Intel Core i9-7960X vs AMD Athlon II X4 860K

Last updated:

CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i9-7960X CPU1 vs CPU2 AMD Athlon II X4 860K
Intel Core i9-7960X AMD Athlon II X4 860K

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Intel Core i9-7960X and the AMD Athlon II X4 860K and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Intel Core i9-7960X 16 core processor released in Q4/2017 with the AMD Athlon II X4 860K which has 4 CPU cores and was introduced in Q4/2014.
Intel Core i9 (78) Family AMD Athlon II (52)
Intel Core i 7000X (9) CPU group AMD Athlon II X4 (Kaveri) (1)
7 Generation 5
Skylake X Architecture Kaveri
Desktop / Server Segment Desktop / Server
-- Predecessor --
Intel Core i9-9960X Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core i9-7960X is a 16 core processor with a clock frequency of 2.80 GHz (4.20 GHz). The processor can compute 32 threads at the same time. The AMD Athlon II X4 860K clocks with 3.70 GHz (4.00 GHz), has 4 CPU cores and can calculate 4 threads in parallel.

Intel Core i9-7960X Characteristic AMD Athlon II X4 860K
16 Cores 4
32 Threads 4
normal Core architecture normal
Yes Hyperthreading No
Yes Overclocking ? Yes
2.80 GHz Frequency 3.70 GHz
4.20 GHz Turbo Frequency (1 Core) 4.00 GHz
3.60 GHz Turbo Frequency (All Cores) 4.00 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 i9-7960X Characteristic AMD Athlon II X4 860K
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

Graphics (iGPU) integrated into the processor not only enable image output without having to rely on a dedicated graphics solution, but can also efficiently accelerate video playback.

no iGPU GPU no iGPU
GPU frequency --
-- GPU (Turbo) --
-- GPU Generation --
Technology
Max. displays
-- Compute units --
-- Shader --
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
-- Max. GPU Memory --
-- 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.

no iGPU GPU no iGPU
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
No Codec h264 No
No Codec VP9 No
No Codec VP8 No
No Codec AV1 No
No Codec AVC No
No Codec VC-1 No
No Codec JPEG No

Memory & PCIe

Up to 128 GB of memory in a maximum of 4 memory channels is supported by the Intel Core i9-7960X, while the AMD Athlon II X4 860K supports a maximum of 32 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 34.1 GB/s enabled.

Intel Core i9-7960X Characteristic AMD Athlon II X4 860K
DDR4-2666 Memory DDR3-2133
128 GB Max. Memory 32 GB
4 (Quad Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
85.4 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 34.1 GB/s
No ECC Yes
-- L2 Cache 4.00 MB
22.00 MB L3 Cache --
3.0 PCIe version 3.0
44 PCIe lanes 16
43.3 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth 15.8 GB/s

Thermal Management

The Intel Core i9-7960X has a TDP of 165 W. The TDP of the AMD Athlon II X4 860K is 95 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Intel Core i9-7960X Characteristic AMD Athlon II X4 860K
165 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 95 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Intel Core i9-7960X has 22.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 14 nm. The cache of AMD Athlon II X4 860K is at 4.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 32 nm.

Intel Core i9-7960X Characteristic AMD Athlon II X4 860K
14 nm Technology 32 nm
Monolithic Chip design Unknown
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX-512 ISA extensions MMX, 3DNow!, SSE3, SSE4a
LGA 2066 Socket FM2+
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d Virtualization AMD-V
Yes AES-NI No
Windows 10, Linux Operating systems Windows 10, Linux
Q4/2017 Release date Q4/2014
1699 $ Release price 70 $
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Intel Core i9-7960X to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 1.0 stars (1 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the AMD Athlon II X4 860K to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 3.0 stars (2 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 3 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i9-7960X (100%)
AMD Athlon II X4 860K (49%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 5 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i9-7960X (100%)
AMD Athlon II X4 860K (10%)

Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 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 i9-7960X Intel Core i9-7960X
16C 32T @ 4.20 GHz
1103 (100%)
AMD Athlon II X4 860K AMD Athlon II X4 860K
4C 4T @ 4.00 GHz
517 (47%)

Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 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 i9-7960X Intel Core i9-7960X
16C 32T @ 3.60 GHz
22189 (100%)
AMD Athlon II X4 860K AMD Athlon II X4 860K
4C 4T @ 4.00 GHz
1677 (8%)

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 i9-7960X Intel Core i9-7960X
16C 32T @ 4.20 GHz
1121 (100%)
AMD Athlon II X4 860K AMD Athlon II X4 860K
4C 4T @ 4.00 GHz
539 (48%)

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 i9-7960X Intel Core i9-7960X
16C 32T @ 3.60 GHz
13468 (100%)
AMD Athlon II X4 860K AMD Athlon II X4 860K
4C 4T @ 4.00 GHz
1586 (12%)

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 i9-7960X Intel Core i9-7960X
16C 32T @ 3.60 GHz
27022 (100%)
AMD Athlon II X4 860K AMD Athlon II X4 860K
4C 4T @ 4.00 GHz
3410 (13%)

CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Multi-Core)

The CPU-Z benchmark measures a processor's performance by measuring the time it takes the system to complete all benchmark calculations. The faster the benchmark is completed, the higher the score.
Intel Core i9-7960X Intel Core i9-7960X
16C 32T @ 2.80 GHz
8088 (100%)
AMD Athlon II X4 860K AMD Athlon II X4 860K
4C 4T @ 3.70 GHz
747 (9%)

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 i9-7960X Intel Core i9-7960X
16C 32T @ 4.20 GHz
184 (100%)
AMD Athlon II X4 860K AMD Athlon II X4 860K
4C 4T @ 4.00 GHz
94 (51%)

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 i9-7960X Intel Core i9-7960X
16C 32T @ 3.60 GHz
3161 (100%)
AMD Athlon II X4 860K AMD Athlon II X4 860K
4C 4T @ 4.00 GHz
295 (9%)

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 i9-7960X Intel Core i9-7960X
16C 32T @ 4.20 GHz
1394 (100%)
AMD Athlon II X4 860K AMD Athlon II X4 860K
4C 4T @ 4.00 GHz
0 (0%)

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 i9-7960X Intel Core i9-7960X
16C 32T @ 3.60 GHz
11810 (100%)
AMD Athlon II X4 860K AMD Athlon II X4 860K
4C 4T @ 4.00 GHz
0 (0%)

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 i9-7960X Intel Core i9-7960X
16C 32T @ 3.60 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Athlon II X4 860K AMD Athlon II X4 860K
4C 4T @ 4.00 GHz
670 (100%)

Blender 2.81 (bmw27)

Blender is a free 3D graphics software for rendering (creating) 3D bodies, which can also be textured and animated in the software. The Blender benchmark creates predefined scenes and measures the time (s) required for the entire scene. The shorter the time required, the better. We selected bmw27 as the benchmark scene.
Intel Core i9-7960X Intel Core i9-7960X
16C 32T @ 3.60 GHz
111.4 (100%)
AMD Athlon II X4 860K AMD Athlon II X4 860K
4C 4T @ 4.00 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core i9-7960X AMD Athlon II X4 860K
Unknown Unknown

Popular comparisons containing this CPUs

1. AMD A8-7600AMD Athlon II X4 860K AMD A8-7600 vs AMD Athlon II X4 860K
2. AMD Athlon II X4 860KAMD Athlon X4 845 AMD Athlon II X4 860K vs AMD Athlon X4 845
3. Intel Core i3-6100AMD Athlon II X4 860K Intel Core i3-6100 vs AMD Athlon II X4 860K
4. AMD A10-7800AMD Athlon II X4 860K AMD A10-7800 vs AMD Athlon II X4 860K
5. AMD Athlon II X4 860KAMD FX-6300 AMD Athlon II X4 860K vs AMD FX-6300
6. AMD Athlon II X4 860KIntel Core i5-4460 AMD Athlon II X4 860K vs Intel Core i5-4460
7. AMD Phenom II X4 965AMD Athlon II X4 860K AMD Phenom II X4 965 vs AMD Athlon II X4 860K
8. AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950XIntel Core i9-7960X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X vs Intel Core i9-7960X
9. AMD FX-8350AMD Athlon II X4 860K AMD FX-8350 vs AMD Athlon II X4 860K
10. AMD A8-6600KAMD Athlon II X4 860K AMD A8-6600K vs AMD Athlon II X4 860K


back to index