AMD Athlon II X3 450 vs Intel Core i5-660

Comparative analysis of AMD Athlon II X3 450 and Intel Core i5-660 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 i5-660

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
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
6.6x better performance in CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s): 1.488 vs 0.226
Around 34% better performance in CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s): 0.091 vs 0.068
2.3x better performance in CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s): 3.184 vs 1.375

Specifications (specs)
Launch date	September 2010 vs January 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
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)	1.488 vs 0.226
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)	0.091 vs 0.068
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)	3.184 vs 1.375

Reasons to consider the Intel Core i5-660

Around 13% higher clock speed: 3.60 GHz vs 3.2 GHz
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 10% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1426 vs 1302
Around 29% better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 2400 vs 1858
Around 41% better performance in Geekbench 4 - Single Core: 524 vs 372
Around 23% better performance in Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core: 1157 vs 941
3.7x better performance in CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s): 13.08 vs 3.501

Specifications (specs)
Maximum frequency	3.60 GHz vs 3.2 GHz
Manufacturing process technology	32 nm vs 45 nm
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	73 Watt vs 95 Watt
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	1426 vs 1302
PassMark - CPU mark	2400 vs 1858
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	524 vs 372
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	1157 vs 941
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)	13.08 vs 3.501

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: AMD Athlon II X3 450
CPU 2: Intel Core i5-660

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1302

1426

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1858

2400

Geekbench 4 - Single Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

372

524

Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

941

1157

CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)

CPU 1

CPU 2

1.488

0.226

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

CPU 1

CPU 2

3.501

13.08

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

CPU 1

CPU 2

0.091

0.068

CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)

CPU 1

CPU 2

3.184

1.375

Name	AMD Athlon II X3 450	Intel Core i5-660
PassMark - Single thread mark	1302	1426
PassMark - CPU mark	1858	2400
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	372	524
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	941	1157
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)	1.488	0.226
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)	3.501	13.08
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)	0.091	0.068
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)	3.184	1.375
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s)		0.306

Compare specifications (specs)

	AMD Athlon II X3 450	Intel Core i5-660
Essentials
Architecture codename	Rana	Clarkdale
Launch date	September 2010	January 2010
Launch price (MSRP)	$45	$70
Place in performance rating	2962	2966
Price now	$39.99	$49
Value for money (0-100)	19.32	19.54
Vertical segment	Desktop	Desktop
Processor Number		i5-660
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	3.60 GHz
Number of cores	3	2
Transistor count	300 million	382 million
Base frequency		3.33 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® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)
Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)