Athlon X4 860K vs Core i7-5960X

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-5960X and Athlon X4 860K processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking	862	1752
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	6.16	0.49
Market segment	Desktop processor	Desktop processor
Series	Core i7 (Desktop)	no data
Architecture codename	Haswell-E (2014)	Kaveri (2014−2015)
Release date	1 September 2014 (9 years ago)	12 August 2014 (9 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$999	no data
Current price	$148 (0.1x MSRP)	$78

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

i7-5960X has 1157% better value for money than Athlon X4 860K.

Detailed specifications

Core i7-5960X and Athlon X4 860K 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	8 (Octa-Core)	4 (Quad-Core)
Threads	16	4
Base clock speed	3 GHz	3.7 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.5 GHz	4 GHz
L1 cache	64K (per core)	256K
L2 cache	256K (per core)	4 MB
L3 cache	20 MB (shared)	no data
Chip lithography	22 nm	28 nm
Die size	356 mm2	245 mm2
Maximum core temperature	67 °C	no data
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	no data	72 °C
Number of transistors	2,600 million	2,411 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	no data
Unlocked multiplier	Yes	Yes

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-5960X and Athlon X4 860K 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	FCLGA2011	FM2+
Power consumption (TDP)	140 Watt	95 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-5960X and Athlon X4 860K. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2	no data
AES-NI	+	+
FMA	no data	+
AVX	+	+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	no data
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	no data
TSX	+	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 i7-5960X and Athlon X4 860K 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 i7-5960X and Athlon X4 860K 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 i7-5960X and Athlon X4 860K. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR4	DDR3-2133
Maximum memory size	64 GB	no data
Max memory channels	4	no data
Maximum memory bandwidth	68 GB/s	no data
ECC memory support	-	no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-5960X and Athlon X4 860K.

PCIe version	3.0	3.0
PCI Express lanes	40	16

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 i7-5960X outperforms Athlon X4 860K by 271% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

---

Pros & cons summary

---

Performance score	8.23	2.22
Physical cores	8	4
Threads	16	4
Chip lithography	22 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	140 Watt	95 Watt

---

Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-5960X and Athlon X4 860K, 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.

---