AMD Athlon X4 850 vs Intel Core i5-3550S

Comparative analysis of AMD Athlon X4 850 and Intel Core i5-3550S processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Compatibility, Peripherals, Graphics, Graphics interfaces, Security & Reliability, Advanced Technologies, Virtualization. Benchmark processor performance analysis: PassMark - Single thread mark, PassMark - CPU mark, Geekbench 4 - Single Core, Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core, CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s), GFXBench 4.0 - T-Rex (Frames), GFXBench 4.0 - T-Rex (Fps).

AMD Athlon X4 850

Intel Core i5-3550S

Differences

Reasons to consider the AMD Athlon X4 850

CPU is newer: launch date 3 year(s) 3 month(s) later
Processor is unlocked, an unlocked multiplier allows for easier overclocking
Around 5% higher clock speed: 3.9 GHz vs 3.70 GHz
Around 30% higher maximum core temperature: 90°C vs 69.1°C

Launch date	Jul 2015 vs April 2012
Unlocked	Unlocked vs Locked
Maximum frequency	3.9 GHz vs 3.70 GHz
Maximum core temperature	90°C vs 69.1°C

Reasons to consider the Intel Core i5-3550S

A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 22 nm vs 28 nm
262144x more L2 cache, more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later
Around 58% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1946 vs 1231
Around 66% better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 4414 vs 2657

Specifications (specs)
Manufacturing process technology	22 nm vs 28 nm
L2 cache	256 KB (per core) vs 4MB
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	1946 vs 1231
PassMark - CPU mark	4414 vs 2657

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: AMD Athlon X4 850
CPU 2: Intel Core i5-3550S

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1231

1946

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

2657

4414

Name	AMD Athlon X4 850	Intel Core i5-3550S
PassMark - Single thread mark	1231	1946
PassMark - CPU mark	2657	4414
Geekbench 4 - Single Core		722
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core		2376
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)		3.649
GFXBench 4.0 - T-Rex (Frames)		1771
GFXBench 4.0 - T-Rex (Fps)		1771

Compare specifications (specs)

	AMD Athlon X4 850	Intel Core i5-3550S
Essentials
Architecture codename	Godaveri	Ivy Bridge
Launch date	Jul 2015	April 2012
Place in performance rating	1986	2026
Launch price (MSRP)		$350
Price now		$341.01
Processor Number		i5-3550S
Series		Legacy Intel® Core™ Processors
Status		Launched
Value for money (0-100)		5.95
Vertical segment		Desktop
Performance
Base frequency	3.2 GHz	3.00 GHz
Die size	245 mm²	160 mm
L1 cache	256K	64 KB (per core)
L2 cache	4MB	256 KB (per core)
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	22 nm
Maximum core temperature	90°C	69.1°C
Maximum frequency	3.9 GHz	3.70 GHz
Number of cores	4	4
Number of threads	4	4
Transistor count	2,411 million	1400 million
Unlocked
64 bit support
Bus Speed		5 GT/s DMI
L3 cache		6144 KB (shared)
Maximum case temperature (TCase)		69 °C
Memory
ECC memory support
Supported memory types	DDR3-2133 MHz, Dual-channel	DDR3 1333/1600
Max memory channels		2
Maximum memory bandwidth		25.6 GB/s
Maximum memory size		32 GB
Compatibility
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	1	1
Sockets supported	FM2+	FCLGA1155
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	65 Watt	65 Watt
Low Halogen Options Available
Package Size		37.5mm x 37.5mm
Thermal Solution		2011C
Peripherals
PCIe configurations	Gen 3, 16 Lanes, (CPU only)	up to 1x16, 2x8, 1x8 & 2x4
PCI Express revision		3.0
Graphics
Device ID		0x152
Graphics base frequency		650 MHz
Graphics max dynamic frequency		1.15 GHz
Graphics max frequency		1.15 GHz
Intel® Clear Video HD technology
Intel® Flexible Display Interface (Intel® FDI)
Intel® InTru™ 3D technology
Intel® Quick Sync Video
Processor graphics		Intel® HD Graphics 2500
Graphics interfaces
Number of displays supported		3
Wireless Display (WiDi) support
Security & Reliability
Anti-Theft technology
Execute Disable Bit (EDB)
Intel® Identity Protection technology
Intel® Secure Key technology
Intel® Trusted Execution technology (TXT)
Advanced Technologies
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® technology
Flexible Display interface (FDI)
Idle States
Instruction set extensions		Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX
Intel 64
Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX)
Intel® AES New Instructions
Intel® Hyper-Threading technology
Intel® TSX-NI
Intel® Turbo Boost technology
Intel® vPro™ Platform Eligibility
Thermal Monitoring
Virtualization
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)
Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)
Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)