Athlon Silver 3050U vs i7-3970X

#ad 
Buy on Amazon
VS

Aggregate performance score

Core i7-3970X
2012
6 cores / 12 threads, 150 Watt
5.36
+185%
Athlon Silver 3050U
2020
2 cores / 2 threads, 15 Watt
1.88

Core i7-3970X outperforms Athlon Silver 3050U by a whopping 185% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-3970X and Athlon Silver 3050U processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking11661972
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation0.61no data
Market segmentDesktop processorLaptop
Seriesno dataAMD Picasso (Ryzen 3000 APU)
Power efficiency3.3811.86
Architecture codenameSandy Bridge-E (2011−2013)Dali (Zen) (2020)
Release date1 November 2012 (12 years ago)6 January 2020 (4 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$593no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Core i7-3970X and Athlon Silver 3050U 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 cores6 (Hexa-Core)2 (Dual-core)
Threads122
Base clock speed3.5 GHz2.3 GHz
Boost clock speed4 GHz3.2 GHz
Bus rate5 GT/sno data
Multiplierno data23
L1 cache64 KB (per core)192 KB
L2 cache256 KB (per core)1 MB
L3 cache15 MB (shared)4 MB
Chip lithography32 nm14 nm
Die size435 mm2no data
Maximum core temperatureno data95 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)70 °Cno data
Number of transistors2,270 million4500 Million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility-+
Unlocked multiplier+-

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-3970X and Athlon Silver 3050U 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 configuration1no data
SocketFCLGA2011FP5
Power consumption (TDP)150 Watt15 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-3970X and Athlon Silver 3050U. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVXMMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4A, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, AVX2, BMI2, ABM, FMA, ADX, SMEP, SMAP, CPB, AES-NI, RDRAND, RDSEED, SHA, SME
AES-NI++
FMA-+
AVX++
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)+no data
Turbo Boost Technology2.0no data
Hyper-Threading Technology+no data
Idle States+no data
Thermal Monitoring+-
Smart Response+no data
Demand Based Switching-no data
Precision Boost 2no data+

Security technologies

Core i7-3970X and Athlon Silver 3050U technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT-no data
EDB+no data
Identity Protection+-

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-3970X and Athlon Silver 3050U 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 Core i7-3970X and Athlon Silver 3050U. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR4
Maximum memory size64.45 GB32 GB
Max memory channels42
Maximum memory bandwidth51.2 GB/s38.397 GB/s
ECC memory support-+

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardno dataAMD Radeon RX Vega 2 ( - 1100 MHz)

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-3970X and Athlon Silver 3050U.

PCIe version2.03.0
PCI Express lanes4012

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.

i7-3970X 5.36
+185%
Athlon Silver 3050U 1.88

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.

i7-3970X 8516
+185%
Athlon Silver 3050U 2993

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.

i7-3970X 729
Athlon Silver 3050U 774
+6.2%

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.

i7-3970X 3688
+174%
Athlon Silver 3050U 1345

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 5.36 1.88
Recency 1 November 2012 6 January 2020
Physical cores 6 2
Threads 12 2
Chip lithography 32 nm 14 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 150 Watt 15 Watt

i7-3970X has a 185.1% higher aggregate performance score, and 200% more physical cores and 500% more threads.

Athlon Silver 3050U, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 7 years, a 128.6% more advanced lithography process, and 900% lower power consumption.

The Core i7-3970X is our recommended choice as it beats the Athlon Silver 3050U in performance tests.

Note that Core i7-3970X is a desktop processor while Athlon Silver 3050U is a notebook one.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-3970X and Athlon Silver 3050U, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

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


Intel Core i7-3970X
Core i7-3970X
AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
Athlon Silver 3050U

Similar processor comparisons

We picked several similar comparisons of processors in the same market segment and performance relatively close to those reviewed on this page.

Community ratings

Here you can see how users rate the processors, as well as rate them yourself.


3.8 30 votes

Rate Core i7-3970X on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
2 8037 votes

Rate Athlon Silver 3050U on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about Core i7-3970X or Athlon Silver 3050U, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.