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 AM3 MSI 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 1156 Asus Maximus III Formula (Rev. 1.0), Chipset: Intel P55, BIOS: 2104 (2010-12-15)
LGA 1155 Gigabyte Z68X-UD7-B2, Rev. 1.0, Chipset: Intel Z68, BIOS: F6 (2011-05-02)
LGA 1366 MSI Big Bang XPower, Rev. 1.0, Chipset: X58, BIOS: V1.6 (2011-03-29)
Processors
AM2+ Processors AMD 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 Processors AMD 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 Processors Intel 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 Processors Intel 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 Processors Intel 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 Processors Intel 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
Graphics Sapphire Radeon HD 5850, GPU: Cypress (725 MHz), Graphics RAM: 1024 MB GDDR5 (2000 MT/s), Stream Processors: 1440
SSD Samsung PM810 (470 series), 256 GB, Firmware 0701, SATA 3 Gb/s
Power Supply Seasonic X-760 760 W, SS-760KM Active PFC F3
System Software And Drivers
Operating System Windows 7 Ultimate x64
Drivers And Settings
Intel Chipset Drivers Chipset Installation Utility Ver. 9.1.1.1025
Intel Storage Drivers Matrix Storage Drivers Ver. 8.​9.​0.​1023
Nvidia Graphics Version 258.96