Intel Core i7-950 vs AMD Athlon 64 X2 5800+

Comparative analysis of Intel Core i7-950 and AMD Athlon 64 X2 5800+ 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 X2 5800+

Differences

Reasons to consider the Intel Core i7-950

CPU is newer: launch date 1 year(s) 2 month(s) later
2 more cores, run more applications at once: 4 vs 2
Around 11% higher clock speed: 3.33 GHz vs 3 GHz
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 45 nm vs 65 nm
2x more L2 cache, more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later
Around 85% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1380 vs 746
4.9x better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 3222 vs 653

Specifications (specs)
Launch date	June 2009 vs April 2008
Number of cores	4 vs 2
Maximum frequency	3.33 GHz vs 3 GHz
Manufacturing process technology	45 nm vs 65 nm
L2 cache	256 KB (per core) vs 512 KB
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	1380 vs 746
PassMark - CPU mark	3222 vs 653

Reasons to consider the AMD Athlon 64 X2 5800+

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 i7-950
CPU 2: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5800+

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1380

746

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

3222

653

Name	Intel Core i7-950	AMD Athlon 64 X2 5800+
PassMark - Single thread mark	1380	746
PassMark - CPU mark	3222	653
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	535
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	2092
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 X2 5800+
Essentials
Architecture codename	Bloomfield	Brisbane
Launch date	June 2009	April 2008
Launch price (MSRP)	$290
Place in performance rating	2639	2641
Price now	$329.99	$24.99
Processor Number	i7-950
Series	Legacy Intel® Core™ Processors
Status	Discontinued
Value for money (0-100)	4.96	18.01
Vertical segment	Desktop	Desktop
Performance
64 bit support
Base frequency	3.06 GHz
Bus Speed	4.8 GT/s QPI
Die size	263 mm2	126 mm
Front-side bus (FSB)	1333 MHz
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	65 nm
Maximum core temperature	67.9°C
Maximum frequency	3.33 GHz	3 GHz
Number of cores	4	2
Number of QPI Links	1
Number of threads	8
Transistor count	731 million	154 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)