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.

Intel Core i7-980

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ BE

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 36% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1542 vs 1131
7x better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 6867 vs 982

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	1542 vs 1131
PassMark - CPU mark	6867 vs 982

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

1542

1131

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

6867

982

Name	Intel Core i7-980	AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ BE
PassMark - Single thread mark	1542	1131
PassMark - CPU mark	6867	982
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	1851	1854
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)