CPU Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which processor has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Athlon X4 830 posts an average benchmark score of 848, while the Intel Core i7-920 scores 840. The Athlon sits at the 23rd percentile of all CPUs, one point above the Core i7's 22nd percentile.

Q: How do the two compare in multi-core Cinebench R23?

A: The AMD Athlon X4 830 wins with a score of 2465 versus 2442 for the Intel Core i7-920, a delta of 0.9%. In Cinebench R20 multi-core, the Athlon again leads 1035 to 1025, a 1% advantage.

Q: Which chip has a higher single-core result?

A: The AMD Athlon X4 830 is ahead in both single-core tests. In Cinebench R20 single-core it scores 146 against 144 for the Intel, a 1.4% lead. In R23 single-core, the margin is 348 versus 344, or 1.2%.

Q: What are the core and thread configurations?

A: Both processors feature four cores, but the Intel Core i7-920 supports eight threads via Hyper-Threading, while the AMD Athlon X4 830 has four threads total. The Intel also has a shared 8 MB L3 cache, whereas the AMD has no L3 cache.

Q: Which processor draws more power?

A: The Intel Core i7-920 has a TDP of 130 watts, exactly double the AMD Athlon X4 830's 65-watt TDP. The Intel also uses a larger 263 mm² die on a 45 nm process, versus 245 mm² on 28 nm for the AMD.

Q: What memory configurations do the two support?

A: Both support DDR3 memory, but the AMD uses a dual-channel bus with 34.1 GB/s bandwidth, while the Intel uses a triple-channel bus with no bandwidth figure listed. The AMD also supports PCIe Gen 3 with 16 CPU lanes, while the Intel is limited to Gen 2.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Athlon X4 830 is built on GlobalFoundries' 28 nm process using the Steamroller architecture from the Kaveri family. It packs 2,411 million transistors into a 245 mm² die. The Intel Core i7-920, by contrast, uses Intel's 45 nm Nehalem architecture (codename Bloomfield) with just 731 million transistors on a larger 263 mm² die. The node shrink gives AMD a clear manufacturing advantage, but the transistor count disparity is the more striking number, AMD crams more than three times as many transistors into a smaller physical area.

Cache hierarchies differ fundamentally. The AMD chip carries 256 KB of L1 cache and 4 MB of L2 cache, with no L3 cache at all. The Intel part uses a per-core L1 of 64 KB and per-core L2 of 256 KB, plus a shared 8 MB L3 cache. That shared L3 is a significant architectural difference, as it allows all four cores to access a large pool of fast memory without duplicating data. The AMD part compensates with a larger L2 pool, but the absence of L3 is a notable gap.

Memory support also diverges. Both use DDR3, but the AMD runs dual-channel with a rated 34.1 GB/s bandwidth, while the Intel runs triple-channel with no bandwidth number provided. The AMD supports PCIe Gen 3 with 16 lanes from the CPU; the Intel is limited to PCIe Gen 2. The Intel chip is locked (multiplier not unlocked), whereas the AMD has an unlocked multiplier for overclocking. The Intel part carries a release date of November 16, 2008, and both are end-of-life desktop parts with no integrated graphics.

The TDP gap is enormous: 65 watts for the AMD versus 130 watts for the Intel. That 65-watt differential is a direct consequence of the process and architecture choices, and it shapes the entire power-versus-performance picture.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The AMD Athlon X4 830 wins all five head-to-head Cinebench comparisons, but the margins are consistently narrow. In Cinebench R15 multi-core, the Athlon posts 248 against the Core i7's 246, a 0.8% edge. The R20 multi-core test shows 1035 versus 1025, a 1% win. The R23 multi-core result is 2465 versus 2442, again a 0.9% margin. No single test shows a lead larger than 1.4%.

Single-core results follow the same pattern. The Athlon takes R20 single-core with 146 points versus 144, a 1.4% advantage, the largest delta of any test. In R23 single-core, the Athlon scores 348 against 344, a 1.2% lead. These are not dominant victories; they are statistical near-ties that consistently favor the AMD part.

Looking at the nearest rivals provides context. The Athlon's closest competitor is the Intel Xeon X5492 at 852 average score, just 0.4% ahead. The AMD also sits within 0.9% of the Intel Core i5-5250U (856) and 0.6% ahead of both the Intel Core i7-3520M and AMD FX-8800P (both 843). The Core i7-920's nearest rival is the Intel Xeon X5470 at 839, a 0.1% gap, with the Core i5-3380M (838) and Core i5-5200U (838) just 0.2–0.3% behind. The FX-8800P sits 0.3% ahead of the Core i7.

The benchmark data tells a clear story: these two processors are effectively performance peers, with the Athlon holding a razor-thin edge across every workload tested. The Intel's extra threads and L3 cache do not translate into a measurable win in Cinebench. The AMD's higher base clock (3.00 GHz versus 2.67 GHz) and boost clock (3.40 GHz versus 2.93 GHz) likely offset the architectural advantages of the Intel part.

The Verdict

The data supports a straightforward conclusion: the AMD Athlon X4 830 is the better-performing processor in this pairing, but only by a hair. It wins all five head-to-head benchmarks, with deltas ranging from 0.8% to 1.4%. Its average benchmark score of 848 beats the Intel's 840, and it holds a one-point percentile advantage (23rd versus 22nd). For anyone choosing purely on Cinebench results, the Athlon is the pick.

However, the Intel Core i7-920 offers features that the benchmark scores do not capture. Its eight threads provide additional parallelism that may benefit workloads beyond Cinebench, and the shared 8 MB L3 cache is a structural advantage for data sharing between cores. The triple-channel memory bus also gives it a memory architecture that the AMD cannot match, even though no bandwidth figure is listed for the Intel.

The power story favors AMD overwhelmingly. At 65 watts TDP versus 130 watts, the Athlon delivers essentially the same performance at half the power draw. That makes it the more efficient choice by a wide margin. The AMD also supports PCIe Gen 3 and has an unlocked multiplier, both of which are absent from the Intel part.

The Intel does have one clear edge: its release date of November 2008 makes it an older design, but it still trades blows with a much newer 28 nm part. For users with existing Socket 1366 platforms, the Core i7-920 remains a capable processor. For new builds or upgrades, the Athlon X4 830 offers equal-or-better performance with dramatically lower power consumption. The verdict is simple: AMD wins on performance and efficiency; Intel wins on thread count and cache size, but those advantages do not materialize in the benchmark data.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Athlon X4 830 | Intel Core i7-920 |

|---|---|---|

| Cores | 4 | 4 |

| Threads | 4 | 8 |

| Base Clock | 3.00 GHz | 2.67 GHz |

| Boost Clock | 3.40 GHz | 2.93 GHz |

| TDP | 65 W | 130 W |

| Socket | AMD Socket FM2+ | Intel Socket 1366 |

| Architecture | Steamroller | Nehalem |

| Codename | Kaveri | Bloomfield |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 45 nm |

| Foundry | GlobalFoundries | Intel |

| Transistors | 2,411 million | 731 million |

| Die Size | 245 mm² | 263 mm² |

| L1 Cache | 256 KB | 64 KB (per core) |

| L2 Cache | 4 MB | 256 KB (per core) |

| L3 Cache | None | 8 MB (shared) |

| Memory Bus | Dual-channel | Triple-channel |

| Memory Bandwidth | 34.1 GB/s | Not listed |

| PCIe | Gen 3, 16 Lanes (CPU only) | Gen 2 |

| Multiplier Unlocked | Yes | No |

| Part Number | AD830XYBI44JA | SLBCHSLBEJ |

| Release Date | Not listed | 2008-11-16 |

| Avg Benchmark Score | 848 | 840 |

| Percentile | 23 | 22 |