Intel Core i7-2960XM vs AMD Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm]

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i7-2960XM CPU1 vs CPU2 AMD Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm]
Intel Core i7-2960XM AMD Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm]

CPU comparison

Intel Core i7-2960XM or AMD Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm] - 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 Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm] has 4 cores with 4 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.40 GHz. The CPU supports up to 64 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The AMD Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm] was released in Q2/2020.
Intel Core i7 (298) Family AMD Ryzen 3 (33)
Intel Core i 2000M (46) CPU group AMD Ryzen 2000 (9)
2 Generation 2
Sandy Bridge H Architecture Pinnacle Ridge (Zen+)
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 Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm] has 4 CPU cores and 4 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the AMD Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm] is at 3.10 GHz (3.40 GHz).

Intel Core i7-2960XM Characteristic AMD Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm]
4 Cores 4
8 Threads 4
normal Core architecture normal
Yes Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? Yes
2.70 GHz Frequency 3.10 GHz
3.70 GHz Turbo Frequency (1 Core) 3.40 GHz
-- Turbo Frequency (All Cores) 3.10 GHz

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. Algorithms for ML improve their performance the more data they have collected via software. ML tasks can be processed up to 10,000 times faster than with a classic processor.

Intel Core i7-2960XM Characteristic AMD Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm]
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

The Intel Core i7-2960XM or AMD Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm] 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 Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm] supports up to 64 GB of memory in 2 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 42.7 GB/s.

Intel Core i7-2960XM Characteristic AMD Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm]
DDR3-1066, DDR3-1333, DDR3-1600 Memory DDR4-2666
32 GB Max. Memory 64 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
25.6 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 42.7 GB/s
No ECC Yes
-- L2 Cache --
8.00 MB L3 Cache 8.00 MB
2.0 PCIe version 3.0
16 PCIe lanes 20
8.0 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth 19.7 GB/s

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Intel Core i7-2960XM is 55 W, while the AMD Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm] has a TDP of 65 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.

Intel Core i7-2960XM Characteristic AMD Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm]
55 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 65 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
100 °C Tjunction max. 95 °C

Technical details

The Intel Core i7-2960XM is manufactured in 32 nm and has 8.00 MB cache. The AMD Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm] is manufactured in 12 nm and has a 8.00 MB cache.

Intel Core i7-2960XM Characteristic AMD Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm]
32 nm Technology 12 nm
Monolithic Chip design Chiplet
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX ISA extensions SSE4a, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, FMA3
PGA 988 Socket AM4 (PGA 1331)
VT-x, VT-x EPT Virtualization AMD-V, SVM
Yes AES-NI Yes
Windows 10, Linux Operating systems Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux
Q4/2011 Release date Q2/2020
570 $ Release price 55 $
show more data show more data


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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i7-2960XM (74%)
AMD Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm] (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i7-2960XM (87%)
AMD Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm] (99%)

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 (89%)
AMD Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm] AMD Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm]
4C 4T @ 3.40 GHz
821 (100%)

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 Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm] AMD Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm]
4C 4T @ 3.10 GHz
2659 (98%)

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 (59%)
AMD Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm] AMD Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm]
4C 4T @ 3.40 GHz
1092 (100%)

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 (73%)
AMD Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm] AMD Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm]
4C 4T @ 3.10 GHz
6470 (100%)

Geekbench 6 (Multi-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 multi-core benchmark evaluates the performance of all of the processor's CPU cores. Virtual thread improvements such as AMD SMT or Intel's Hyper-Threading have a positive impact on the benchmark result.
Intel Core i7-2960XM Intel Core i7-2960XM
4C 8T @ 2.70 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm] AMD Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm]
4C 4T @ 3.10 GHz
3166 (100%)

Cinebench R20 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 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 Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm] AMD Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm]
4C 4T @ 3.40 GHz
354 (100%)

Cinebench R20 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 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 Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm] AMD Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm]
4C 4T @ 3.10 GHz
1389 (100%)

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 Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm] AMD Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm]
@ 0.00 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core i7-2960XM AMD Ryzen 3 1200 [12nm]
Unknown Unknown

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