AMD Athlon II X2 255 vs Intel Pentium 4 HT 521

Comparative analysis of AMD Athlon II X2 255 and Intel Pentium 4 HT 521 processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Compatibility, Security & Reliability, Advanced Technologies, Virtualization. Benchmark processor performance analysis: PassMark - Single thread mark, PassMark - CPU mark, Geekbench 4 - Single Core, Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core.

AMD Athlon II X2 255

Intel Pentium 4 HT 521

Differences

Reasons to consider the AMD Athlon II X2 255

CPU is newer: launch date 4 year(s) 7 month(s) later
1 more cores, run more applications at once: 2 vs 1
Around 11% higher clock speed: 3.1 GHz vs 2.8 GHz
Around 6% higher maximum core temperature: 72°C vs 67.7°C
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 45 nm vs 90 nm
16x more L1 cache, more data can be stored in the L1 cache for quick access later
2x more L2 cache, more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later
Around 87% lower typical power consumption: 45 Watt vs 84 Watt

Launch date	January 2010 vs June 2005
Number of cores	2 vs 1
Maximum frequency	3.1 GHz vs 2.8 GHz
Maximum core temperature	72°C vs 67.7°C
Manufacturing process technology	45 nm vs 90 nm
L1 cache	256 KB vs 16 KB
L2 cache	2 MB vs 1024 KB
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	45 Watt vs 84 Watt

Reasons to consider the Intel Pentium 4 HT 521

2.3x better performance in Geekbench 4 - Single Core: 801 vs 353
Around 37% better performance in Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core: 906 vs 660

Benchmarks
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	801 vs 353
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	906 vs 660

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: AMD Athlon II X2 255
CPU 2: Intel Pentium 4 HT 521

Geekbench 4 - Single Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

353

801

Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

660

906

Name	AMD Athlon II X2 255	Intel Pentium 4 HT 521
PassMark - Single thread mark	1237
PassMark - CPU mark	1199
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	353	801
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	660	906

Compare specifications (specs)

	AMD Athlon II X2 255	Intel Pentium 4 HT 521
Essentials
Architecture codename	Regor	Prescott
Family	AMD Athlon Processors
Launch date	January 2010	June 2005
Launch price (MSRP)	$60
OPN PIB	AD255EHDGMBOX
OPN Tray	AD255EHDK23GM
Place in performance rating	2540	2526
Price now	$65.22
Series	AMD Athlon II X2	Legacy Intel® Pentium® Processor
Value for money (0-100)	8.34
Vertical segment	Desktop	Desktop
Processor Number		521
Status		Discontinued
Performance
64 bit support
Base frequency	3.1 GHz	2.80 GHz
Die size	117 mm	112 mm2
L1 cache	256 KB	16 KB
L2 cache	2 MB	1024 KB
Manufacturing process technology	45 nm	90 nm
Maximum core temperature	72°C	67.7°C
Maximum frequency	3.1 GHz	2.8 GHz
Number of cores	2	1
Number of threads	2
Transistor count	410 million	125 million
Unlocked
Bus Speed		800 MHz FSB
VID voltage range		1.200V-1.425V
Memory
Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR1, DDR2, DDR3
Compatibility
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	1	1
Sockets supported	AM3	PLGA775
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	45 Watt	84 Watt
Low Halogen Options Available
Package Size		37.5mm x 37.5mm
Security & Reliability
Execute Disable Bit (EDB)
Intel® Trusted Execution technology (TXT)
Advanced Technologies
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® technology
Idle States
Intel 64
Intel® Demand Based Switching
Intel® Hyper-Threading technology
Intel® Turbo Boost technology
Virtualization
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)