Athlon X4 870K vs i7-980X EE
Aggregate performance score
Core i7-980X EE outperforms Athlon X4 870K by an impressive 77% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Contents
Primary details
Comparing processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 1707 | 2128 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Market segment | Desktop processor | Desktop processor |
| Series | Core i7 (Desktop) | no data |
| Power efficiency | no data | 2.20 |
| Designer | Intel | AMD |
| Manufacturer | no data | GlobalFoundries |
| Architecture codename | Gulftown (2010−2011) | Godaveri (2014−2016) |
| Release date | no data | December 2015 (10 years ago) |
Detailed specifications
Core i7-980X EE and Athlon X4 870K 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 | no data | 3.9 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3.6 GHz | 4.1 GHz |
| Bus rate | 6400 MHz | no data |
| L1 cache | no data | 256K |
| L2 cache | no data | 4 MB |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | 28 nm |
| Die size | no data | 245 mm2 |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | no data | 72 °C |
| Number of transistors | no data | 2,411 million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | no data |
| Unlocked multiplier | - | + |
Compatibility
Information on Core i7-980X EE and Athlon X4 870K 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 | no data | 1 |
| Socket | LGA-1366 | FM2+ |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 1.5 MB + 12 MB | 95 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-980X EE and Athlon X4 870K. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| AES-NI | - | + |
| FMA | - | + |
| AVX | - | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-980X EE and Athlon X4 870K are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | - | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-980X EE and Athlon X4 870K. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | no data | DDR3-2133 |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-980X EE and Athlon X4 870K.
| PCIe version | no data | 3.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | no data | 16 |
Synthetic benchmarks
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.
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. Other than that, Passmark measures multi-core performance.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 3.46 | 1.95 |
| Physical cores | 6 | 4 |
| Threads | 12 | 4 |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | 28 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 1 Watt | 95 Watt |
i7-980X EE has a 77.4% higher aggregate performance score, 50% more physical cores and 200% more threads, and 9400% lower power consumption.
Athlon X4 870K, on the other hand, has a 14.3% more advanced lithography process.
The Intel Core i7-980X EE is our recommended choice as it beats the AMD Athlon X4 870K in performance tests.
Other comparisons
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