i7-6500U vs Athlon X4 950
Aggregate performance score
Athlon X4 950 outperforms Core i7-6500U by a moderate 10% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Athlon X4 950 and Core i7-6500U processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 1814 | 1890 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 3.66 | no data |
| Market segment | Desktop processor | Laptop |
| Series | no data | Intel Core i7 |
| Power efficiency | 3.29 | 13.00 |
| Architecture codename | Bristol Ridge (2016−2019) | Skylake (2015−2016) |
| Release date | 27 July 2017 (7 years ago) | 1 September 2015 (9 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $60 | $393 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Athlon X4 950 and Core i7-6500U 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) | 2 (Dual-core) |
| Threads | 4 | 4 |
| Base clock speed | 3.5 GHz | 2.5 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3.8 GHz | 3.1 GHz |
| Bus type | no data | OPI |
| Bus rate | no data | 4 GT/s |
| Multiplier | no data | 25 |
| L1 cache | 128 KB (per core) | 128 KB |
| L2 cache | 512 KB (per core) | 512 KB |
| L3 cache | 0 KB | 4 MB |
| Chip lithography | 28 nm | 14 nm |
| Die size | 246 mm2 | 98.57 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | no data | 100 °C |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | 74 °C | no data |
| Number of transistors | 1,178 million | 1750 Million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
| Unlocked multiplier | + | - |
Compatibility
Information on Athlon X4 950 and Core i7-6500U 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 | AM4 | FCBGA1356 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 65 Watt | 15 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Athlon X4 950 and Core i7-6500U. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | no data | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2 |
| AES-NI | + | + |
| FMA | + | - |
| AVX | + | + |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | no data | + |
| My WiFi | no data | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | no data | 2.0 |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | no data | + |
| Idle States | no data | + |
| Thermal Monitoring | - | + |
| Flex Memory Access | no data | + |
| Smart Response | no data | + |
Security technologies
Athlon X4 950 and Core i7-6500U technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | no data | - |
| EDB | no data | + |
| Secure Key | no data | + |
| MPX | - | + |
| Identity Protection | - | + |
| SGX | no data | Yes with Intel® ME |
| OS Guard | no data | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Athlon X4 950 and Core i7-6500U are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | + | + |
| VT-d | no data | + |
| VT-x | no data | + |
| EPT | no data | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Athlon X4 950 and Core i7-6500U. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR4 Dual-channel | DDR3, DDR4 |
| Maximum memory size | no data | 32 GB |
| Max memory channels | no data | 2 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | no data | 34.134 GB/s |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | no data | Intel HD Graphics 520 |
| Max video memory | no data | 32 GB |
| Quick Sync Video | - | + |
| Clear Video | no data | + |
| Clear Video HD | no data | + |
| Graphics max frequency | no data | 1.05 GHz |
| InTru 3D | no data | + |
Graphics interfaces
Available interfaces and connections of Athlon X4 950 and Core i7-6500U integrated GPUs.
| Number of displays supported | no data | 3 |
| eDP | no data | + |
| DisplayPort | - | + |
| HDMI | - | + |
| DVI | no data | + |
Graphics image quality
Maximum display resolutions supported by Athlon X4 950 and Core i7-6500U integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.
| 4K resolution support | no data | + |
| Max resolution over HDMI 1.4 | no data | 4096x2304@24Hz |
| Max resolution over eDP | no data | 4096x2304@60Hz |
| Max resolution over DisplayPort | no data | 4096x2304@60Hz |
| Max resolution over VGA | no data | N/A |
Graphics API support
APIs supported by Athlon X4 950 and Core i7-6500U integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.
| DirectX | no data | 12 |
| OpenGL | no data | 4.5 |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Athlon X4 950 and Core i7-6500U.
| PCIe version | no data | 3.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | no data | 12 |
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.
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.
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.
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.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 2.26 | 2.06 |
| Recency | 27 July 2017 | 1 September 2015 |
| Physical cores | 4 | 2 |
| Chip lithography | 28 nm | 14 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 65 Watt | 15 Watt |
Athlon X4 950 has a 9.7% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 1 year, and 100% more physical cores.
i7-6500U, on the other hand, has a 100% more advanced lithography process, and 333.3% lower power consumption.
Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between Athlon X4 950 and Core i7-6500U.
Note that Athlon X4 950 is a desktop processor while Core i7-6500U is a notebook one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Athlon X4 950 and Core i7-6500U, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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