AMD Athlon X4 970 vs AMD Athlon II X2 280

Comparative analysis of AMD Athlon X4 970 and AMD Athlon II X2 280 processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Compatibility, Peripherals, Advanced Technologies, Virtualization. Benchmark processor performance analysis: PassMark - Single thread mark, PassMark - CPU mark, Geekbench 4 - Single Core, Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core.

AMD Athlon X4 970

AMD Athlon II X2 280

Differences

Reasons to consider the AMD Athlon X4 970

CPU is newer: launch date 4 year(s) 5 month(s) later
Processor is unlocked, an unlocked multiplier allows for easier overclocking
2 more cores, run more applications at once: 4 vs 2
Around 11% higher clock speed: 4 GHz vs 3.6 GHz
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 28 nm vs 45 nm
4x 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 16% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1700 vs 1462
2.8x better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 3811 vs 1355

Specifications (specs)
Launch date	27 July 2017 vs February 2013
Unlocked	Unlocked vs Locked
Number of cores	4 vs 2
Maximum frequency	4 GHz vs 3.6 GHz
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm vs 45 nm
L1 cache	128 KB (per core) vs 128 KB
L2 cache	2 MB vs 1024 KB
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	1700 vs 1462
PassMark - CPU mark	3811 vs 1355

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: AMD Athlon X4 970
CPU 2: AMD Athlon II X2 280

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1700

1462

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

3811

1355

Name	AMD Athlon X4 970	AMD Athlon II X2 280
PassMark - Single thread mark	1700	1462
PassMark - CPU mark	3811	1355
Geekbench 4 - Single Core		1941
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core		3272

Compare specifications (specs)

	AMD Athlon X4 970	AMD Athlon II X2 280
Essentials
Architecture codename	Bristol Ridge	Regor
Family	AMD Athlon Processors
Launch date	27 July 2017	February 2013
OPN PIB	AD970XAUABBOX
OPN Tray	AD970XAUM44AB
Place in performance rating	1500	1477
Series	AMD Athlon X4
Vertical segment	Desktop	Desktop
Launch price (MSRP)		$100
Price now		$99.99
Value for money (0-100)		6.28
Performance
64 bit support
Base frequency	3.8 GHz
Die size	246 mm	117 mm
L1 cache	128 KB (per core)	128 KB
L2 cache	2 MB	1024 KB
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	45 nm
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	74 °C
Maximum frequency	4 GHz	3.6 GHz
Number of cores	4	2
Number of threads	4
Transistor count	1178 million	410 million
Unlocked
Memory
Supported memory frequency	2400 MHz
Supported memory types	DDR4	DDR2, DDR3
Compatibility
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	1	1
Sockets supported	AM4	AM3
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	65 Watt	65 Watt
Peripherals
PCI Express revision	3.0
Advanced Technologies
Fused Multiply-Add (FMA)
Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX)
Intel® AES New Instructions
Virtualization
AMD Virtualization (AMD-V™)