Athlon X2 6500 BE vs i7-970

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-970 and Athlon X2 6500 BE processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	1387	not rated
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.28	no data
Market segment	Desktop processor	Desktop processor
Power efficiency	3.00	no data
Architecture codename	Gulftown (2010−2011)	Kuma (2008−2009)
Release date	19 July 2010 (14 years ago)	September 2008 (16 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$662	no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Detailed specifications

Core i7-970 and Athlon X2 6500 BE 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	3.2 GHz	no data
Boost clock speed	3.46 GHz	2.3 GHz
Bus rate	4.8 GT/s	no data
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	128 KB (per core)
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	512 KB (per core)
L3 cache	12 MB (shared)	2 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	32 nm	65 nm
Die size	239 mm2	285 mm2
Maximum core temperature	68 °C	no data
Number of transistors	1,170 million	450 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
Unlocked multiplier	-	+

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-970 and Athlon X2 6500 BE 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	AM2+
Power consumption (TDP)	130 Watt	95 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-970 and Athlon X2 6500 BE. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.2	no data
AES-NI	+	-
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	1.0	no data
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	no data
Idle States	+	no data
Demand Based Switching	-	no data
PAE	36 Bit	no data

Security technologies

Core i7-970 and Athlon X2 6500 BE technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	-	no data
EDB	+	no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-970 and Athlon X2 6500 BE are enumerated here.

AMD-V	-	+
VT-x	+	no data
EPT	+	no data

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-970 and Athlon X2 6500 BE. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

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

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-970 and Athlon X2 6500 BE.

PCIe version

2.0

no data

Pros & cons summary

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Physical cores	6	2
Threads	12	2
Chip lithography	32 nm	65 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	130 Watt	95 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-970 and Athlon X2 6500 BE, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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