Phenom II X3 N850 vs i7-4960HQ

Place in the ranking	1416	2612
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Laptop	Laptop
Series	Intel Core i7	3x AMD Phenom II
Power efficiency	8.04	2.13
Architecture codename	Crystalwell (2013−2014)	Champlain (2010−2011)
Release date	20 July 2013 (11 years ago)	4 October 2010 (14 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$657	no data

Detailed specifications

Core i7-4960HQ and Phenom II X3 N850 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)	3 (Tri-Core)
Threads	8	3
Base clock speed	2.6 GHz	no data
Boost clock speed	3.8 GHz	2.2 GHz
Bus type	DMI 2.0	no data
Bus rate	5 GT/s	3600 MHz
Multiplier	26	no data
L1 cache	64K (per core)	384 KB
L2 cache	1 MB	1.5 MB
L3 cache	6 MB	no data
Chip lithography	22 nm	45 nm
Die size	264 mm²	no data
Maximum core temperature	100 °C	no data
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	100 °C	no data
Number of transistors	1,400 million	no data
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-4960HQ and Phenom II X3 N850 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	no data
Socket	FCBGA1364	S1 (S1g4)
Power consumption (TDP)	47 Watt	35 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-4960HQ and Phenom II X3 N850. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2	86x MMX(+), 3DNow!(+), SSE(1,2,3,4A),-64, AMD-V
AES-NI	+	-
AVX	+	-
vPro	+	no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	no data
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	no data
TSX	+	-
Idle States	+	no data
Thermal Monitoring	+	-
FDI	+	no data

Security technologies

Core i7-4960HQ and Phenom II X3 N850 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	no data
EDB	+	no data
Secure Key	+	no data
Identity Protection	+	-
Anti-Theft	+	no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-4960HQ and Phenom II X3 N850 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 i7-4960HQ and Phenom II X3 N850. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR3
Maximum memory size	32 GB	no data
Max memory channels	2	no data
Maximum memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s	no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200	no data
Max video memory	2 GB	no data
Quick Sync Video	+	-
Clear Video HD	+	no data
Graphics max frequency	1.3 GHz	no data
InTru 3D	+	no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-4960HQ and Phenom II X3 N850 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported	3	no data
eDP	+	no data
DisplayPort	+	-
HDMI	+	-
VGA	+	no data

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i7-4960HQ and Phenom II X3 N850 integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

Max resolution over HDMI 1.4	3840x2160@30Hz	no data
Max resolution over DisplayPort	3840x2160@60Hz	no data
Max resolution over VGA	2880x1800@60Hz	no data

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i7-4960HQ and Phenom II X3 N850 integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX	11.2/12	no data
OpenGL	4.3	no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-4960HQ and Phenom II X3 N850.

PCIe version	3	no data
PCI Express lanes	16	no data

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.

i7-4960HQ 4.01
+408%

Phenom II X3 N850 0.79

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.

i7-4960HQ 6339
+406%

Phenom II X3 N850 1253

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	4.01	0.79
Recency	20 July 2013	4 October 2010
Physical cores	4	3
Threads	8	3
Chip lithography	22 nm	45 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	47 Watt	35 Watt

i7-4960HQ has a 407.6% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, 33.3% more physical cores and 166.7% more threads, and a 104.5% more advanced lithography process.

Phenom II X3 N850, on the other hand, has 34.3% lower power consumption.

The Core i7-4960HQ is our recommended choice as it beats the Phenom II X3 N850 in performance tests.

Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-4960HQ and Phenom II X3 N850, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.