Intel Core Ultra 7 155U vs Intel Core i7-3960X

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core Ultra 7 155U CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Core i7-3960X
Intel Core Ultra 7 155U Intel Core i7-3960X

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Intel Core Ultra 7 155U and the Intel Core i7-3960X and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Intel Core Ultra 7 155U 12 core processor released in Q4/2023 with the Intel Core i7-3960X which has 6 CPU cores and was introduced in Q4/2011.
Intel Core Ultra 7 (10) Family Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition (24)
Intel Core Ultra 100U (7) CPU group Intel Core i 3000X (4)
1 Generation 3
Meteor Lake U Architecture Sandy Bridge E
Mobile Segment Desktop / Server
-- Predecessor --
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155U is a 12 core processor with a clock frequency of 1.70 GHz (4.80 GHz). The processor can compute 14 threads at the same time. The Intel Core i7-3960X clocks with 3.30 GHz (3.90 GHz), has 6 CPU cores and can calculate 12 threads in parallel.

Intel Core Ultra 7 155U Characteristic Intel Core i7-3960X
12 Cores 6
14 Threads 12
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture normal
Yes Hyperthreading Yes
No Overclocking ? Yes
1.70 GHz (4.80 GHz)
2x Redwood Cove
A-Core 3.30 GHz (3.90 GHz)
1.20 GHz (3.80 GHz)
8x Crestmont
B-Core --
0.70 GHz (2.10 GHz)
2x Crestmont
C-Core --

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 Ultra 7 155U Characteristic Intel Core i7-3960X
Intel® AI Boost AI hardware --
Intel AI Boost @ 1.4 GHz (OpenVINO, WindowsML, DirectML, ONNX RT) AI specifications --
-- NPU + CPU + iGPU --

Integrated graphics (iGPU)

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.

Intel Iris Xe 4 Core Graphics 64 EUs (Meteor Lake) GPU no iGPU
0.60 GHz GPU frequency --
1.95 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
-- GPU Generation --
5 nm Technology
4 Max. displays
64 Compute units --
512 Shader --
Yes Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
32 GB Max. GPU Memory --
12.2 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 Iris Xe 4 Core Graphics 64 EUs (Meteor Lake) GPU no iGPU
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
Decode / Encode Codec h264 No
Decode Codec VP9 No
Decode Codec VP8 No
Decode / Encode Codec AV1 No
Decode / Encode Codec AVC No
Decode Codec VC-1 No
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG No

Memory & PCIe

Up to 96 GB of memory in a maximum of 2 memory channels is supported by the Intel Core Ultra 7 155U, while the Intel Core i7-3960X supports a maximum of 64 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s enabled.

Intel Core Ultra 7 155U Characteristic Intel Core i7-3960X
LPDDR5X-7500, DDR5-5600 Memory DDR3-1600
96 GB Max. Memory 64 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 4 (Quad Channel)
120.0 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 51.2 GB/s
No ECC No
12.00 MB L2 Cache --
-- L3 Cache 15.00 MB
4.0 PCIe version 2.0
20 PCIe lanes 40
39.4 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth 20.0 GB/s

Thermal Management

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155U has a TDP of 15 W. The TDP of the Intel Core i7-3960X is 130 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Intel Core Ultra 7 155U Characteristic Intel Core i7-3960X
15 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 130 W
57 W TDP (PL2) --
28 W TDP up --
12 W TDP down --
110 °C Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155U has 12.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 7 nm. The cache of Intel Core i7-3960X is at 15.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 32 nm.

Intel Core Ultra 7 155U Characteristic Intel Core i7-3960X
7 nm Technology 32 nm
Chiplet Chip design Monolithic
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2 ISA extensions SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX
BGA 2049 Socket LGA 2011
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d Virtualization VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d (C2 Stepping)
Yes AES-NI Yes
Windows 11, Linux Operating systems Windows 10, Linux
Q4/2023 Release date Q4/2011
-- Release price 970 $
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Intel Core Ultra 7 155U to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 3.8 stars (12 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Intel Core i7-3960X to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.0 stars (1 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core Ultra 7 155U (100%)
Intel Core i7-3960X (31%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core Ultra 7 155U (100%)
Intel Core i7-3960X (36%)

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 Ultra 7 155U Intel Core Ultra 7 155U
12C 14T @ 4.80 GHz
2354 (100%)
Intel Core i7-3960X Intel Core i7-3960X
6C 12T @ 3.90 GHz
736 (31%)

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 Ultra 7 155U Intel Core Ultra 7 155U
12C 14T @ 1.70 GHz
9716 (100%)
Intel Core i7-3960X Intel Core i7-3960X
6C 12T @ 3.90 GHz
3488 (36%)

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 Ultra 7 155U Intel Core Ultra 7 155U
12C 14T @ 4.80 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-3960X Intel Core i7-3960X
6C 12T @ 3.90 GHz
804 (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 Ultra 7 155U Intel Core Ultra 7 155U
12C 14T @ 1.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-3960X Intel Core i7-3960X
6C 12T @ 3.90 GHz
4973 (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 Ultra 7 155U Intel Core Ultra 7 155U
Intel Iris Xe 4 Core Graphics 64 EUs (Meteor Lake) @ 1.95 GHz
1935 (100%)
Intel Core i7-3960X Intel Core i7-3960X
@ 0.00 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Ultra 7 155U Intel Core Ultra 7 155U
12C 14T @ 1.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-3960X Intel Core i7-3960X
6C 12T @ 3.90 GHz
8454 (100%)

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 Ultra 7 155U Intel Core Ultra 7 155U
12C 14T @ 1.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-3960X Intel Core i7-3960X
6C 12T @ 3.30 GHz
2643 (100%)

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 Ultra 7 155U Intel Core Ultra 7 155U
12C 14T @ 4.80 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-3960X Intel Core i7-3960X
6C 12T @ 3.90 GHz
159 (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 Ultra 7 155U Intel Core Ultra 7 155U
12C 14T @ 1.70 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i7-3960X Intel Core i7-3960X
6C 12T @ 3.90 GHz
1158 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core Ultra 7 155U Intel Core i7-3960X
Unknown Unknown

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