AMD A8-9600 vs Intel Core i7-960

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Combined performance score

i7-960
2.17
+0.9%

Core i7-960 outperforms A8-9600 by 1% in our combined benchmark results.

General info

Comparing Core i7-960 and A8-9600 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking17301739
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Value for money1.0114.13
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
SeriesCore i7 (Desktop)no data
Architecture codenameBloomfield (2008−2010)Bristol Ridge (2016−2019)
Release dateOctober 2009 (14 years old)27 July 2017 (6 years old)
Launch price (MSRP)$316$78
Current price$170 (0.5x MSRP)$31 (0.4x MSRP)
Value for money

Performance per price, higher is better.

A8-9600 has 1299% better value for money than i7-960.

Technical specs

Core i7-960 and A8-9600 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 speed3.2 GHz3.1 GHz
Boost clock speed3.46 GHz3.4 GHz
Bus support1333 MHzno data
L1 cache64 KB (per core)no data
L2 cache256 KB (per core)2048 KB
L3 cache8 MB (shared)0 KB
Chip lithography45 nm28 nm
Die size263 mm2250 mm2
Maximum core temperature68 °C90 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)no data74 °C
Number of transistors731 million3,100 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--
Unlocked multiplierNoNo

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-960 and A8-9600 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
SocketFCLGA1366AM4
Power consumption (TDP)130 Watt65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-960 and A8-9600. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.2no data
AES-NI-+
FMAno data+
AVXno data+
FRTCno data1
FreeSyncno data1
PowerTuneno data+
TrueAudiono data+
PowerNowno data+
PowerGatingno data+
VirusProtectno data+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)+no data
Turbo Boost Technology1.0no data
Hyper-Threading Technology+no data
Idle States+no data
Thermal Monitoring-no data
Demand Based Switching-no data
PAE36 Bitno data
StatusDiscontinuedno data

Security technologies

Core i7-960 and A8-9600 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT+no data
EDB+no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-960 and A8-9600 are enumerated here.

AMD-Vno data+
VT-x+no data
EPT+no data

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-960 and A8-9600. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR4-2400
Maximum memory size24 GBno data
Max memory channels32
Maximum memory bandwidth25.6 GB/sno data
ECC memory support-no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardno dataAMD Radeon R7 Graphics
iGPU core countno data6
Endurono data+
UVDno data+
VCEno data+

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-960 and A8-9600 integrated GPUs.

DisplayPortno data+
HDMIno data+

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i7-960 and A8-9600 integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectXno dataDirectX® 12
Vulkanno data1

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-960 and A8-9600.

PCIe versionno data3.0
PCI Express lanesno data8

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.

i7-960 2.17
+0.9%
A8-9600 2.15

Core i7-960 outperforms A8-9600 by 1% in our combined benchmark results.


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.

Benchmark coverage: 68%

i7-960 3336
+1.1%
A8-9600 3300

Core i7-960 outperforms A8-9600 by 1% in Passmark.

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.

Benchmark coverage: 42%

i7-960 491
A8-9600 608
+23.8%

A8-9600 outperforms Core i7-960 by 24% in GeekBench 5 Single-Core.

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.

Benchmark coverage: 42%

i7-960 1663
+11.8%
A8-9600 1488

Core i7-960 outperforms A8-9600 by 12% in GeekBench 5 Multi-Core.

Gaming performance

Advantages and disadvantages


Performance score 2.17 2.15
Threads 8 4
Cost $316 $78
Chip lithography 45 nm 28 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 130 Watt 65 Watt

We couldn't decide between Core i7-960 and A8-9600. The differences in performance seem too small.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-960 and A8-9600, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

User ratings

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite CPU.


Intel Core i7-960
Core i7-960
AMD A8-9600
A8-9600

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User ratings: view and submit

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Questions and comments

Here you can ask a question about Core i7-960 or A8-9600, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.