CPU Charts 2012: 86 Processors From AMD And Intel, Tested

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Benchmarking 86 CPUs takes a while. After long last, though, we have 51 models from AMD and 35 from Intel tested in our current suite. If you want to know how your processor sizes up to its competition, you'll find plenty of comparison data inside!

Intel: Sandy Bridge

Sandy Bridge does borrow from Nehalem. However, this is a new architecture for Intel, so there are also a lot of new features, including a more advanced HD Graphics component and a ring bus able to feed on-die subsystems faster and more efficiently.

Previously, graphics, PCI Express, and memory control were separate from the processing cores. Now, all of the logic exists on the same piece of silicon, manufactured at 32 nm. Intel maintains the Core i3, i5, and i7 brands, but adjusts its model names to indicate that Sandy Bridge is the second generation of Core processors. Gone is LGA 1156, unfortunately, replaced by the LGA 1155 interface.

Sandy Bridge-based chips can be found with two, four, or six cores. All of the dual- and hexa-core versions, along with some of the quad-core models, have Hyper-Threading enabled, doubling the number of threads that the processor can handle simultaneously. In other words, six-core Sandy Bridge-E-based CPUs juggle up to 12 threads at a time. That sort of complexity imposes hefty power requirements, though: up to 130 W.

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Really, most power users don't need those LGA 2011-based chips, since Intel's quad-core products that center on Sandy Bridge have little trouble competing against AMD's six-core Phenom IIs.

More information:

Benchmarked Intel Sandy Bridge-Based CPUs:

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Sandy Bridge Code Name Rev. Socket Number ofCores ClockFrequency L2 Cache L3 Cache iGPU MemoryController TDP
Pentium G620 Sandy Bridge Q0 1155 2 2.6 GHz 2 x 256 KB 3 MB HD Graphics850-1100 MHz integrated up to DDR3-1066 65 W
Pentium G630 Sandy Bridge Q0 1155 2 2.7 GHz 2 x 256 KB 3 MB HD Graphics850-1100 MHz integrated up to DDR3-1066 65 W
Pentium G630T Sandy Bridge Q0 1155 2 2.3 GHz 2 x 256 KB 3 MB HD Graphics650-1100 MHz integrated up to DDR3-1066 35 W
Core i5-2300 Sandy Bridge D2 1155 4 2.8 GHz 4 x 256 KB 6 MB HD Graphics 2000850-1100 MHz integrated up to DDR3-1333 95 W
Core i5-2310 Sandy Bridge D2 1155 4 2.9 GHz 4 x 256 KB 6 MB HD Graphics 2000850-1100 MHz integrated up to DDR3-1333 95 W
Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge D2 1155 4 3.1 GHz 4 x 256 KB 6 MB HD Graphics 2000850-1100 MHz integrated up to DDR3-1333 95 W
Core i5-2400S Sandy Bridge D2 1155 4 2.5 GHz 4 x 256 KB 6 MB HD Graphics 2000850-1100 MHz integrated up to DDR3-1333 65 W
Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge D2 1155 4 3.3 GHz 4 x 256 KB 6 MB HD Graphics 3000850-1100 MHz integrated up to DDR3-1333 65 W
Core i5-2500T Sandy Bridge D2 1155 4 2.3 GHz 4 x 256 KB 6 MB HD Graphics 2000850-1100 MHz integrated up to DDR3-1333 65 W
Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge D2 1155 4 3.4 GHz 4 x 256 KB 8MB HD Graphics 3000850-1350 MHz integrated up to DDR3-1333 95 W
Core i7-2700K Sandy Bridge D2 1155 4 3.5 GHz 4 x 256 KB 8 MB HD Graphics 3000850-1350 MHz integrated up to DDR3-1333 95 W
Core i7-3930K Sandy Bridge-E C1 2011 6 3.2 GHz 6 x 256 KB 12 MB - integrated up to DDR3-1600 130 W
Core i7-3960X Sandy Bridge-E C1 2011 6 3.3 GHz 6 x 256 KB 12 MB - integrated up to DDR3-1600 130 W
108 Comments Comment from the forums
  • amdfangirl
    Sometimes I wish you updated legacy CPUs like the Core 2 Duo or even perhaps the Athlon 64 X2 series, just one or two models so that people upgrading can have an idea how much faster the CPU is in relation to their new purchase.
    Reply
  • Where are the Visual Studio Test results?
    Reply
  • johnsonjohnson
    Sandy and Ivy i3s are MIA.
    Reply
  • emperor piehead
    Why is the fx6300 missing i wanted to see how it fit into this
    Reply
  • Thanks Toms, now i know that i can get double the performance and 3/4 the power consumption going from AMD 955 to a Core i5 3570K.
    Reply
  • mayankleoboy1
    Great benchmarks.
    But i want some processors which were legendary overclockers, and representatives of their generation of CPU's, included with a nominal OC :

    intel C2D E7300 : 2.66- > 3.33
    Intel C2Q Q6600 : 2.4- > 3.0ghz
    Intel i5-750 : 2.66 - >3.33

    Its highly likely that a person has owned at least one of these CPU's. I want to know how well these compare to modern processors.
    Reply
  • mayankleoboy1
    And please update the Winrar to version 4.2 . The 3.9 you are using is quite old and has poor multithreading.
    Reply
  • bak0n
    amdfangirlSometimes I wish you updated legacy CPUs like the Core 2 Duo or even perhaps the Athlon 64 X2 series, just one or two models so that people upgrading can have an idea how much faster the CPU is in relation to their new purchase.I always wish this. Beyond that the AM3 Athlon X2's are still being sold at newegg and the Phenom X2's are not...
    Reply
  • Soma42
    amdfangirlSometimes I wish you updated legacy CPUs like the Core 2 Duo or even perhaps the Athlon 64 X2 series, just one or two models so that people upgrading can have an idea how much faster the CPU is in relation to their new purchase.
    Agreed, maybe just one dual core and one quad? q9550 and e6850? not that I still own both of those or anything...

    But let's do some math. Just for a rough order of magnitude I figure an average of 15% increase in performance per clock cycle, per generation (not including clock speed, number of cores, etc.). So if we start back at Conroe and work our way to present day Ivy Bridge, that's 5 new generations of processors. 1.15^5 = 2.01

    Which means that an Ivy Bridge CPU at the same speed as a Conroe CPU (2006ish) is about 2x as fast per clock cycle, on average. Once you take into account faster clock speeds, number of cores, cache sizes, integrated memory controllers, etc. and more importantly what software will be used with the CPUs the real world performance difference could be almost nothing to somewhere around 10-15x as fast.

    I digress. The point being, is I would like to see some more benchies Tom's! Prove me wrong!
    Reply
  • flyflinger
    Lot of great info here, but missing Core i3 info leaves a big hole in the data point. Please add.
    Reply