i7-2640M vs Phenom II X4 N970

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Aggregate performance score

Phenom II X4 N970
2010
4 cores / 4 threads, 35 Watt
1.08
Core i7-2640M
2011
2 cores / 4 threads, 35 Watt
1.61
+49.1%

Core i7-2640M outperforms Phenom II X4 N970 by a considerable 49% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Phenom II X4 N970 and Core i7-2640M processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking24272105
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
Series4x AMD Phenom IIIntel Core i7
Power efficiency2.814.19
Architecture codenameChamplain (2010−2011)Sandy Bridge (2011−2013)
Release date16 December 2010 (13 years ago)4 September 2011 (13 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)no data$346

Detailed specifications

Phenom II X4 N970 and Core i7-2640M 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 cores4 (Quad-Core)2 (Dual-core)
Threads44
Base clock speedno data2.8 GHz
Boost clock speed2.2 GHz3.5 GHz
Bus typeno dataDMI 2.0
Bus rate3600 MHz4 × 5 GT/s
Multiplierno data28
L1 cache512 KB128 KB
L2 cache2 MB512 KB
L3 cacheno data4 MB
Chip lithography45 nm32 nm
Die sizeno data149 mm2
Maximum core temperatureno data100 °C
Number of transistorsno data624 Million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--

Compatibility

Information on Phenom II X4 N970 and Core i7-2640M 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 configurationno data1 (Uniprocessor)
SocketS1FCBGA1023,PPGA988
Power consumption (TDP)35 Watt35 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Phenom II X4 N970 and Core i7-2640M. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsno dataIntel® AVX
AES-NI-+
FMA-+
AVX-+
vProno data+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)no data+
My WiFino data+
Turbo Boost Technologyno data2.0
Hyper-Threading Technologyno data+
Idle Statesno data+
Thermal Monitoring-+
Flex Memory Accessno data+
Demand Based Switchingno data-
FDIno data+
Fast Memory Accessno data+

Security technologies

Phenom II X4 N970 and Core i7-2640M technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXTno data+
EDBno data+
Identity Protection-+
Anti-Theftno data+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Phenom II X4 N970 and Core i7-2640M are enumerated here.

AMD-V-+
VT-dno data+
VT-xno data+
EPTno data+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Phenom II X4 N970 and Core i7-2640M. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesno dataDDR3
Maximum memory sizeno data16 GB
Max memory channelsno data2
Maximum memory bandwidthno data228.707 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardno dataIntel HD Graphics 3000
Quick Sync Video-+
Clear Video HDno data+
Graphics max frequencyno data1.3 GHz
InTru 3Dno data+

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Phenom II X4 N970 and Core i7-2640M integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supportedno data2
eDPno data+
DisplayPort-+
HDMI-+
SDVOno data+
CRTno data+

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Phenom II X4 N970 and Core i7-2640M.

PCIe versionno data2.0
PCI Express lanesno data16

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.

Phenom II X4 N970 1.08
i7-2640M 1.61
+49.1%

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.

Phenom II X4 N970 1647
i7-2640M 2467
+49.8%

GeekBench 5 Single-Core

GeekBench 5 Single-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses only a single CPU core.

Phenom II X4 N970 263
i7-2640M 515
+95.8%

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses all available CPU cores.

Phenom II X4 N970 934
i7-2640M 1018
+9%

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.

Phenom II X4 N970 1861
i7-2640M 4443
+139%

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.

Phenom II X4 N970 6811
i7-2640M 9778
+43.6%

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.

Phenom II X4 N970 3043
i7-2640M 3927
+29.1%

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.

Phenom II X4 N970 17.8
i7-2640M 15.14
+17.6%

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 11.5 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R11.5 which uses all the processor threads. A maximum of 64 threads is supported in this version.

Phenom II X4 N970 3
i7-2640M 3
+26%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 1.08 1.61
Recency 16 December 2010 4 September 2011
Physical cores 4 2
Chip lithography 45 nm 32 nm

Phenom II X4 N970 has 100% more physical cores.

i7-2640M, on the other hand, has a 49.1% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 8 months, and a 40.6% more advanced lithography process.

The Core i7-2640M is our recommended choice as it beats the Phenom II X4 N970 in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Phenom II X4 N970 and Core i7-2640M, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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AMD Phenom II X4 N970
Phenom II X4 N970
Intel Core i7-2640M
Core i7-2640M

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Community ratings

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Questions & comments

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