i7-970 vs Xeon E3-1290
Aggregate performance score
Core i7-970 outperforms Xeon E3-1290 by a significant 20% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Xeon E3-1290 and Core i7-970 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 1551 | 1389 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 0.53 | 0.31 |
| Market segment | Server | Desktop processor |
| Power efficiency | 3.41 | 3.00 |
| Architecture codename | Sandy Bridge (2011−2013) | Gulftown (2010−2011) |
| Release date | 29 May 2011 (13 years ago) | 19 July 2010 (14 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $885 | $662 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Xeon E3-1290 has 71% better value for money than i7-970.
Detailed specifications
Xeon E3-1290 and Core i7-970 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) | 6 (Hexa-Core) |
| Threads | 8 | 12 |
| Base clock speed | 3.6 GHz | 3.2 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 4 GHz | 3.46 GHz |
| Bus rate | no data | 4.8 GT/s |
| L1 cache | 64 KB (per core) | 64 KB (per core) |
| L2 cache | 256 KB (per core) | 256 KB (per core) |
| L3 cache | 8 MB (shared) | 12 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | 32 nm |
| Die size | 216 mm2 | 239 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | 57 °C | 68 °C |
| Number of transistors | 1,160 million | 1,170 million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
Compatibility
Information on Xeon E3-1290 and Core i7-970 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 | LGA1155 | FCLGA1366 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 95 Watt | 130 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon E3-1290 and Core i7-970. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX | Intel® SSE4.2 |
| AES-NI | + | + |
| AVX | + | - |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | 2.0 | 1.0 |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | + | + |
| Idle States | + | + |
| Thermal Monitoring | + | - |
| Flex Memory Access | + | no data |
| Demand Based Switching | + | - |
| PAE | no data | 36 Bit |
| FDI | - | no data |
| Fast Memory Access | + | no data |
Security technologies
Xeon E3-1290 and Core i7-970 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | + | - |
| EDB | + | + |
| Identity Protection | + | - |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon E3-1290 and Core i7-970 are enumerated here.
| VT-d | + | no data |
| VT-x | + | + |
| EPT | + | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon E3-1290 and Core i7-970. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3 | DDR3 |
| Maximum memory size | 32 GB | 24 GB |
| Max memory channels | 2 | 3 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 21 GB/s | 25.6 GB/s |
| ECC memory support | + | - |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon E3-1290 and Core i7-970.
| PCIe version | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | 20 | 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.
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.
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.
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.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 3.42 | 4.12 |
| Recency | 29 May 2011 | 19 July 2010 |
| Physical cores | 4 | 6 |
| Threads | 8 | 12 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 95 Watt | 130 Watt |
Xeon E3-1290 has an age advantage of 10 months, and 36.8% lower power consumption.
i7-970, on the other hand, has a 20.5% higher aggregate performance score, and 50% more physical cores and 50% more threads.
The Core i7-970 is our recommended choice as it beats the Xeon E3-1290 in performance tests.
Be aware that Xeon E3-1290 is a server/workstation processor while Core i7-970 is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon E3-1290 and Core i7-970, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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