Intel Core i7-950 vs AMD Athlon 64 3700+

Comparative analysis of Intel Core i7-950 and AMD Athlon 64 3700+ 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 i7-950

AMD Athlon 64 3700+

Differences

Reasons to consider the Intel Core i7-950

CPU is newer: launch date 5 year(s) 1 month(s) later
3 more cores, run more applications at once: 4 vs 1
Around 51% higher clock speed: 3.33 GHz vs 2.2 GHz
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 45 nm vs 90 nm
2x more L1 cache, more data can be stored in the L1 cache for quick access later
3.2x better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1379 vs 435
8.2x better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 3213 vs 394
2.1x better performance in Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core: 2092 vs 979

Specifications (specs)
Launch date	June 2009 vs May 2004
Number of cores	4 vs 1
Maximum frequency	3.33 GHz vs 2.2 GHz
Manufacturing process technology	45 nm vs 90 nm
L1 cache	64 KB (per core) vs 128 KB
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	1379 vs 435
PassMark - CPU mark	3213 vs 394
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	2092 vs 979

Reasons to consider the AMD Athlon 64 3700+

Around 46% lower typical power consumption: 89 Watt vs 130 Watt
Around 90% better performance in Geekbench 4 - Single Core: 1018 vs 535

Specifications (specs)
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	89 Watt vs 130 Watt
Benchmarks
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	1018 vs 535

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: Intel Core i7-950
CPU 2: AMD Athlon 64 3700+

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1379

435

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

3213

394

Geekbench 4 - Single Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

535

1018

Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

2092

979

Name	Intel Core i7-950	AMD Athlon 64 3700+
PassMark - Single thread mark	1379	435
PassMark - CPU mark	3213	394
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	535	1018
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	2092	979
3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score	2502
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)	1.028
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)	61.244
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)	0.376
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s)	1.712
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)	5.077

Compare specifications (specs)

	Intel Core i7-950	AMD Athlon 64 3700+
Essentials
Architecture codename	Bloomfield	San Diego
Launch date	June 2009	May 2004
Launch price (MSRP)	$290	$69
Place in performance rating	2683	2652
Price now	$329.99	$69
Processor Number	i7-950
Series	Legacy Intel® Core™ Processors
Status	Discontinued
Value for money (0-100)	4.96	2.56
Vertical segment	Desktop	Desktop
Performance
64 bit support
Base frequency	3.06 GHz
Bus Speed	4.8 GT/s QPI
Die size	263 mm2	115 mm
Front-side bus (FSB)	1333 MHz
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	128 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	3.33 GHz	2.2 GHz
Number of cores	4	1
Number of QPI Links	1
Number of threads	8
Transistor count	731 million	105 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	939
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)