Intel Core i7-980 vs AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ BE

Comparative analysis of Intel Core i7-980 and AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ BE 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, 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), Geekbench 4 - Single Core, Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core.

 

Differences

Reasons to consider the Intel Core i7-980

  • CPU is newer: launch date 3 year(s) 10 month(s) later
  • 4 more cores, run more applications at once: 6 vs 2
  • Around 13% higher clock speed: 3.60 GHz vs 3.2 GHz
  • A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 32 nm vs 90 nm
  • Around 50% more L1 cache; more data can be stored in the L1 cache for quick access later
  • Around 50% more L2 cache; more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later
  • Around 35% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1539 vs 1141
  • 7x better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 6941 vs 998
Specifications (specs)
Launch date June 2011 vs August 2007
Number of cores 6 vs 2
Maximum frequency 3.60 GHz vs 3.2 GHz
Manufacturing process technology 32 nm vs 90 nm
L1 cache 64 KB (per core) vs 256 KB
L2 cache 256 KB (per core) vs 1024 KB
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark 1539 vs 1141
PassMark - CPU mark 6941 vs 998

Reasons to consider the AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ BE

  • Around 4% lower typical power consumption: 125 Watt vs 130 Watt
Thermal Design Power (TDP) 125 Watt vs 130 Watt

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: Intel Core i7-980
CPU 2: AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ BE

PassMark - Single thread mark
CPU 1
CPU 2
1539
1141
PassMark - CPU mark
CPU 1
CPU 2
6941
998
Name Intel Core i7-980 AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ BE
PassMark - Single thread mark 1539 1141
PassMark - CPU mark 6941 998
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s) 18.942
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s) 111.484
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s) 0.821
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s) 3.445
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s) 19.686
Geekbench 4 - Single Core 1531
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core 2453

Compare specifications (specs)

Intel Core i7-980 AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ BE

Essentials

Architecture codename Gulftown Windsor
Launch date June 2011 August 2007
Launch price (MSRP) $1,109
Place in performance rating 1843 1845
Price now $198.99
Processor Number i7-980
Series Legacy Intel® Core™ Processors
Status Discontinued
Value for money (0-100) 12.83
Vertical segment Desktop Desktop

Performance

64 bit support
Base frequency 3.33 GHz
Bus Speed 4.8 GT/s QPI
Die size 239 mm2 230 mm
L1 cache 64 KB (per core) 256 KB
L2 cache 256 KB (per core) 1024 KB
L3 cache 12288 KB (shared)
Manufacturing process technology 32 nm 90 nm
Maximum core temperature 68.8°C
Maximum frequency 3.60 GHz 3.2 GHz
Number of cores 6 2
Number of QPI Links 1
Number of threads 12
Transistor count 1170 million 227 million
VID voltage range 0.800V-1.300V

Memory

Max memory channels 3
Maximum memory size 24 GB
Supported memory types DDR3 1066

Compatibility

Low Halogen Options Available
Max number of CPUs in a configuration 1 1
Package Size 45mm x 42.5mm
Sockets supported FCLGA1366 AM2
Thermal Design Power (TDP) 130 Watt 125 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
Thermal Monitoring

Virtualization

Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)
Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)