Intel Core i7-2960XM vs AMD Phenom II X2 B53

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i7-2960XM CPU1 vs CPU2 AMD Phenom II X2 B53
Intel Core i7-2960XM AMD Phenom II X2 B53

CPU comparison

Intel Core i7-2960XM or AMD Phenom II X2 B53 - which processor is faster? In this comparison we look at the differences and analyze which of these two CPUs is better. We compare the technical data and benchmark results.

The Intel Core i7-2960XM has 4 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.70 GHz. Up to 32 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i7-2960XM was released in Q4/2011.

The AMD Phenom II X2 B53 has 2 cores with 2 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 2.80 GHz. The CPU supports up to GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The AMD Phenom II X2 B53 was released in Q3/2009.
Intel Core i7 (298) Family AMD Phenom II (52)
Intel Core i 2000M (46) CPU group AMD Phenom II - 545 (9)
2 Generation 2
Sandy Bridge H Architecture Callisto (K10)
Mobile Segment Desktop / Server
-- Predecessor --
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core i7-2960XM has 4 CPU cores and can calculate 8 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Intel Core i7-2960XM is 2.70 GHz (3.70 GHz) while the AMD Phenom II X2 B53 has 2 CPU cores and 2 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the AMD Phenom II X2 B53 is at 2.80 GHz.

Intel Core i7-2960XM Characteristic AMD Phenom II X2 B53
4 Cores 2
8 Threads 2
normal Core architecture normal
Yes Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? Yes
2.70 GHz Frequency 2.80 GHz
3.70 GHz Turbo Frequency (1 Core) --
-- Turbo Frequency (All Cores) --

NPU AI performance

The performance values of the processor's AI unit. The isolated NPU performance is specified here, the total AI performance (NPU+CPU+iGPU) can be higher. Processors with support for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors.

Intel Core i7-2960XM Characteristic AMD Phenom II X2 B53
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --
-- NPU + CPU + iGPU --

Integrated graphics (iGPU)

The Intel Core i7-2960XM or AMD Phenom II X2 B53 has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short. The iGPU uses the system's main memory as graphics memory and sits on the processor's die.

Intel HD Graphics 3000 GPU no iGPU
0.65 GHz GPU frequency --
1.30 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
6 GPU Generation --
32 nm Technology
2 Max. displays
12 Compute units --
96 Shader --
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
2 GB Max. GPU Memory --
10.1 DirectX Version --

Hardware codec support

A photo or video codec that is accelerated in hardware can greatly accelerate the working speed of a processor and extend the battery life of notebooks or smartphones when playing videos.

Intel HD Graphics 3000 GPU no iGPU
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
Decode / Encode Codec h264 No
No Codec VP9 No
No Codec VP8 No
No Codec AV1 No
Decode / Encode Codec AVC No
Decode Codec VC-1 No
No Codec JPEG No

Memory & PCIe

The Intel Core i7-2960XM can use up to 32 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 25.6 GB/s. The AMD Phenom II X2 B53 supports up to GB of memory in 2 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 21.3 GB/s.

Intel Core i7-2960XM Characteristic AMD Phenom II X2 B53
DDR3-1066, DDR3-1333, DDR3-1600 Memory DDR3-1333, DDR2-1066
32 GB Max. Memory
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
25.6 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 21.3 GB/s
No ECC No
-- L2 Cache --
8.00 MB L3 Cache 6.00 MB
2.0 PCIe version --
16 PCIe lanes --
8.0 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Intel Core i7-2960XM is 55 W, while the AMD Phenom II X2 B53 has a TDP of 80 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.

Intel Core i7-2960XM Characteristic AMD Phenom II X2 B53
55 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 80 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
100 °C Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Intel Core i7-2960XM is manufactured in 32 nm and has 8.00 MB cache. The AMD Phenom II X2 B53 is manufactured in 45 nm and has a 6.00 MB cache.

Intel Core i7-2960XM Characteristic AMD Phenom II X2 B53
32 nm Technology 45 nm
Monolithic Chip design Unknown
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX ISA extensions SSE3, SSE4a
PGA 988 Socket AM3
VT-x, VT-x EPT Virtualization AMD-V
Yes AES-NI No
Windows 10, Linux Operating systems Windows 10, Linux
Q4/2011 Release date Q3/2009
570 $ Release price --
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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 0 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i7-2960XM (0%)
AMD Phenom II X2 B53 (0%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i7-2960XM (100%)
AMD Phenom II X2 B53 (38%)

Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark

Some of the CPUs listed below have been benchmarked by CPU-monkey. However the majority of CPUs have not been tested and the results have been estimated by a CPU-monkey’s secret proprietary formula. As such they do not accurately reflect the actual Passmark CPU mark values and are not endorsed by PassMark Software Pty Ltd.
Intel Core i7-2960XM Intel Core i7-2960XM
4C 8T @ 2.70 GHz
4725 (100%)
AMD Phenom II X2 B53 AMD Phenom II X2 B53
2C 2T @ 2.80 GHz
1802 (38%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Core i7-2960XM Intel Core i7-2960XM
4C 8T @ 3.70 GHz
733 (100%)
AMD Phenom II X2 B53 AMD Phenom II X2 B53
2C 2T @ 2.80 GHz
0 (0%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Core i7-2960XM Intel Core i7-2960XM
4C 8T @ 2.70 GHz
2710 (100%)
AMD Phenom II X2 B53 AMD Phenom II X2 B53
2C 2T @ 2.80 GHz
0 (0%)

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The single-core benchmark only evaluates the performance of the fastest CPU core, the number of CPU cores in a processor is irrelevant here.
Intel Core i7-2960XM Intel Core i7-2960XM
4C 8T @ 3.70 GHz
640 (100%)
AMD Phenom II X2 B53 AMD Phenom II X2 B53
2C 2T @ 2.80 GHz
0 (0%)

iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

The theoretical computing performance of the internal graphics unit of the processor with simple accuracy (32 bit) in GFLOPS. GFLOPS indicates how many billion floating point operations the iGPU can perform per second.
Intel Core i7-2960XM Intel Core i7-2960XM
Intel HD Graphics 3000 @ 1.30 GHz
250 (100%)
AMD Phenom II X2 B53 AMD Phenom II X2 B53
@ 0.00 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R15 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Core i7-2960XM Intel Core i7-2960XM
4C 8T @ 3.70 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Phenom II X2 B53 AMD Phenom II X2 B53
2C 2T @ 2.80 GHz
74 (100%)

Cinebench R15 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Core i7-2960XM Intel Core i7-2960XM
4C 8T @ 2.70 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Phenom II X2 B53 AMD Phenom II X2 B53
2C 2T @ 2.80 GHz
142 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core i7-2960XM AMD Phenom II X2 B53
Unknown Unknown

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