Atom 230 vs i7-3960X
Primary details
Comparing Core i7-3960X and Atom 230 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 1167 | not rated |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 0.38 | no data |
| Market segment | Desktop processor | Laptop |
| Series | Core i7 (Desktop) | Intel Atom |
| Power efficiency | 3.87 | no data |
| Architecture codename | Sandy Bridge-E (2011−2013) | Silverthorne (2008−2010) |
| Release date | 14 November 2011 (12 years ago) | 2 April 2008 (16 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $861 | $29 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Core i7-3960X and Atom 230 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 | 6 (Hexa-Core) | 1 (Single-Core) |
| Threads | 12 | 2 |
| Base clock speed | 3.3 GHz | 1.6 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3.9 GHz | 0.1 GHz |
| Bus type | no data | FSB |
| Bus rate | 5 GT/s | 533.33 MT/s |
| Multiplier | no data | 12 |
| L1 cache | 64 KB (per core) | 56 KB |
| L2 cache | 256 KB (per core) | 512 KB |
| L3 cache | 15 MB (shared) | 0 KB |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | 45 nm |
| Die size | 435 mm2 | 25.9638 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | no data | 85 °C |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | 67 °C | no data |
| Number of transistors | 2,270 million | 47 Million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
| Unlocked multiplier | + | - |
| VID voltage range | no data | 0.9V-1.1625V |
Compatibility
Information on Core i7-3960X and Atom 230 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 (Uniprocessor) |
| Socket | FCLGA2011 | PBGA437 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 130 Watt | 4 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-3960X and Atom 230. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX | Intel® SSE2, Intel® SSE3, Intel® SSSE3 |
| AES-NI | + | - |
| AVX | + | - |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | - |
| Turbo Boost Technology | 2.0 | - |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | + | + |
| Idle States | + | - |
| Thermal Monitoring | + | - |
| Smart Response | + | no data |
| Demand Based Switching | - | - |
| FSB parity | no data | - |
Security technologies
Core i7-3960X and Atom 230 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | - | - |
| EDB | + | + |
| Identity Protection | + | - |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-3960X and Atom 230 are enumerated here.
| VT-d | + | - |
| VT-x | + | - |
| EPT | + | no data |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-3960X and Atom 230. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3 | no data |
| Maximum memory size | 64 GB | 8 GB |
| Max memory channels | 4 | no data |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 51.2 GB/s | no data |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-3960X and Atom 230.
| PCIe version | 2.0 | no data |
| PCI Express lanes | 40 | 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.
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.
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.
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.
Pros & cons summary
| Recency | 14 November 2011 | 2 April 2008 |
| Physical cores | 6 | 1 |
| Threads | 12 | 2 |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | 45 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 130 Watt | 4 Watt |
i7-3960X has an age advantage of 3 years, 500% more physical cores and 500% more threads, and a 40.6% more advanced lithography process.
Atom 230, on the other hand, has 3150% lower power consumption.
We couldn't decide between Core i7-3960X and Atom 230. We've got no test results to judge.
Note that Core i7-3960X is a desktop processor while Atom 230 is a notebook one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-3960X and Atom 230, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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