Intel Core i7-920 vs AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+

Comparative analysis of Intel Core i7-920 and AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ 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, 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).

Intel Core i7-920

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+

Differences

Reasons to consider the Intel Core i7-920

CPU is newer: launch date 1 year(s) 11 month(s) later
2 more cores, run more applications at once: 4 vs 2
Around 5% higher clock speed: 2.93 GHz vs 2.8 GHz
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 45 nm vs 90 nm
Around 19% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1215 vs 1019
3.1x better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 2840 vs 903
Around 68% better performance in Geekbench 4 - Single Core: 469 vs 279
3.7x better performance in Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core: 1855 vs 497

Specifications (specs)
Launch date	November 2008 vs December 2006
Number of cores	4 vs 2
Maximum frequency	2.93 GHz vs 2.8 GHz
Manufacturing process technology	45 nm vs 90 nm
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	1215 vs 1019
PassMark - CPU mark	2840 vs 903
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	469 vs 279
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	1855 vs 497

Reasons to consider the AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+

Around 46% lower typical power consumption: 89 Watt vs 130 Watt

Thermal Design Power (TDP)	89 Watt vs 130 Watt

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: Intel Core i7-920
CPU 2: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1215

1019

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

2840

903

Geekbench 4 - Single Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

469

279

Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

1855

497

Name	Intel Core i7-920	AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+
PassMark - Single thread mark	1215	1019
PassMark - CPU mark	2840	903
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	469	279
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	1855	497
3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score	2227
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)	0.873
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)	50.388
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)	0.3
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s)	1.595
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)	4

Compare specifications (specs)

	Intel Core i7-920	AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+
Essentials
Architecture codename	Bloomfield	Windsor
Launch date	November 2008	December 2006
Launch price (MSRP)	$340
Place in performance rating	2767	2755
Price now	$174	$149.95
Processor Number	i7-920
Series	Legacy Intel® Core™ Processors
Status	Discontinued
Value for money (0-100)	8.34	2.91
Vertical segment	Desktop	Desktop
Performance
64 bit support
Base frequency	2.66 GHz
Bus Speed	4.8 GT/s QPI
Die size	263 mm2	220 mm
Front-side bus (FSB)	1333 MHz
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	256 KB
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	1024 KB
L3 cache	8192 KB (shared)
Manufacturing process technology	45 nm	90 nm
Maximum core temperature	67.9°C
Maximum frequency	2.93 GHz	2.8 GHz
Number of cores	4	2
Number of QPI Links	1
Number of threads	8
Transistor count	731 million	227 million
VID voltage range	0.800V-1.375V
Memory
Max memory channels	3
Maximum memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s
Maximum memory size	24 GB
Supported memory types	DDR3 800/1066
Compatibility
Low Halogen Options Available
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	1	1
Package Size	42.5mm x 45.0mm
Sockets supported	FCLGA1366	AM2
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	130 Watt	89 Watt
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
Physical Address Extensions (PAE)	36-bit
Thermal Monitoring
Virtualization
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)
Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)