AMD Phenom II X3 720 vs Intel Pentium D 960

Comparative analysis of AMD Phenom II X3 720 and Intel Pentium D 960 processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Compatibility, Security & Reliability, Advanced Technologies, Virtualization. Benchmark processor performance analysis: PassMark - Single thread mark, PassMark - CPU mark, Geekbench 4 - Single Core, Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core.

AMD Phenom II X3 720

Intel Pentium D 960

Differences

Reasons to consider the AMD Phenom II X3 720

CPU is newer: launch date 3 year(s) 8 month(s) later
1 more cores, run more applications at once: 3 vs 2
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 45 nm vs 65 nm
13.7x more L1 cache, more data can be stored in the L1 cache for quick access later
Around 37% lower typical power consumption: 95 Watt vs 130 Watt
Around 41% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1105 vs 782
Around 95% better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 1575 vs 807

Specifications (specs)
Launch date	January 2010 vs May 2006
Number of cores	3 vs 2
Manufacturing process technology	45 nm vs 65 nm
L1 cache	128 KB (per core) vs 28 KB
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	95 Watt vs 130 Watt
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	1105 vs 782
PassMark - CPU mark	1575 vs 807

Reasons to consider the Intel Pentium D 960

Around 29% higher clock speed: 3.6 GHz vs 2.8 GHz
2.7x more L2 cache, more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later

Maximum frequency	3.6 GHz vs 2.8 GHz
L2 cache	4096 KB vs 512 KB (per core)
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	2 vs 1

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: AMD Phenom II X3 720
CPU 2: Intel Pentium D 960

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1105

782

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1575

807

Name	AMD Phenom II X3 720	Intel Pentium D 960
PassMark - Single thread mark	1105	782
PassMark - CPU mark	1575	807
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	374
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	968

Compare specifications (specs)

	AMD Phenom II X3 720	Intel Pentium D 960
Essentials
Architecture codename	Heka	Presler
Launch date	January 2010	May 2006
Launch price (MSRP)	$75
Place in performance rating	2587	2591
Price now	$69.99
Value for money (0-100)	11.28
Vertical segment	Desktop	Desktop
Processor Number		960
Series		Legacy Intel® Pentium® Processor
Status		Discontinued
Performance
64 bit support
Die size	258 mm	162 mm2
L1 cache	128 KB (per core)	28 KB
L2 cache	512 KB (per core)	4096 KB
L3 cache	6144 KB (shared)
Manufacturing process technology	45 nm	65 nm
Maximum frequency	2.8 GHz	3.6 GHz
Number of cores	3	2
Transistor count	758 million	376 million
Base frequency		3.60 GHz
Bus Speed		800 MHz FSB
Maximum core temperature		C1=68.6°C, D0=63.4°C
VID voltage range		1.200V-1.3375V
Memory
Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR1, DDR2, DDR3
Compatibility
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	1	2
Sockets supported	AM3	PLGA775
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	95 Watt	130 Watt
Low Halogen Options Available
Package Size		37.5mm x 37.5mm
Security & Reliability
Execute Disable Bit (EDB)
Intel® Trusted Execution technology (TXT)
Advanced Technologies
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® technology
FSB parity
Idle States
Intel 64
Intel® AES New Instructions
Intel® Demand Based Switching
Intel® Hyper-Threading technology
Intel® Turbo Boost technology
Physical Address Extensions (PAE)		32-bit
Thermal Monitoring
Virtualization
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)
Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)