AMD Athlon X4 970 vs Intel Core i7-4960X

Comparative analysis of AMD Athlon X4 970 and Intel Core i7-4960X 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, 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 970

Intel Core i7-4960X

Differences

Reasons to consider the AMD Athlon X4 970

CPU is newer: launch date 3 year(s) 10 month(s) later
Around 33% more L1 cache; more data can be stored in the L1 cache for quick access later
Around 33% 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

Launch date	27 July 2017 vs 3 September 2013
L1 cache	128 KB (per core) vs 384 KB
L2 cache	2 MB vs 1.5 MB
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	65 Watt vs 130 Watt

Reasons to consider the Intel Core i7-4960X

2 more cores, run more applications at once: 6 vs 4
8 more threads: 12 vs 4
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 22 nm vs 28 nm
Around 22% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 2078 vs 1700
2.6x better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 10070 vs 3811

Specifications (specs)
Number of cores	6 vs 4
Number of threads	12 vs 4
Manufacturing process technology	22 nm vs 28 nm
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	2078 vs 1700
PassMark - CPU mark	10070 vs 3811

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: AMD Athlon X4 970
CPU 2: Intel Core i7-4960X

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1700

2078

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

3811

10070

Name	AMD Athlon X4 970	Intel Core i7-4960X
PassMark - Single thread mark	1700	2078
PassMark - CPU mark	3811	10070
Geekbench 4 - Single Core		850
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core		5157
3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score		6029
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)		25.225
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)		174.038
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)		0.161
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s)		6.883
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)		32.99

Compare specifications (specs)

	AMD Athlon X4 970	Intel Core i7-4960X
Essentials
Architecture codename	Bristol Ridge	Ivy Bridge E
Family	AMD Athlon Processors
Launch date	27 July 2017	3 September 2013
OPN PIB	AD970XAUABBOX
OPN Tray	AD970XAUM44AB
Place in performance rating	1500	1513
Series	AMD Athlon X4	Intel® Core™ X-series Processors
Vertical segment	Desktop	Desktop
Launch price (MSRP)		$999
Price now		$769.99
Processor Number		i7-4960X
Status		Discontinued
Value for money (0-100)		5.28
Performance
64 bit support
Base frequency	3.8 GHz	3.60 GHz
Die size	246 mm	257 mm
L1 cache	128 KB (per core)	384 KB
L2 cache	2 MB	1.5 MB
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	22 nm
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	74 °C
Maximum frequency	4 GHz	4.00 GHz
Number of cores	4	6
Number of threads	4	12
Transistor count	1178 million	1860 Million
Unlocked
Bus Speed		5 GT/s DMI2
L3 cache		15 MB
Maximum core temperature		66.8°C
Memory
Supported memory frequency	2400 MHz
Supported memory types	DDR4	DDR3 1333/1600/1866
Max memory channels		4
Maximum memory bandwidth		59.7 GB/s
Maximum memory size		64 GB
Compatibility
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	1	1
Sockets supported	AM4	FCLGA2011
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	65 Watt	130 Watt
Low Halogen Options Available
Package Size		52.5mm x 45.0mm
Peripherals
PCI Express revision	3.0	3.0
Max number of PCIe lanes		40
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® AVX
Intel 64
Intel® Demand Based Switching
Intel® Hyper-Threading technology
Intel® Smart Response 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)
Security & Reliability
Execute Disable Bit (EDB)
Intel® Identity Protection technology
Intel® Trusted Execution technology (TXT)