AMD Athlon II X3 450 vs Intel Core i3-540

Comparative analysis of AMD Athlon II X3 450 and Intel Core i3-540 processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Compatibility, Graphics, Graphics interfaces, Peripherals, 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 - Face Detection (mPixels/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s).

AMD Athlon II X3 450

Intel Core i3-540

Differences

Reasons to consider the AMD Athlon II X3 450

CPU is newer: launch date 8 month(s) later
1 more cores, run more applications at once: 3 vs 2
Around 5% higher clock speed: 3.2 GHz vs 3.06 GHz
3x more L1 cache, more data can be stored in the L1 cache for quick access later
3x more L2 cache, more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later
Around 2% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1301 vs 1272
Around 20% better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 1847 vs 1538
2.9x better performance in CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s): 1.488 vs 0.508
Around 41% better performance in CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s): 3.184 vs 2.263

Specifications (specs)
Launch date	September 2010 vs January 2010
Number of cores	3 vs 2
Maximum frequency	3.2 GHz vs 3.06 GHz
L1 cache	128 KB (per core) vs 64 KB (per core)
L2 cache	512 KB (per core) vs 256 KB (per core)
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	1301 vs 1272
PassMark - CPU mark	1847 vs 1538
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)	1.488 vs 0.508
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)	3.184 vs 2.263

Reasons to consider the Intel Core i3-540

A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 32 nm vs 45 nm
Around 30% lower typical power consumption: 73 Watt vs 95 Watt
Around 23% better performance in Geekbench 4 - Single Core: 459 vs 372
Around 8% better performance in Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core: 1015 vs 941
8.5x better performance in CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s): 29.815 vs 3.501
Around 66% better performance in CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s): 0.151 vs 0.091

Specifications (specs)
Manufacturing process technology	32 nm vs 45 nm
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	73 Watt vs 95 Watt
Benchmarks
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	459 vs 372
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	1015 vs 941
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)	29.815 vs 3.501
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)	0.151 vs 0.091

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: AMD Athlon II X3 450
CPU 2: Intel Core i3-540

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1301

1272

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1847

1538

Geekbench 4 - Single Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

372

459

Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

941

1015

CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)

CPU 1

CPU 2

1.488

0.508

CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)

CPU 1

CPU 2

3.501

29.815

CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)

CPU 1

CPU 2

0.091

0.151

CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)

CPU 1

CPU 2

3.184

2.263

Name	AMD Athlon II X3 450	Intel Core i3-540
PassMark - Single thread mark	1301	1272
PassMark - CPU mark	1847	1538
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	372	459
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	941	1015
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)	1.488	0.508
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)	3.501	29.815
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)	0.091	0.151
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)	3.184	2.263
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s)		0.816

Compare specifications (specs)

	AMD Athlon II X3 450	Intel Core i3-540
Essentials
Architecture codename	Rana	Clarkdale
Launch date	September 2010	January 2010
Launch price (MSRP)	$45	$45
Place in performance rating	2961	2964
Price now	$39.99	$21
Value for money (0-100)	19.32	37.72
Vertical segment	Desktop	Desktop
Processor Number		i3-540
Series		Legacy Intel® Core™ Processors
Status		Discontinued
Performance
64 bit support
Die size	169 mm	81 mm2
L1 cache	128 KB (per core)	64 KB (per core)
L2 cache	512 KB (per core)	256 KB (per core)
Manufacturing process technology	45 nm	32 nm
Maximum frequency	3.2 GHz	3.06 GHz
Number of cores	3	2
Transistor count	300 million	382 million
Base frequency		3.06 GHz
Bus Speed		2.5 GT/s DMI
L3 cache		4096 KB (shared)
Maximum core temperature		72.6°C
Number of threads		4
VID voltage range		0.6500V-1.4000V
Memory
Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR3 1066/1333
Max memory channels		2
Maximum memory bandwidth		21 GB/s
Maximum memory size		16.38 GB
Compatibility
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	1	1
Sockets supported	AM3	FCLGA1156
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	95 Watt	73 Watt
Low Halogen Options Available
Package Size		37.5mm x 37.5mm
Graphics
Graphics base frequency		733 MHz
Intel® Clear Video HD technology
Intel® Flexible Display Interface (Intel® FDI)
Processor graphics		Intel HD Graphics
Graphics interfaces
Number of displays supported		2
Peripherals
Max number of PCIe lanes		16
PCI Express revision		2.0
PCIe configurations		1x16, 2x8
Security & Reliability
Execute Disable Bit (EDB)
Intel® Trusted Execution technology (TXT)
Advanced Technologies
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® technology
Flexible Display interface (FDI)
Idle States
Instruction set extensions		Intel® SSE4.2
Intel 64
Intel® AES New Instructions
Intel® Demand Based Switching
Intel® Hyper-Threading technology
Intel® Turbo Boost technology
Intel® vPro™ Platform Eligibility
Physical Address Extensions (PAE)		36-bit
Thermal Monitoring
Virtualization
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)
Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)