AMD Athlon X4 950 vs Intel Core i7-965

Comparative analysis of AMD Athlon X4 950 and Intel Core i7-965 processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Compatibility, Peripherals, Advanced Technologies, Virtualization, Security & Reliability. Benchmark processor performance analysis: PassMark - Single thread mark, PassMark - CPU mark, Geekbench 4 - Single Core, Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core.

AMD Athlon X4 950

Intel Core i7-965

Differences

Reasons to consider the AMD Athlon X4 950

CPU is newer: launch date 8 year(s) 8 month(s) later
Around 10% higher clock speed: 3.8 GHz vs 3.46 GHz
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 28 nm vs 45 nm
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
2x lower typical power consumption: 65 Watt vs 130 Watt
Around 11% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1638 vs 1475
Around 5% better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 3596 vs 3424

Specifications (specs)
Launch date	27 July 2017 vs November 2008
Maximum frequency	3.8 GHz vs 3.46 GHz
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm vs 45 nm
L1 cache	128 KB (per core) vs 64 KB (per core)
L2 cache	2 MB vs 256 KB (per core)
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	65 Watt vs 130 Watt
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	1638 vs 1475
PassMark - CPU mark	3596 vs 3424

Reasons to consider the Intel Core i7-965

4 more threads: 8 vs 4
Around 12% better performance in Geekbench 4 - Single Core: 578 vs 514
Around 43% better performance in Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core: 2233 vs 1557

Specifications (specs)
Number of threads	8 vs 4
Benchmarks
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	578 vs 514
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	2233 vs 1557

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: AMD Athlon X4 950
CPU 2: Intel Core i7-965

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1638

1475

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

3596

3424

Geekbench 4 - Single Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

514

578

Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

1557

2233

Name	AMD Athlon X4 950	Intel Core i7-965
PassMark - Single thread mark	1638	1475
PassMark - CPU mark	3596	3424
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	514	578
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	1557	2233

Compare specifications (specs)

	AMD Athlon X4 950	Intel Core i7-965
Essentials
Architecture codename	Bristol Ridge	Bloomfield
Family	AMD Athlon Processors
Launch date	27 July 2017	November 2008
Launch price (MSRP)	$60	$1,509
OPN PIB	AD950XAGABBOX
OPN Tray	AD950XAGM44AB
Place in performance rating	2088	2102
Price now	$59.99	$139.99
Series	AMD Athlon X4	Legacy Intel® Core™ Processors
Value for money (0-100)	26.05	12.32
Vertical segment	Desktop	Desktop
Processor Number		i7-965
Status		Discontinued
Performance
64 bit support
Base frequency	3.5 GHz	3.20 GHz
Die size	246 mm	263 mm2
L1 cache	128 KB (per core)	64 KB (per core)
L2 cache	2 MB	256 KB (per core)
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	45 nm
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	74 °C
Maximum frequency	3.8 GHz	3.46 GHz
Number of cores	4	4
Number of threads	4	8
Transistor count	1178 million	731 million
Unlocked
Bus Speed		6.4 GT/s QPI
L3 cache		8192 KB (shared)
Maximum core temperature		67.9°C
Number of QPI Links		1
VID voltage range		0.800V-1.375V
Memory
Supported memory frequency	2400 MHz
Supported memory types	DDR4	DDR3 800/1066
Max memory channels		3
Maximum memory bandwidth		25.6 GB/s
Maximum memory size		24 GB
Compatibility
Configurable TDP	45/65 Watt
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	1	1
Sockets supported	AM4	FCLGA1366
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	65 Watt	130 Watt
Low Halogen Options Available
Package Size		42.5mm x 45.0mm
Peripherals
PCI Express revision	3.0
Advanced Technologies
Fused Multiply-Add (FMA)
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
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)