| | | | | | |

A9 9420 vs Core i7-870


Description
The 9420 is based on Excavator architecture while the i7-870 is based on Nehalem.

Using the multithread performance as a reference, the 9420 gets a score of 28.9 k points while the i7-870 gets 67.1 k points.

Summarizing, the i7-870 is 2.3 times faster than the 9420. To get a proper comparison between both models, take a look to the data shown below.

Specs
CPUID
670f00
106e5
Core
Stoney Ridge
Lynnfield
Architecture
Base frecuency
3 GHz
2.933 GHz
Boost frecuency
3.6 GHz
3.6 GHz
Socket
Micro-BGA
LGA 1156
Cores/Threads
2/2
4/8
TDP
15 W
95 W
Cache L1 (d+i)
96+2x32 kB
4x32+4x32 kB
Cache L2
1024 kB
4x256 kB
Cache L3
0 kB
8192 kB
Date
April 2017
September 2009
Mean monothread perf.
33.09k points
18.13k points
Mean multithread perf.
46.33k points
67.13k 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
9420
i7-870
Test#1 (Integers)
2.56k
1.98k (x0.77)
Test#2 (FP)
9.97k
4.36k (x0.44)
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
2.96k
2.24k (x0.76)
Test#1 (Memory)
2.12k
2.72k (x1.28)
TOTAL
17.61k
11.3k (x0.64)

Multithread

9420

i7-870
Test#1 (Integers)
3.88k
4.46k (x1.15)
Test#2 (FP)
9.26k
13.95k (x1.51)
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
3.9k
7.54k (x1.93)
Test#1 (Memory)
1.74k
1.7k (x0.98)
TOTAL
18.79k
27.65k (x1.47)

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
9420
i7-870
Test#1 (Integers)
8.41k
7.43k (x0.88)
Test#2 (FP)
11.48k
4.96k (x0.43)
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
3.29k
2.7k (x0.82)
Test#1 (Memory)
2.24k
3.04k (x1.36)
TOTAL
25.41k
18.13k (x0.71)

Multithread

9420

i7-870
Test#1 (Integers)
11.25k
27.58k (x2.45)
Test#2 (FP)
13.69k
21.84k (x1.6)
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
2.09k
13.55k (x6.5)
Test#1 (Memory)
1.87k
4.16k (x2.23)
TOTAL
28.89k
67.13k (x2.32)

Performance/W
9420
i7-870
Test#1 (Integers)
750 points/W
290 points/W
Test#2 (FP)
912 points/W
230 points/W
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
139 points/W
143 points/W
Test#1 (Memory)
125 points/W
44 points/W
TOTAL
1926 points/W
707 points/W

Performance/GHz
9420
i7-870
Test#1 (Integers)
2336 points/GHz
2063 points/GHz
Test#2 (FP)
3188 points/GHz
1379 points/GHz
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
913 points/GHz
750 points/GHz
Test#1 (Memory)
621 points/GHz
845 points/GHz
TOTAL
7058 points/GHz
5037 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