Phenom II X4 N970 vs Apple M3 Max 16-Core
Aggregate performance score
M3 Max 16-Core outperforms Phenom II X4 N970 by a whopping 2397% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Contents
Primary details
Comparing processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 263 | 2687 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Laptop |
| Series | Apple M3 | 4x AMD Phenom II |
| Power efficiency | 12.72 | 1.14 |
| Designer | Apple | AMD |
| Architecture codename | no data | Champlain (2010−2011) |
| Release date | 30 October 2023 (1 year ago) | 16 December 2010 (14 years ago) |
Detailed specifications
M3 Max 16-Core 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 cores | 16 (Hexadeca-Core) | 4 (Quad-Core) |
| Threads | 16 | 4 |
| Base clock speed | 2.748 GHz | no data |
| Boost clock speed | 4.06 GHz | 2.2 GHz |
| Bus rate | no data | 3600 MHz |
| L1 cache | no data | 512 KB |
| L2 cache | no data | 2 MB |
| Chip lithography | 3 nm | 45 nm |
| Number of transistors | 92000 Million | no data |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | no data | - |
Compatibility
Information on M3 Max 16-Core 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.
| Socket | no data | S1 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 78 Watt | 35 Watt |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | Apple M3 Max 40-Core GPU | no data |
Synthetic benchmarks
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.
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. Other than that, Passmark measures multi-core performance.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 23.47 | 0.94 |
| Recency | 30 October 2023 | 16 December 2010 |
| Physical cores | 16 | 4 |
| Threads | 16 | 4 |
| Chip lithography | 3 nm | 45 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 78 Watt | 35 Watt |
Apple M3 Max 16-Core has a 2396.8% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 12 years, 300% more physical cores and 300% more threads, and a 1400% more advanced lithography process.
Phenom II X4 N970, on the other hand, has 122.9% lower power consumption.
The Apple M3 Max 16-Core is our recommended choice as it beats the AMD Phenom II X4 N970 in performance tests.
Other comparisons
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