Intel Core i7-860S vs AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+

Comparative analysis of Intel Core i7-860S and AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Compatibility, Peripherals, 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), Geekbench 4 - Single Core, Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core.

Intel Core i7-860S

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+

Differences

Reasons to consider the Intel Core i7-860S

CPU is newer: launch date 3 year(s) 8 month(s) later
2 more cores, run more applications at once: 4 vs 2
Around 33% higher clock speed: 3.46 GHz vs 2.6 GHz
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 45 nm vs 90 nm
2x more L2 cache, more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later
Around 9% lower typical power consumption: 82 Watt vs 89 Watt
Around 36% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1093 vs 802
Around 51% better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 2280 vs 1507

Specifications (specs)
Launch date	January 2010 vs May 2006
Number of cores	4 vs 2
Maximum frequency	3.46 GHz vs 2.6 GHz
Manufacturing process technology	45 nm vs 90 nm
L2 cache	256 KB (per core) vs 512 KB
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	82 Watt vs 89 Watt
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	1093 vs 802
PassMark - CPU mark	2280 vs 1507

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: Intel Core i7-860S
CPU 2: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1093

802

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

2280

1507

Name	Intel Core i7-860S	AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+
PassMark - Single thread mark	1093	802
PassMark - CPU mark	2280	1507
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)	0.907
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)	46.184
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)	0.278
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s)	1.222
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)	2.716
Geekbench 4 - Single Core		225
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core		427

Compare specifications (specs)

	Intel Core i7-860S	AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+
Essentials
Architecture codename	Lynnfield	Windsor
Launch date	January 2010	May 2006
Launch price (MSRP)	$422
Place in performance rating	2910	2927
Price now	$198.99	$331.49
Processor Number	i7-860S
Series	Legacy Intel® Core™ Processors
Status	Discontinued
Value for money (0-100)	6.97	1.17
Vertical segment	Desktop	Desktop
Performance
64 bit support
Base frequency	2.53 GHz
Bus Speed	2.5 GT/s DMI
Die size	296 mm2	220 mm
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	256 KB
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	512 KB
L3 cache	8192 KB (shared)
Manufacturing process technology	45 nm	90 nm
Maximum frequency	3.46 GHz	2.6 GHz
Number of cores	4	2
Number of threads	8
Transistor count	774 million	154 million
VID voltage range	0.6500V-1.4000V
Memory
Max memory channels	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	21 GB/s
Maximum memory size	16 GB
Supported memory types	DDR3 1066/1333
Compatibility
Low Halogen Options Available
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	1	1
Package Size	37.5mm x 37.5mm
Sockets supported	LGA1156	AM2
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	82 Watt	89 Watt
Peripherals
Max number of PCIe lanes	16
PCI Express revision	2.0
PCIe configurations	1x16, 2x8
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
Intel® vPro™ Platform Eligibility
Physical Address Extensions (PAE)	36-bit
Thermal Monitoring
Virtualization
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)
Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)
Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)