		0.800V-1.375V
Memory
Max memory channels	2	3
Supported memory frequency	2133 MHz
Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR3 800/1066
Maximum memory bandwidth		25.6 GB/s
Maximum memory size		24 GB
Compatibility
Sockets supported	FM2+	FCLGA1366
Thermal Solution	Near Silent 95W
Low Halogen Options Available
Max number of CPUs in a configuration		1
Package Size		42.5mm x 45.0mm
Thermal Design Power (TDP)		130 Watt
Peripherals
PCI Express revision	3.0
Advanced Technologies
Fused Multiply-Add 4 (FMA4)
Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX)
Intel® AES New Instructions
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® technology
Idle States
Instruction set extensions		Intel® SSE4.2
Intel 64
Intel® Demand Based Switching
Intel® Hyper-Threading technology
Intel® Turbo Boost technology
Physical Address Extensions (PAE)		36-bit
Thermal Monitoring
Security & Reliability
Execute Disable Bit (EDB)
Intel® Trusted Execution technology (TXT)
Virtualization
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)
Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)