Core 2 Duo SP9300 vs Phenom II X4 N970
Aggregate performance score
Phenom II X4 N970 outperforms Core 2 Duo SP9300 by an impressive 70% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Phenom II X4 N970 and Core 2 Duo SP9300 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 2433 | 2780 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Laptop |
| Series | 4x AMD Phenom II | Intel Core 2 Duo |
| Power efficiency | 2.80 | 2.30 |
| Architecture codename | Champlain (2010−2011) | Penryn (2008−2011) |
| Release date | 16 December 2010 (13 years ago) | 20 August 2008 (16 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | no data | $284 |
Detailed specifications
Phenom II X4 N970 and Core 2 Duo SP9300 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) | 2 (Dual-core) |
| Threads | 4 | 2 |
| Base clock speed | no data | 2.26 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 2.2 GHz | 2.26 GHz |
| Bus rate | 3600 MHz | 1066 MHz |
| L1 cache | 512 KB | no data |
| L2 cache | 2 MB | 6 MB |
| L3 cache | no data | 6 MB L2 Cache |
| Chip lithography | 45 nm | 45 nm |
| Die size | no data | 107 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | no data | 105 °C |
| Number of transistors | no data | 410 Million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
| VID voltage range | no data | 1.05V - 1.15V |
Compatibility
Information on Phenom II X4 N970 and Core 2 Duo SP9300 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.
| Socket | S1 | BGA956 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 35 Watt | 25 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Phenom II X4 N970 and Core 2 Duo SP9300. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | no data | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | no data | - |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | no data | - |
| Idle States | no data | - |
| Demand Based Switching | no data | - |
| FSB parity | no data | - |
Security technologies
Phenom II X4 N970 and Core 2 Duo SP9300 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 Phenom II X4 N970 and Core 2 Duo SP9300 are enumerated here.
| VT-x | 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.
Cinebench 10 32-bit single-core
Cinebench R10 is an ancient ray tracing benchmark for processors by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. Its single core version uses just one CPU thread to render a futuristic looking motorcycle.
Cinebench 10 32-bit multi-core
Cinebench Release 10 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R10 using all the processor threads. Possible number of threads is limited by 16 in this version.
3DMark06 CPU
3DMark06 is a discontinued DirectX 9 benchmark suite from Futuremark. Its CPU part contains two scenarios, one dedicated to artificial intelligence pathfinding, another to game physics using PhysX package.
wPrime 32
wPrime 32M is a math multi-thread processor test, which calculates square roots of first 32 million integer numbers. Its result is measured in seconds, so that the less is benchmark result, the faster the processor.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 1.04 | 0.61 |
| Recency | 16 December 2010 | 20 August 2008 |
| Physical cores | 4 | 2 |
| Threads | 4 | 2 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 35 Watt | 25 Watt |
Phenom II X4 N970 has a 70.5% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, and 100% more physical cores and 100% more threads.
Core 2 Duo SP9300, on the other hand, has 40% lower power consumption.
The Phenom II X4 N970 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core 2 Duo SP9300 in performance tests.
Should you still have questions on choice between Phenom II X4 N970 and Core 2 Duo SP9300, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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