Ryzen 5 1600 vs Core i7-3970X

General info

Comparing Core i7-3970X and Ryzen 5 1600 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking	1059	848
Place by popularity	not in top-100	60
Value for money	1.57	14.71
Market segment	Desktop processor	Desktop processor
Series	no data	AMD Ryzen 5
Architecture codename	Sandy Bridge-E (2011−2013)	Zen 2 (2019−2020)
Release date	1 November 2012 (11 years old)	16 March 2017 (7 years old)
Launch price (MSRP)	$593	$219
Current price	$264 (0.4x MSRP)	$124 (0.6x MSRP)

Value for money

Performance per price, higher is better.

Ryzen 5 1600 has 837% better value for money than i7-3970X.

Technical specs

Core i7-3970X and Ryzen 5 1600 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)	6 (Hexa-Core)
Threads	12	12
Base clock speed	3.5 GHz	3.2 GHz
Boost clock speed	4 GHz	3.2 GHz
Bus support	no data	4 × 8 GT/s
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	576 KB
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	3 MB
L3 cache	15 MB (shared)	16 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	32 nm	14 nm
Die size	435 mm2	213 mm2
Maximum core temperature	67 °C	no data
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	70 °C	no data
Number of transistors	2,270 million	4800 Million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
Unlocked multiplier	Yes	Yes

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-3970X and Ryzen 5 1600 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	AM4
Power consumption (TDP)	150 Watt	65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-3970X and Ryzen 5 1600. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX	XFR, FMA3, SSE 4.2, AVX2, SMT
AES-NI	+	+
AVX	+	+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	no data
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	no data
Idle States	+	no data
Thermal Monitoring	+	no data
Smart Response	+	no data
Demand Based Switching	-	no data
Status	Discontinued	no data

Security technologies

Core i7-3970X and Ryzen 5 1600 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

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

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-3970X and Ryzen 5 1600 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 Core i7-3970X and Ryzen 5 1600. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR4
Maximum memory size	64.45 GB	64 GB
Max memory channels	4	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	51.2 GB/s	42.671 GB/s
ECC memory support	-	+

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-3970X and Ryzen 5 1600.

PCIe version	2.0	3.0
PCI Express lanes	40	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.

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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.

Ryzen 5 1600 outperforms Core i7-3970X by 45% based on our aggregated benchmark results.

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Advantages and disadvantages

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Performance score	5.47	7.94
Recency	1 November 2012	16 March 2017
Cost	$593	$219
Chip lithography	32 nm	14 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	150 Watt	65 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-3970X and Ryzen 5 1600, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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