AMD Athlon II X4 640 vs Intel Pentium D 950

Comparative analysis of AMD Athlon II X4 640 and Intel Pentium D 950 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, 3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score, 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).

AMD Athlon II X4 640

Intel Pentium D 950

Differences

Reasons to consider the AMD Athlon II X4 640

CPU is newer: launch date 4 year(s) 3 month(s) later
2 more cores, run more applications at once: 4 vs 2
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 45 nm vs 65 nm
18.3x more L1 cache, more data can be stored in the L1 cache for quick access later
Around 37% lower typical power consumption: 95 Watt vs 130 Watt
Around 74% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1212 vs 695
3.3x better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 2262 vs 681
Around 63% better performance in Geekbench 4 - Single Core: 358 vs 220
3.1x better performance in Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core: 1191 vs 389

Specifications (specs)
Launch date	May 2010 vs January 2006
Number of cores	4 vs 2
Manufacturing process technology	45 nm vs 65 nm
L1 cache	128 KB (per core) vs 28 KB
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	95 Watt vs 130 Watt
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	1212 vs 695
PassMark - CPU mark	2262 vs 681
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	358 vs 220
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	1191 vs 389

Reasons to consider the Intel Pentium D 950

Around 13% higher clock speed: 3.4 GHz vs 3 GHz
2x more L2 cache, more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later

Maximum frequency	3.4 GHz vs 3 GHz
L2 cache	4096 KB vs 512 KB (per core)
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	2 vs 1

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: AMD Athlon II X4 640
CPU 2: Intel Pentium D 950

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1212

695

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

2262

681

Geekbench 4 - Single Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

358

220

Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

1191

389

Name	AMD Athlon II X4 640	Intel Pentium D 950
PassMark - Single thread mark	1212	695
PassMark - CPU mark	2262	681
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	358	220
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	1191	389
3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score	0
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)	2.776
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)	7.618
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)	0.17
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)	4.052

Compare specifications (specs)

	AMD Athlon II X4 640	Intel Pentium D 950
Essentials
Architecture codename	Propus	Presler
Launch date	May 2010	January 2006
Launch price (MSRP)	$80
Place in performance rating	3034	3051
Price now	$239.95
Value for money (0-100)	4.07
Vertical segment	Desktop	Desktop
Processor Number		950
Series		Legacy Intel® Pentium® Processor
Status		Discontinued
Performance
64 bit support
Die size	169 mm	162 mm2
L1 cache	128 KB (per core)	28 KB
L2 cache	512 KB (per core)	4096 KB
Manufacturing process technology	45 nm	65 nm
Maximum frequency	3 GHz	3.4 GHz
Number of cores	4	2
Transistor count	300 million	376 million
Base frequency		3.40 GHz
Bus Speed		800 MHz FSB
Maximum core temperature		C1+D0=63.4°C, B1=68.6°C
VID voltage range		1.200V-1.3375V
Memory
Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR1, DDR2, DDR3
Compatibility
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	1	2
Sockets supported	AM3	PLGA775
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	95 Watt	130 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
FSB parity
Idle States
Intel 64
Intel® AES New Instructions
Intel® Demand Based Switching
Intel® Hyper-Threading technology
Intel® Turbo Boost technology
Physical Address Extensions (PAE)		32-bit
Thermal Monitoring
Virtualization
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)
Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)