Intel Core i7-970 vs AMD Phenom X4 9450e

Comparative analysis of Intel Core i7-970 and AMD Phenom X4 9450e 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, 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).

 

Differences

Reasons to consider the Intel Core i7-970

  • CPU is newer: launch date 1 year(s) 9 month(s) later
  • 2 more cores, run more applications at once: 6 vs 4
  • Around 65% higher clock speed: 3.46 GHz vs 2.1 GHz
  • A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 32 nm vs 65 nm
  • 6x more L3 cache, more data can be stored in the L3 cache for quick access later
  • Around 74% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1467 vs 841
  • 4.5x better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 6546 vs 1455
Specifications (specs)
Launch date July 2010 vs October 2008
Number of cores 6 vs 4
Maximum frequency 3.46 GHz vs 2.1 GHz
Manufacturing process technology 32 nm vs 65 nm
L3 cache 12288 KB (shared) vs 2048 KB (shared)
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark 1467 vs 841
PassMark - CPU mark 6546 vs 1455

Reasons to consider the AMD Phenom X4 9450e

  • Around 33% more L1 cache; more data can be stored in the L1 cache for quick access later
  • Around 33% more L2 cache; more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later
  • 2x lower typical power consumption: 65 Watt vs 130 Watt
L1 cache 128 KB (per core) vs 64 KB (per core)
L2 cache 512 KB (per core) vs 256 KB (per core)
Thermal Design Power (TDP) 65 Watt vs 130 Watt

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: Intel Core i7-970
CPU 2: AMD Phenom X4 9450e

PassMark - Single thread mark
CPU 1
CPU 2
1467
841
PassMark - CPU mark
CPU 1
CPU 2
6546
1455
Name Intel Core i7-970 AMD Phenom X4 9450e
PassMark - Single thread mark 1467 841
PassMark - CPU mark 6546 1455
Geekbench 4 - Single Core 592
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core 3217
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s) 1.559
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s) 49.006
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s) 0.506
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s) 2.584
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s) 6.816

Compare specifications (specs)

Intel Core i7-970 AMD Phenom X4 9450e

Essentials

Architecture codename Gulftown Agena
Launch date July 2010 October 2008
Launch price (MSRP) $662
Place in performance rating 2474 2478
Price now $148.99
Processor Number i7-970
Series Legacy Intel® Core™ Processors
Status Discontinued
Value for money (0-100) 16.59
Vertical segment Desktop Desktop

Performance

64 bit support
Base frequency 3.20 GHz
Bus Speed 4.8 GT/s QPI
Die size 239 mm2 285 mm
L1 cache 64 KB (per core) 128 KB (per core)
L2 cache 256 KB (per core) 512 KB (per core)
L3 cache 12288 KB (shared) 2048 KB (shared)
Manufacturing process technology 32 nm 65 nm
Maximum core temperature 67.9°C
Maximum frequency 3.46 GHz 2.1 GHz
Number of cores 6 4
Number of QPI Links 1
Number of threads 12
Transistor count 1170 million 450 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 65 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)
AMD Virtualization (AMD-V™)