AMD PRO A12-8870 vs Intel Core i7-6950X

Comparative analysis of AMD PRO A12-8870 and Intel Core i7-6950X processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Graphics, Graphics API support, 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 PRO A12-8870

Intel Core i7-6950X

Differences

Reasons to consider the AMD PRO A12-8870

Around 20% higher clock speed: 4.2 GHz vs 3.50 GHz
2.2x lower typical power consumption: 65 Watt vs 140 Watt

Maximum frequency	4.2 GHz vs 3.50 GHz
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	65 Watt vs 140 Watt

Reasons to consider the Intel Core i7-6950X

Processor is unlocked, an unlocked multiplier allows for easier overclocking
6 more cores, run more applications at once: 10 vs 4
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 14 nm vs 28 nm
Around 25% more L2 cache; more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later
Around 30% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 2326 vs 1784
4.5x better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 17344 vs 3888

Specifications (specs)
Unlocked	Unlocked vs Locked
Number of cores	10 vs 4
Manufacturing process technology	14 nm vs 28 nm
L2 cache	2.5 MB vs 2 MB
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	2326 vs 1784
PassMark - CPU mark	17344 vs 3888

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: AMD PRO A12-8870
CPU 2: Intel Core i7-6950X

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1784

2326

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

3888

17344

Name	AMD PRO A12-8870	Intel Core i7-6950X
PassMark - Single thread mark	1784	2326
PassMark - CPU mark	3888	17344
Geekbench 4 - Single Core		977
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core		9071
3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score		6073
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)		10.499
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)		103.335
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)		1.263
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s)		5.312
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)		14.075

Compare specifications (specs)

	AMD PRO A12-8870	Intel Core i7-6950X
Essentials
Family	AMD PRO A-Series Processors
Launch date	Q3 2016	10 March 2016
OPN Tray	AD887BAUM44AB
OS Support	Windows 10 - 64-Bit Edition, Windows 7 - 64-Bit Edition, RHEL x86 64-Bit, Ubuntu x86 64-Bit
Place in performance rating	1444	1451
Series	AMD PRO A-Series A12 APU for Desktops	Intel® Core™ X-series Processors
Vertical segment	Desktop	Desktop
Architecture codename		Broadwell E
Launch price (MSRP)		$1,723
Price now		$1,575.99
Processor Number		i7-6950X
Status		Discontinued
Value for money (0-100)		3.73
Performance
Base frequency	3.7 GHz	3.00 GHz
L2 cache	2 MB	2.5 MB
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	14 nm
Maximum frequency	4.2 GHz	3.50 GHz
Number of cores	4	10
Number of GPU cores	8
Unlocked
64 bit support
Die size		246 mm
Front-side bus (FSB)		9.6 GT / s / QPI
L1 cache		320 KB
L3 cache		25 MB
Maximum case temperature (TCase)		72 °C
Number of threads		20
Transistor count		3200 Million
Memory
Max memory channels	2	4
Supported memory frequency	2400 MHz
Maximum memory size		128 GB
Supported memory types		DDR4 2400/2133
Graphics
Graphics max frequency	1108 MHz
Processor graphics	R7	None
Switchable graphics
Graphics API support
DirectX	12
Vulkan
Compatibility
Sockets supported	AM4	FCLGA2011-3
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	65 Watt	140 Watt
Low Halogen Options Available
Max number of CPUs in a configuration		1
Peripherals
PCI Express revision	3.0	3.0
Max number of PCIe lanes		40
Scalability		1S Only
Advanced Technologies
FreeSync
Fused Multiply-Add 4 (FMA4)
Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX)
Intel® AES New Instructions
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® technology
Idle States
Intel 64
Intel® Hyper-Threading technology
Intel® Smart Response technology
Intel® Turbo Boost technology
Intel® vPro™ Platform Eligibility
Turbo Boost Max 3.0
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® Trusted Execution technology (TXT)