A8-9600 vs i7-960

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking	1880	1893
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.17	14.13
Market segment	Desktop processor	Desktop processor
Series	Core i7 (Desktop)	no data
Power efficiency	1.53	3.03
Architecture codename	Bloomfield (2008−2010)	Bristol Ridge (2016−2019)
Release date	20 October 2009 (15 years ago)	27 July 2017 (7 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$316	$78

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

A8-9600 has 8212% better value for money than i7-960.

Detailed specifications

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 cores	4 (Quad-Core)	4 (Quad-Core)
Threads	8	4
Base clock speed	3.2 GHz	3.1 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.46 GHz	3.4 GHz
Bus rate	1333 MHz	no data
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	no data
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	2048 KB
L3 cache	8 MB (shared)	0 KB
Chip lithography	45 nm	28 nm
Die size	263 mm2	250 mm2
Maximum core temperature	68 °C	90 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	no data	74 °C
Number of transistors	731 million	3,100 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-

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 configuration	1	1
Socket	FCLGA1366	AM4
Power consumption (TDP)	130 Watt	65 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 extensions	Intel® SSE4.2	no data
AES-NI	-	+
FMA	-	+
AVX	-	+
FRTC	-	+
FreeSync	-	+
PowerTune	-	+
TrueAudio	-	+
PowerNow	-	+
PowerGating	-	+
VirusProtect	-	+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	1.0	no data
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	no data
Idle States	+	no data
Demand Based Switching	-	no data
PAE	36 Bit	no 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-V	-	+
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 types	DDR3	DDR4-2400
Maximum memory size	24 GB	no data
Max memory channels	3	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s	no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	N/A	AMD Radeon R7 Graphics
iGPU core count	no data	6
Enduro	-	+
UVD	-	+
VCE	-	+

Graphics interfaces

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

DisplayPort	-	+
HDMI	-	+

Graphics API support

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

DirectX	no data	DirectX® 12
Vulkan	-	+

Peripherals

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

PCIe version	2.0	3.0
PCI Express lanes	no data	8

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.

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Pros & cons summary

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Performance score	2.11	2.09
Recency	20 October 2009	27 July 2017
Threads	8	4
Chip lithography	45 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	130 Watt	65 Watt

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

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