Pentium E6500K vs i7-3970X

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-3970X and Pentium E6500K processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	1166	not rated
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.58	no data
Market segment	Desktop processor	Desktop processor
Power efficiency	3.38	no data
Architecture codename	Sandy Bridge-E (2011−2013)	Wolfdale (2008−2010)
Release date	1 November 2012 (12 years ago)	9 August 2009 (15 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$593	no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Detailed specifications

Core i7-3970X and Pentium E6500K 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)	2 (Dual-core)
Threads	12	2
Base clock speed	3.5 GHz	2.93 GHz
Boost clock speed	4 GHz	0.93 GHz
Bus rate	5 GT/s	no data
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	64 KB (per core)
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	2 MB (shared)
L3 cache	15 MB (shared)	0 KB
Chip lithography	32 nm	45 nm
Die size	435 mm2	82 mm2
Maximum core temperature	no data	74 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	70 °C	no data
Number of transistors	2,270 million	228 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
Unlocked multiplier	+	+
VID voltage range	no data	0.85V – 1.3625V

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-3970X and Pentium E6500K 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	FCLGA2011	LGA775
Power consumption (TDP)	150 Watt	65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-3970X and Pentium E6500K. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX	no data
AES-NI	+	-
AVX	+	-
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	-
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	-
Idle States	+	+
Thermal Monitoring	+	+
Smart Response	+	no data
Demand Based Switching	-	-

Security technologies

Core i7-3970X and Pentium E6500K technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	-	-
EDB	+	+
Identity Protection	+	-

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-3970X and Pentium E6500K are enumerated here.

VT-d	+	-
VT-x	+	+
EPT	+	no data

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-3970X and Pentium E6500K. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR1, DDR2, DDR3
Maximum memory size	64.45 GB	no data
Max memory channels	4	no data
Maximum memory bandwidth	51.2 GB/s	no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card

no data

On certain motherboards (Chipset feature)

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-3970X and Pentium E6500K.

PCIe version	2.0	2.0
PCI Express lanes	40	no data

Pros & cons summary

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Recency	1 November 2012	9 August 2009
Physical cores	6	2
Threads	12	2
Chip lithography	32 nm	45 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	150 Watt	65 Watt

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