Tom's CPU Architecture Shootout: 16 CPUs, One Core Each, And 3 GHz

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The CPU landscape is really complex. Both AMD and Intel offer tons of different models. But how would today’s processors perform if they didn't have multiple cores? We take 16 different CPUs and compare them all using a single core running at 3 GHz.

Test Setup And Benchmarks

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System Hardware
Motherboards
Socket AM2+MSI DKA790GX Platinum (Rev. 1.0), Chipset: AMD 790GX, BIOS: 1.8B1 (2009-03-15)
Socket AM3MSI 890FXA-GD70 (Rev. 1.0), Chipset: AMD 890FX, BIOS: 1.9 (2011-04-02)
LGA 775 (DDR2)Gigabyte EP45-UD3P, Rev. 1.0, Chipset: Intel P45 Express, BIOS: F10 (2010-02-05)
LGA 775 (DDR3)Gigabyte EP45T-UD3P, Rev. 1.0, Chipset: Intel P45 Express, BIOS: F8C (2009-09-03)
LGA 1156Asus Maximus III Formula (Rev. 1.0), Chipset: Intel P55, BIOS: 2104 (2010-12-15)
LGA 1155Gigabyte Z68X-UD7-B2, Rev. 1.0, Chipset: Intel Z68, BIOS: F6 (2011-05-02)
LGA 1366MSI Big Bang XPower, Rev. 1.0, Chipset: X58, BIOS: V1.6 (2011-03-29)
Processors
AM2+ ProcessorsAMD Athlon 64 X2 5400+ BE (65 nm Brisbane, G2), 2C/2T, 2.8 GHz, 2 x 512 KB L2 Cache, 65 W TDPAMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ (90 nm Windsor, F3), 2C/2T, 3.0 Ghz, 2 x 1 MB L2 Cache, 125 W TDP
AM3 ProcessorsAMD Athlon II X2 260 (45 nm Regor, C3), 2C/2T, 3.2 GHz, 2 x 1 MB L2 Cache, 95 W TDPAMD Athlon II X4 645 (45 nm Propus, C3), 4C/4T, 3.1 GHz, 4 x 512 KB L2 Cache, 95 W TDPAMD Phenom II X4 980 (45 nm Deneb, C3), 4C/4T, 3.7 GHz, 4 x 512 KB L2 Cache, 6 MB L3 Cache, 125 W TDPAMD Phenom II X6 1100T (45 nm Thuban, E0), 6C/6T, 3.3 GHz, 6 x 512 KB L2 Cache, 6 MB L3 Cache, 125 W TDP
LGA 775 ProcessorsIntel Pentium 4 660 (90 nm Prescott), 1C/2T, 3.6 GHz, 2 MB L2 Cache, 115 W TDPIntel Core 2 Duo E6850 (65 nm Conroe), 2C/2T, 3.0 GHz, 4 MB L2 Cache, 65 W TDPIntel Core 2 Duo E8600 (45 nm Wolfdale), 2C/2T, 3.33 GHz, 6 MB L2 Cache, 65 W TDP
LGA 1156 ProcessorsIntel Core i3-530 (45 nm w/ 32 nm Graphics, Clarkdale, C2), 2C/2T, 2.93 GHz, 2 x 256 KB L2 Cache, 4 MB L3 Cache, w/ HD Graphics, 73 W TDPIntel Core i5-661 (45 nm w/ 32 nm Graphics, Clarkdale, C2), 2C/4T, 3.33 GHz, 2 x 256 KB L2 Cache, 4 MB L3 Cache, w/ HD Graphics, 87 W TDP, 3.6 GHz max. TurboIntel Core i7-875K (45 nm Lynnfield, B1), 4C/8T, 2.93 GHz, 4 x 256 KB L2 Cache, 8 MB L3 Cache, 95 W TDP, 3.6 GHz max. Turbo
LGA 1155 ProcessorsIntel Core i5-2500K (32 nm, Sandy Bridge, D2), 4C/4T, 3.3 GHz, 4 x 256 KB L2 Cache, 6 MB L3 Cache, w/ HD Graphics 3000, 95 W TDP, 3.7 GHz max. TurboIntel Core i7-2600K (32 nm, Sandy Bridge, D2), 4C/8T, 3.4 GHz, 4x 256 KB L2 Cache, 8 MB L3 Cache, w/ HD Graphics 3000, 95 W TDP, 3.8 GHz max. Turbo
LGA 1366 ProcessorsIntel Core i7-975 Extreme Edition (45 nm, Bloomfield, D0) 4C/8T, 3.33 GHz, 4 x 256 KB L2 and 8 MB L3 Cache, 130 W TDP,Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition (32 nm, Gulftown), 6C/12T, 3.33 GHz, 6 x 256 KB L2 and 12 MB L3 Cache, 130 W TDP
DDR2 RAM (Dual-Channel)4 x 2 GB DDR2-800, Chaintech Apogee AU2G732-12GH001, Mushkin Acsent XP2
DDR3 RAM (Dual-Channel)2 x 4 GB DDR3-1333, Kingston HyperX KHX1600C9D3K2/8GX
DDR3 RAM (Triple-Channel)3 x 4 GB DDR3-1333, Kingston HyperX KHX1600C9D3K2/8GX
GraphicsSapphire Radeon HD 5850, GPU: Cypress (725 MHz), Graphics RAM: 1024 MB GDDR5 (2000 MT/s), Stream Processors: 1440
SSDSamsung PM810 (470 series), 256 GB, Firmware 0701, SATA 3 Gb/s
Power SupplySeasonic X-760 760 W, SS-760KM Active PFC F3
System Software And Drivers
Operating SystemWindows 7 Ultimate x64
Drivers And Settings
Intel Chipset DriversChipset Installation Utility Ver. 9.1.1.1025
Intel Storage DriversMatrix Storage Drivers Ver. 8.​9.​0.​1023
Nvidia GraphicsVersion 258.96
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Audio Benchmarks and Settings
BenchmarkDetails
iTunesVersion: 9.0.3.15 Audio CD ("Terminator II" SE), 53 min., Convert to AAC audio format
Lame MP3Version 3.98.3 Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min, convert WAV to MP3 audio format Command: -b 160 --nores (160 kb/s)
Video Benchmarks and Settings
BenchmarkDetails
HandBrake CLIVersion: 0.94 Video: Big Buck Bunny (720x480, 23.972 frames) 5 Minutes Audio: Dolby Digital, 48000 Hz, 6-Kanal, English Video: AVC1 Audio1: AC3 Audio2: AAC (High Profile)
MainConcept Reference v2Version: 2.0.0.1555 MPEG2 to H.264 MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG-2) Audio: MPEG2 (44.1 kHz, 2 Channel, 16-bit, 224 kb/s) Codec: H.264 Pro Mode: PAL 50i (25 FPS) Profile: H.264 BD HDMV
Application Benchmarks and Settings
BenchmarkDetails
7-ZipVersion 9.2 LZMA2 Syntax "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=5" Benchmark: 2010-THG-Workload
WinRARVersion 3.92 RAR Syntax "winrar a -r -m3" Benchmark: 2010-THG-Workload
WinZip 14Version 14.0 Pro (8652) WinZIP Commandline Version 3 ZIPX Syntax "-a -ez -p -r" Benchmark: 2010-THG-Workload
BlenderVersion: 2.54 beta Syntax blender -b thg.blend -f 1 Resolution: 1920x1080 Anti-Aliasing: 8x Render: THG.blend frame 1
Cinebench 11.5Version 11.5 Build CB25720DEMO CPU Test single and multi threaded
Autodesk 3ds Max 2010Version: 10 x64 Rendering Space Flyby Mentalray (SPECapc_3dsmax9) Frame: 248 Resolution: 1440x1080
Adobe After Effects CS5Create Video which includes 3 Streams Frames: 210 Render Multiple Frames Simultaneosly: on
Adobe Premiere Pro CS5Video length 2m 21s Export to H.264 Blu-ray Source 960x720 Output 1280x720
Adobe Photoshop CS 5 (64-Bit)Version: 12 Filtering a 16 MB TIF (15000x7266) Filters: Radial Blur (Amount: 10; Method: zoom; Quality: good), Shape Blur (Radius: 46 px; custom shape: Trademark symbol), Median (Radius: 1px), Polar Coordinates (Rectangular to Polar)
Adobe Acrobat 9 ProfessionalVersion: 9.0.0 (Extended) == Printing Preferenced Menu == Default Settings: Standard == Adobe PDF Security - Edit Menu == Encrypt all documents (128-bit RC4), Open Password: 123, Permissions Password: 321
Microsoft Powerpoint 2007Version: 2007 SP2 PPT to PDF, Powerpoint Document (115 Pages), Adobe PDF-Printer
Abbyy FineReaderVersion: 10 Professional Build (10.0.102.82) Read PDF save to Doc, Source: Political Economy (J. Broadhurst 1842) 111 Pages
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
BenchmarkDetails
3DMark11Version: 1.0 Performance level
PCMark7Version: 1.0.4 Overall
SiSoftware Sandra 2011Version: 2010.1.16.10 Processor Arithmetic, Cryptography, Memory Bandwith
Patrick Schmid and Achim Roos