AMD Athlon II X3 450 vs Intel Core i3-550

Comparative analysis of AMD Athlon II X3 450 and Intel Core i3-550 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 i3-550

Differences

Reasons to consider the AMD Athlon II X3 450

CPU is newer: launch date 4 month(s) later
1 more cores, run more applications at once: 3 vs 2
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 15% better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 1847 vs 1609
2.8x better performance in CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s): 1.488 vs 0.529
Around 35% better performance in CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s): 3.184 vs 2.358

Specifications (specs)
Launch date	September 2010 vs May 2010
Number of cores	3 vs 2
L1 cache	128 KB (per core) vs 64 KB (per core)
L2 cache	512 KB (per core) vs 256 KB (per core)
Benchmarks
PassMark - CPU mark	1847 vs 1609
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)	1.488 vs 0.529
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)	3.184 vs 2.358

Reasons to consider the Intel Core i3-550

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 3% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1340 vs 1301
Around 28% better performance in Geekbench 4 - Single Core: 478 vs 372
Around 13% better performance in Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core: 1061 vs 941
8.9x better performance in CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s): 31.203 vs 3.501
Around 71% better performance in CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s): 0.156 vs 0.091

Specifications (specs)
Manufacturing process technology	32 nm vs 45 nm
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	73 Watt vs 95 Watt
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	1340 vs 1301
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	478 vs 372
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	1061 vs 941
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)	31.203 vs 3.501
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)	0.156 vs 0.091

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: AMD Athlon II X3 450
CPU 2: Intel Core i3-550

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1301

1340

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1847

1609

Geekbench 4 - Single Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

372

478

Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

941

1061

CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)

CPU 1

CPU 2

1.488

0.529

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

CPU 1

CPU 2

3.501

31.203

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

CPU 1

CPU 2

0.091

0.156

CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)

CPU 1

CPU 2

3.184

2.358

Name	AMD Athlon II X3 450	Intel Core i3-550
PassMark - Single thread mark	1301	1340
PassMark - CPU mark	1847	1609
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	372	478
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	941	1061
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)	1.488	0.529
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)	3.501	31.203
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)	0.091	0.156
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)	3.184	2.358
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s)		0.842

Compare specifications (specs)

	AMD Athlon II X3 450	Intel Core i3-550
Essentials
Architecture codename	Rana	Clarkdale
Launch date	September 2010	May 2010
Launch price (MSRP)	$45	$101
Place in performance rating	2961	2923
Price now	$39.99	$179.95
Value for money (0-100)	19.32	4.63
Vertical segment	Desktop	Desktop
Processor Number		i3-550
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	3.2 GHz
Number of cores	3	2
Transistor count	300 million	382 million
Base frequency		3.20 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)