Ultra 5 125U vs i7-960

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-960 and Core Ultra 5 125U processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	1867	705
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.16	no data
Market segment	Desktop processor	Laptop
Series	Core i7 (Desktop)	Intel Meteor Lake-U
Power efficiency	1.54	69.34
Architecture codename	Bloomfield (2008−2010)	Meteor Lake-P (2023)
Release date	20 October 2009 (15 years ago)	14 December 2023 (less than a year ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$316	$363

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Detailed specifications

Core i7-960 and Core Ultra 5 125U 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)	12 (Dodeca-Core)
Threads	8	14
Base clock speed	3.2 GHz	1.3 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.46 GHz	4.3 GHz
Bus rate	1333 MHz	no data
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	112 KB (per core)
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	2 MB (per core)
L3 cache	8 MB (shared)	12 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	45 nm	Intel 4 nm
Die size	263 mm2	no data
Maximum core temperature	68 °C	110 °C
Number of transistors	731 million	no data
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	no data

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-960 and Core Ultra 5 125U 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	FCLGA1366	FCBGA2049
Power consumption (TDP)	130 Watt	15 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-960 and Core Ultra 5 125U. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.2	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2
AES-NI	-	+
AVX	-	+
vPro	no data	+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Speed Shift	no data	+
Turbo Boost Technology	1.0	no data
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	+
TSX	-	+
Idle States	+	no data
Thermal Monitoring	-	+
Flex Memory Access	no data	+
Demand Based Switching	-	no data
PAE	36 Bit	no data
Turbo Boost Max 3.0	no data	-
Deep Learning Boost	-	+
Supported AI Software Frameworks	-	OpenVINO™, WindowsML, ONNX RT

Security technologies

Core i7-960 and Core Ultra 5 125U technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	+
EDB	+	+
Secure Key	no data	+
OS Guard	no data	+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-960 and Core Ultra 5 125U are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-960 and Core Ultra 5 125U. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR5
Maximum memory size	24 GB	96 GB
Max memory channels	3	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s	no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	N/A	Intel® Graphics
Quick Sync Video	-	+
Graphics max frequency	no data	1.85 GHz

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-960 and Core Ultra 5 125U integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported

no data

4

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i7-960 and Core Ultra 5 125U integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

Max resolution over HDMI 1.4	no data	4096 x 2304 @ 60Hz (HDMI 2.1 TMDS) 7680 x 4320 @ 60Hz (HDMI2.1 FRL)
Max resolution over eDP	no data	3840x2400 @ 120Hz
Max resolution over DisplayPort	no data	7680 x 4320 @ 60Hz

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i7-960 and Core Ultra 5 125U integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX	no data	12.2
OpenGL	no data	4.6

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-960 and Core Ultra 5 125U.

PCIe version	2.0	4.0
PCI Express lanes	no data	12
PCI support	no data	4.0

Synthetic benchmark performance

Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.

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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.

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Pros & cons summary

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Performance score	2.11	10.99
Recency	20 October 2009	14 December 2023
Physical cores	4	12
Threads	8	14
Power consumption (TDP)	130 Watt	15 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-960 and Core Ultra 5 125U, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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