Phenom II X4 N970 vs A8-5600K

VS

Aggregate performance score

A8-5600K
2012
4 cores / 4 threads, 100 Watt
1.80
+73.1%
Phenom II X4 N970
2010
4 cores / 4 threads, 35 Watt
1.04

A8-5600K outperforms Phenom II X4 N970 by an impressive 73% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing A8-5600K and Phenom II X4 N970 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking20232449
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Market segmentDesktop processorLaptop
SeriesAMD A-Series (Desktop)4x AMD Phenom II
Power efficiency1.702.81
Architecture codenameTrinity (2012−2013)Champlain (2010−2011)
Release date2 October 2012 (12 years ago)16 December 2010 (14 years ago)

Detailed specifications

A8-5600K and Phenom II X4 N970 basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.

Physical cores4 (Quad-Core)4 (Quad-Core)
Threads44
Base clock speed3.6 GHzno data
Boost clock speed3.9 GHz2.2 GHz
Bus rateno data3600 MHz
L1 cache128K (per core)512 KB
L2 cache1 MB (per core)2 MB
L3 cache0 KBno data
Chip lithography32 nm45 nm
Die size246 mm2no data
Maximum case temperature (TCase)74 °Cno data
Number of transistors1,178 millionno data
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--
Unlocked multiplier+-

Compatibility

Information on A8-5600K and Phenom II X4 N970 compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.

Number of CPUs in a configuration1no data
SocketFM2S1
Power consumption (TDP)100 Watt35 Watt

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by A8-5600K and Phenom II X4 N970 are enumerated here.

AMD-V+-

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by A8-5600K and Phenom II X4 N970. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardAMD Radeon HD 7560D (760 MHz)no data

Synthetic benchmark performance

Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

A8-5600K 1.80
+73.1%
Phenom II X4 N970 1.04

Passmark

Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance.

A8-5600K 2854
+73.3%
Phenom II X4 N970 1647

GeekBench 5 Single-Core

GeekBench 5 Single-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses only a single CPU core.

A8-5600K 424
+61.2%
Phenom II X4 N970 263

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses all available CPU cores.

A8-5600K 1016
+8.8%
Phenom II X4 N970 934

Cinebench 10 32-bit single-core

Cinebench R10 is an ancient ray tracing benchmark for processors by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. Its single core version uses just one CPU thread to render a futuristic looking motorcycle.

A8-5600K 2941
+58%
Phenom II X4 N970 1861

Cinebench 10 32-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 10 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R10 using all the processor threads. Possible number of threads is limited by 16 in this version.

A8-5600K 8838
+29.8%
Phenom II X4 N970 6811

3DMark06 CPU

3DMark06 is a discontinued DirectX 9 benchmark suite from Futuremark. Its CPU part contains two scenarios, one dedicated to artificial intelligence pathfinding, another to game physics using PhysX package.

A8-5600K 4295
+41.2%
Phenom II X4 N970 3043

wPrime 32

wPrime 32M is a math multi-thread processor test, which calculates square roots of first 32 million integer numbers. Its result is measured in seconds, so that the less is benchmark result, the faster the processor.

A8-5600K 16.7
+6.6%
Phenom II X4 N970 17.8

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 11.5 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R11.5 which uses all the processor threads. A maximum of 64 threads is supported in this version.

A8-5600K 3
+28%
Phenom II X4 N970 3

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 1.80 1.04
Recency 2 October 2012 16 December 2010
Chip lithography 32 nm 45 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 100 Watt 35 Watt

A8-5600K has a 73.1% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 1 year, and a 40.6% more advanced lithography process.

Phenom II X4 N970, on the other hand, has 185.7% lower power consumption.

The A8-5600K is our recommended choice as it beats the Phenom II X4 N970 in performance tests.

Note that A8-5600K is a desktop processor while Phenom II X4 N970 is a notebook one.


Should you still have questions on choice between A8-5600K and Phenom II X4 N970, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite CPU.


AMD A8-5600K
A8-5600K
AMD Phenom II X4 N970
Phenom II X4 N970

Similar processor comparisons

We picked several similar comparisons of processors in the same market segment and performance relatively close to those reviewed on this page.

Community ratings

Here you can see how users rate the processors, as well as rate them yourself.


3.5 388 votes

Rate A8-5600K on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
4.4 73 votes

Rate Phenom II X4 N970 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about A8-5600K or Phenom II X4 N970, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.