Core i7-12700K vs Athlon X4 970
Aggregate performance score
Core i7-12700K outperforms Athlon X4 970 by a whopping 1209% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Athlon X4 970 and Core i7-12700K processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in performance ranking | 1948 | 208 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | no data | 61.38 |
| Market segment | Desktop processor | Desktop processor |
| Series | no data | Intel Core i7 |
| Architecture codename | Bristol Ridge (2016−2019) | Alder Lake-S (2022) |
| Release date | 27 July 2017 (6 years ago) | 4 November 2021 (2 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | no data | $409 |
| Current price | $59 | $342 (0.8x MSRP) |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Athlon X4 970 and Core i7-12700K 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 | 4 (Quad-Core) | 12 (Dodeca-Core) |
| Threads | 4 | 20 |
| Base clock speed | 3.8 GHz | 3.6 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 4 GHz | 5 GHz |
| L1 cache | 128 KB (per core) | 80K (per core) |
| L2 cache | 512 KB (per core) | 1.25 MB (per core) |
| L3 cache | 0 KB | 25 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 28 nm | 10 nm |
| Die size | 246 mm2 | 215.25 mm220.5 mm × 10.5 mm |
| Maximum core temperature | no data | 100 °C |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | 74 °C | 72 °C |
| Number of transistors | 1,178 million | no data |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | + |
| Unlocked multiplier | Yes | Yes |
Compatibility
Information on Athlon X4 970 and Core i7-12700K 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 configuration | 1 | 1 |
| Socket | AM4 | FCLGA1700 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 65 Watt | 125 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Athlon X4 970 and Core i7-12700K. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | no data | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2 |
| AES-NI | + | + |
| FMA | + | + |
| AVX | + | + |
| vPro | no data | + |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | no data | + |
| Speed Shift | no data | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | no data | 2.0 |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | no data | + |
| Idle States | no data | + |
| Thermal Monitoring | no data | + |
| SIPP | no data | + |
| Turbo Boost Max 3.0 | no data | + |
| Status | no data | Launched |
Security technologies
Athlon X4 970 and Core i7-12700K technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | no data | + |
| EDB | no data | + |
| Secure Key | no data | + |
| OS Guard | no data | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Athlon X4 970 and Core i7-12700K are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | + | no data |
| VT-d | no data | + |
| VT-x | no data | + |
| EPT | no data | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Athlon X4 970 and Core i7-12700K. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR4 Dual-channel | DDR4, DDR5 |
| Maximum memory size | no data | 128 GB |
| Max memory channels | no data | 2 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | no data | 76.8 GB/s |
| ECC memory support | no data | + |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | no data | Intel UHD Graphics 770 |
| Quick Sync Video | no data | + |
| Clear Video HD | no data | + |
| Graphics max frequency | no data | 1.5 GHz |
| Execution Units | no data | 32 |
Graphics interfaces
Available interfaces and connections of Athlon X4 970 and Core i7-12700K integrated GPUs.
| Number of displays supported | no data | 4 |
Graphics image quality
Maximum display resolutions supported by Athlon X4 970 and Core i7-12700K integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.
| Max resolution over HDMI 1.4 | no data | 4096 x 2160 @ 60Hz |
| Max resolution over eDP | no data | 5120 x 3200 @ 120Hz |
| Max resolution over DisplayPort | no data | 7680 x 4320 @ 60Hz |
Graphics API support
APIs supported by Athlon X4 970 and Core i7-12700K integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.
| DirectX | no data | 12 |
| OpenGL | no data | 4.5 |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Athlon X4 970 and Core i7-12700K.
| PCIe version | no data | 5.0 and 4.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | no data | 20 |
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.
Core i7-12700K outperforms Athlon X4 970 by 1209% based on our aggregated benchmark results.
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.
Benchmark coverage: 68%
Core i7-12700K outperforms Athlon X4 970 by 1210% in Passmark.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 1.71 | 22.39 |
| Recency | 27 July 2017 | 4 November 2021 |
| Physical cores | 4 | 12 |
| Threads | 4 | 20 |
| Chip lithography | 28 nm | 10 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 65 Watt | 125 Watt |
The Core i7-12700K is our recommended choice as it beats the Athlon X4 970 in performance tests.
Should you still have questions on choice between Athlon X4 970 and Core i7-12700K, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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