| | | | | | |

Core i7-920 vs i7-860


Description
The i7-920 is based on Nehalem Westmere architecture while the i7-860 is based on Nehalem.

Using the multithread performance as a reference, the i7-920 gets a score of 47.2 k points while the i7-860 gets 70.7 k points.

Summarizing, the i7-860 is 1.5 times faster than the i7-920 . To get a proper comparison between both models, take a look to the data shown below.

Specs
CPUID
106a5
106e5
Core
Bloomfield
Lynnfield
Architecture
Nehalem Westmere
Base frecuency
2.667 GHz
2.8 GHz
Boost frecuency
2.993 GHz
3.467 GHz
Socket
LGA 1366
LGA 1156
Cores/Threads
4/8
4/8
TDP
130 W
95 W
Cache L1 (d+i)
32+32 kB
4x32+4x32 kB
Cache L2
256 kB
4x256 kB
Cache L3
8192 kB
8192 kB
Date
November 2008
September 2009
Mean monothread perf.
16.33k points
19.07k points
Mean multithread perf.
47.2k points
70.68k points

Non-optimized benchmark
The benchmark in Mode 0 (FPU) measures cpu performance with non-optimized software. It uses the basic µinstructions from the i386 architecture with the i387 floating point unit. This mode is compatible with all CPUs so it's practical to compare very different CPUs
Monothread
i7-920
i7-860
Test#1 (Integers)
1.97k
2.15k (x1.09)
Test#2 (FP)
4.43k
4.87k (x1.1)
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
2.75k
2.82k (x1.02)
Test#1 (Memory)
2.53k
3.13k (x1.24)
TOTAL
11.68k
12.97k (x1.11)

Multithread

i7-920

i7-860
Test#1 (Integers)
7.71k
8.24k (x1.07)
Test#2 (FP)
18.81k
21.63k (x1.15)
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
13.76k
14.65k (x1.07)
Test#1 (Memory)
5.07k
5.02k (x0.99)
TOTAL
45.34k
49.54k (x1.09)

SSE3 optimized benchmark
The benchmark in mode I (SSE) is optimized for the use of SIMD instructions with 128 bits register and the SSE set up to version 3. Nearly every modern CPU has support for this mode.
Monothread
i7-920
i7-860
Test#1 (Integers)
6.12k
7.83k (x1.28)
Test#2 (FP)
4.76k
5.23k (x1.1)
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
2.78k
2.91k (x1.05)
Test#1 (Memory)
2.67k
3.09k (x1.16)
TOTAL
16.33k
19.07k (x1.17)

Multithread

i7-920

i7-860
Test#1 (Integers)
19.26k
29.29k (x1.52)
Test#2 (FP)
14.96k
22.75k (x1.52)
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
8.05k
14.04k (x1.74)
Test#1 (Memory)
4.92k
4.6k (x0.93)
TOTAL
47.2k
70.68k (x1.5)

Performance/W
i7-920
i7-860
Test#1 (Integers)
148 points/W
308 points/W
Test#2 (FP)
115 points/W
240 points/W
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
62 points/W
148 points/W
Test#1 (Memory)
38 points/W
48 points/W
TOTAL
363 points/W
744 points/W

Performance/GHz
i7-920
i7-860
Test#1 (Integers)
2044 points/GHz
2259 points/GHz
Test#2 (FP)
1591 points/GHz
1509 points/GHz
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
930 points/GHz
839 points/GHz
Test#1 (Memory)
891 points/GHz
892 points/GHz
TOTAL
5457 points/GHz
5500 points/GHz

Monothread performance graph
Monothread performance graphics gives the performance vs time. They are useful to measure the time it takes to the CPU to reach the maximum performance.

Usually, CPU's performance will be steady during these tests but if it has a slow frequency strategy, the first samples will show a lower score.


Test#1 (Integers) [points vs time]

grafica bm.hardlimit.com


Test#2 (FP) [points vs time]

grafica bm.hardlimit.com


Test#3 (Generic, ZIP) [points vs time]

grafica bm.hardlimit.com


Test#1 (Memory) [points vs time]

grafica bm.hardlimit.com

Multithread performance graph
Multithread graphs measure the performance against a heavy load during certain time.

If CPU's TDP doesn't limit the frequency and the machine is properly cooled, performance should remain steady vs time. Otherwise, the performance score will oscillate or decrease over time.


Test#1 (Integers) [points vs time]

grafica bm.hardlimit.com


Test#2 (FP) [points vs time]

grafica bm.hardlimit.com


Test#3 (Generic, ZIP) [points vs time]

grafica bm.hardlimit.com


Test#1 (Memory) [points vs time]

grafica bm.hardlimit.com

Hardlimit Benchmark Central - Ver. 3.11.4