i9-12900 vs i7-2960XM Extreme
Primary details
Comparing Core i7-2960XM Extreme and Core i9-12900 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | not rated | 244 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | no data | 33.28 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Desktop processor |
| Series | Intel Core i7EE | no data |
| Power efficiency | no data | 31.40 |
| Architecture codename | Sandy Bridge (2011−2013) | Alder Lake-S (2022) |
| Release date | 4 September 2011 (13 years ago) | 4 January 2022 (2 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $1,096 | $489 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Core i7-2960XM Extreme and Core i9-12900 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) | 16 (Hexadeca-Core) |
| Threads | 8 | 24 |
| Base clock speed | no data | 2.4 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 2.7 GHz | 5.1 GHz |
| Bus type | DMI 2.0 | no data |
| Bus rate | 4 × 5 GT/s | no data |
| Multiplier | 27 | no data |
| L1 cache | 256 KB | 80K (per core) |
| L2 cache | 1 MB | 1.25 MB (per core) |
| L3 cache | 8 MB | 30 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | Intel 7 nm |
| Die size | 216 mm2 | 215 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | no data | 100 °C |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | no data | 72 °C |
| Number of transistors | 1160 Million | no data |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | + |
| Unlocked multiplier | - | + |
Compatibility
Information on Core i7-2960XM Extreme and Core i9-12900 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 (Uniprocessor) | 1 |
| Socket | Socket G2 | FCLGA1700 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 55 Watt | 65 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-2960XM Extreme and Core i9-12900. 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) | + | + |
| Speed Shift | no data | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | no data | 2.0 |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | no data | + |
| TSX | - | + |
| Idle States | no data | + |
| Thermal Monitoring | - | + |
| SIPP | - | + |
| Turbo Boost Max 3.0 | no data | + |
| Deep Learning Boost | - | + |
Security technologies
Core i7-2960XM Extreme and Core i9-12900 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | + | + |
| EDB | no data | + |
| Secure Key | no data | + |
| OS Guard | no data | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-2960XM Extreme and Core i9-12900 are enumerated here.
| VT-d | + | + |
| VT-x | + | + |
| EPT | no data | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-2960XM Extreme and Core i9-12900. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3-1600 | DDR4, DDR5 |
| Maximum memory size | 32 GB | 128 GB |
| Max memory channels | 2 | 2 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 25.598 GB/s | 76.8 GB/s |
| ECC memory support | - | + |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card Compare | Intel HD Graphics 3000 | Intel UHD Graphics 770 |
| Quick Sync Video | - | + |
| Clear Video HD | no data | + |
| Graphics max frequency | no data | 1.55 GHz |
| Execution Units | no data | 32 |
Graphics interfaces
Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-2960XM Extreme and Core i9-12900 integrated GPUs.
| Number of displays supported | no data | 4 |
Graphics image quality
Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i7-2960XM Extreme and Core i9-12900 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 Core i7-2960XM Extreme and Core i9-12900 integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.
| DirectX | no data | 12 |
| OpenGL | no data | 4.5 |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-2960XM Extreme and Core i9-12900.
| PCIe version | no data | 5.0 and 4.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | no data | 20 |
Pros & cons summary
| Integrated graphics card | 0.66 | 6.15 |
| Recency | 4 September 2011 | 4 January 2022 |
| Physical cores | 4 | 16 |
| Threads | 8 | 24 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 55 Watt | 65 Watt |
i7-2960XM Extreme has 18.2% lower power consumption.
i9-12900, on the other hand, has 831.8% faster integrated GPU, an age advantage of 10 years, and 300% more physical cores and 200% more threads.
We couldn't decide between Core i7-2960XM Extreme and Core i9-12900. We've got no test results to judge.
Be aware that Core i7-2960XM Extreme is a notebook processor while Core i9-12900 is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-2960XM Extreme and Core i9-12900, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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