Intel Core i7-960 vs AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+

Comparative analysis of Intel Core i7-960 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 i7-960

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+

Differences

Reasons to consider the Intel Core i7-960

CPU is newer: launch date 2 year(s) 10 month(s) later
2 more cores, run more applications at once: 4 vs 2
Around 24% higher clock speed: 3.46 GHz vs 2.8 GHz
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 45 nm vs 90 nm
Around 43% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1459 vs 1019
3.7x better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 3351 vs 903
2x better performance in Geekbench 4 - Single Core: 565 vs 279
4.4x better performance in Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core: 2198 vs 497

Specifications (specs)
Launch date	October 2009 vs December 2006
Number of cores	4 vs 2
Maximum frequency	3.46 GHz vs 2.8 GHz
Manufacturing process technology	45 nm vs 90 nm
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	1459 vs 1019
PassMark - CPU mark	3351 vs 903
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	565 vs 279
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	2198 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 i7-960
CPU 2: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1459

1019

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

3351

903

Geekbench 4 - Single Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

565

279

Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

2198

497

Name	Intel Core i7-960	AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+
PassMark - Single thread mark	1459	1019
PassMark - CPU mark	3351	903
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	565	279
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	2198	497
3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score	0
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)	1.115
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)	59.327
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)	0.374
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s)	0.395
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)	4.942

Compare specifications (specs)

	Intel Core i7-960	AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+
Essentials
Architecture codename	Bloomfield	Windsor
Launch date	October 2009	December 2006
Launch price (MSRP)	$316
Place in performance rating	2765	2755
Price now	$99.99	$149.95
Processor Number	i7-960
Series	Legacy Intel® Core™ Processors
Status	Discontinued
Value for money (0-100)	17.14	2.91
Vertical segment	Desktop	Desktop
Performance
64 bit support
Base frequency	3.20 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	3.46 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)