Athlon X4 870K vs i7-2600

#ad 
Buy on Amazon
VS

Aggregate performance score

Core i7-2600
2011
4 cores / 8 threads, 95 Watt
3.38
+57.2%
Athlon X4 870K
2015
4 cores / 4 threads, 95 Watt
2.15

Core i7-2600 outperforms Athlon X4 870K by an impressive 57% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-2600 and Athlon X4 870K processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking15611849
Place by popularity59not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation0.49no data
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
Power efficiency3.352.13
Architecture codenameSandy Bridge (2011−2013)Godaveri (2014−2016)
Release date9 January 2011 (13 years ago)December 2015 (8 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$247no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Core i7-2600 and Athlon X4 870K 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)
Threads84
Base clock speed3.4 GHz3.9 GHz
Boost clock speed3.8 GHz4.1 GHz
Bus rate5 GT/sno data
L1 cache64 KB (per core)256K
L2 cache256 KB (per core)4 MB
L3 cache8192 KB (shared)no data
Chip lithography32 nm28 nm
Die size216 mm2245 mm2
Maximum core temperature73 °Cno data
Maximum case temperature (TCase)no data72 °C
Number of transistors1,160 million2,411 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility-no data
Unlocked multiplier-+

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-2600 and Athlon X4 870K 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 configuration11
SocketLGA1155FM2+
Power consumption (TDP)95 Watt95 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-2600 and Athlon X4 870K. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVXno data
AES-NI++
FMA-+
AVX++
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)+no data
Turbo Boost Technology2.0no data
Hyper-Threading Technology+no data
Idle States+no data
Thermal Monitoring+-
Flex Memory Access+no data
FDI+no data
Fast Memory Access+no data

Security technologies

Core i7-2600 and Athlon X4 870K technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT+no data
EDB+no data
Identity Protection+-

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-2600 and Athlon X4 870K are enumerated here.

AMD-V-+
VT-d+no data
VT-x+no data
EPT+no data

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-2600 and Athlon X4 870K. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR3-2133
Maximum memory size32 GBno data
Max memory channels2no data
Maximum memory bandwidth21 GB/sno data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardIntel HD Graphics 2000no data
Quick Sync Video+-
Clear Video HD+no data
Graphics max frequency1.35 GHzno data
InTru 3D+no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-2600 and Athlon X4 870K integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported2no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-2600 and Athlon X4 870K.

PCIe version2.03.0
PCI Express lanes1616

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.

i7-2600 3.38
+57.2%
Athlon X4 870K 2.15

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.

i7-2600 5344
+56.7%
Athlon X4 870K 3410

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.

i7-2600 612
+31.6%
Athlon X4 870K 465

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.

i7-2600 2052
+71.1%
Athlon X4 870K 1199

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 3.38 2.15
Threads 8 4
Chip lithography 32 nm 28 nm

i7-2600 has a 57.2% higher aggregate performance score, and 100% more threads.

Athlon X4 870K, on the other hand, has a 14.3% more advanced lithography process.

The Core i7-2600 is our recommended choice as it beats the Athlon X4 870K in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-2600 and Athlon X4 870K, 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.


Intel Core i7-2600
Core i7-2600
AMD Athlon X4 870K
Athlon X4 870K

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.


3.9 2703 votes

Rate Core i7-2600 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
4.3 72 votes

Rate Athlon X4 870K on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about Core i7-2600 or Athlon X4 870K, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.