AMD Phenom X4 B99 vs Intel Core i7-980

Comparative analysis of AMD Phenom X4 B99 and Intel Core i7-980 processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Compatibility, Memory, Security & Reliability, Advanced Technologies, Virtualization. Benchmark processor performance analysis: PassMark - Single thread mark, PassMark - CPU mark, 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).

 

Differences

Reasons to consider the AMD Phenom X4 B99

  • Around 33% more L2 cache; more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later
  • Around 37% lower typical power consumption: 95 Watt vs 130 Watt
L2 cache 2 MB vs 256 KB (per core)
Thermal Design Power (TDP) 95 Watt vs 130 Watt

Reasons to consider the Intel Core i7-980

  • 2 more cores, run more applications at once: 6 vs 4
  • 8 more threads: 12 vs 4
  • Around 12% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1539 vs 1377
  • 2.7x better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 6936 vs 2536
Specifications (specs)
Number of cores 6 vs 4
Number of threads 12 vs 4
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark 1539 vs 1377
PassMark - CPU mark 6936 vs 2536

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: AMD Phenom X4 B99
CPU 2: Intel Core i7-980

PassMark - Single thread mark
CPU 1
CPU 2
1377
1539
PassMark - CPU mark
CPU 1
CPU 2
2536
6936
Name AMD Phenom X4 B99 Intel Core i7-980
PassMark - Single thread mark 1377 1539
PassMark - CPU mark 2536 6936
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s) 18.942
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s) 111.484
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s) 0.821
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s) 3.445
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s) 19.686

Compare specifications (specs)

AMD Phenom X4 B99 Intel Core i7-980

Essentials

Family AMD Phenom
OPN Tray HDXB99WFK4DGM
Place in performance rating 1834 1842
Series AMD Business Class - AMD Phenom X4 Quad-Core Legacy Intel® Core™ Processors
Vertical segment Desktop Desktop
Architecture codename Gulftown
Launch date June 2011
Launch price (MSRP) $1,109
Price now $198.99
Processor Number i7-980
Status Discontinued
Value for money (0-100) 12.83

Performance

Base frequency 3.3 GHz 3.33 GHz
L2 cache 2 MB 256 KB (per core)
Number of cores 4 6
Number of threads 4 12
Unlocked
64 bit support
Bus Speed 4.8 GT/s QPI
Die size 239 mm2
L1 cache 64 KB (per core)
L3 cache 12288 KB (shared)
Manufacturing process technology 32 nm
Maximum core temperature 68.8°C
Maximum frequency 3.60 GHz
Number of QPI Links 1
Transistor count 1170 million
VID voltage range 0.800V-1.300V

Compatibility

Sockets supported AM3 FCLGA1366
Thermal Design Power (TDP) 95 Watt 130 Watt
Low Halogen Options Available
Max number of CPUs in a configuration 1
Package Size 45mm x 42.5mm

Memory

Max memory channels 3
Maximum memory size 24 GB
Supported memory types DDR3 1066

Security & Reliability

Execute Disable Bit (EDB)
Intel® Trusted Execution technology (TXT)

Advanced Technologies

Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® technology
Idle States
Instruction set extensions Intel® SSE4.2
Intel 64
Intel® AES New Instructions
Intel® Demand Based Switching
Intel® Hyper-Threading technology
Intel® Turbo Boost technology
Thermal Monitoring

Virtualization

Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)
Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)