Ryzen 3 2300X vs Core i7-970

General info

Comparing Core i7-970 and Ryzen 3 2300X processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking	1270	1142
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Value for money	0.87	11.05
Market segment	Desktop processor	Desktop processor
Series	no data	AMD Ryzen 3
Architecture codename	Gulftown (2010−2011)	Zen+ (2018−2020)
Release date	19 July 2010 (13 years old)	10 September 2018 (5 years old)
Launch price (MSRP)	$662	no data
Current price	$278 (0.4x MSRP)	$150

Value for money

Performance per price, higher is better.

Ryzen 3 2300X has 1170% better value for money than i7-970.

Technical specs

Core i7-970 and Ryzen 3 2300X 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)	4 (Quad-Core)
Threads	12	4
Base clock speed	3.2 GHz	3.5 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.46 GHz	4 GHz
Bus support	no data	4 × 8 GT/s
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	384 KB
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	2 MB
L3 cache	12 MB (shared)	8 MB
Chip lithography	32 nm	12 nm
Die size	239 mm2	213 mm2
Maximum core temperature	68 °C	no data
Number of transistors	1,170 million	4800 Million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	+
Unlocked multiplier	No	Yes

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-970 and Ryzen 3 2300X 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	FCLGA1366	AM4
Power consumption (TDP)	130 Watt	65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-970 and Ryzen 3 2300X. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.2	no data
AES-NI	+	+
AVX	no data	+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	1.0	no data
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	no data
Idle States	+	no data
Thermal Monitoring	-	no data
Demand Based Switching	-	no data
PAE	36 Bit	no data
Status	Discontinued	no data

Security technologies

Core i7-970 and Ryzen 3 2300X 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 i7-970 and Ryzen 3 2300X are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-970 and Ryzen 3 2300X. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR4 Dual-channel
Maximum memory size	24 GB	64 GB
Max memory channels	3	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s	46.933 GB/s
ECC memory support	-	+

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-970 and Ryzen 3 2300X.

PCIe version	2.0	3.0
PCI Express lanes	no data	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 3 2300X outperforms Core i7-970 by 15% based on our aggregated benchmark results.

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Advantages and disadvantages

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Performance score	4.24	4.87
Recency	19 July 2010	10 September 2018
Physical cores	6	4
Threads	12	4
Chip lithography	32 nm	12 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	130 Watt	65 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-970 and Ryzen 3 2300X, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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