AMD Phenom II X2 550 vs AMD Phenom X3 8600

Comparative analysis of AMD Phenom II X2 550 and AMD Phenom X3 8600 processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Compatibility, Virtualization. Benchmark processor performance analysis: PassMark - Single thread mark, PassMark - CPU mark, Geekbench 4 - Single Core, Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core.

AMD Phenom II X2 550

AMD Phenom X3 8600

Differences

Reasons to consider the AMD Phenom II X2 550

CPU is newer: launch date 1 year(s) 8 month(s) later
Around 35% higher clock speed: 3.1 GHz vs 2.3 GHz
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 45 nm vs 65 nm
3x more L3 cache, more data can be stored in the L3 cache for quick access later
Around 19% lower typical power consumption: 80 Watt vs 95 Watt

Launch date	November 2009 vs March 2008
Maximum frequency	3.1 GHz vs 2.3 GHz
Manufacturing process technology	45 nm vs 65 nm
L3 cache	6144 KB (shared) vs 2048 KB (shared)
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	80 Watt vs 95 Watt

Reasons to consider the AMD Phenom X3 8600

1 more cores, run more applications at once: 3 vs 2
Around 50% more L1 cache; more data can be stored in the L1 cache for quick access later
Around 50% more L2 cache; more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later

Number of cores	3 vs 2
L1 cache	128 KB (per core) vs 128 KB (per core)
L2 cache	512 KB (per core) vs 512 KB (per core)

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: AMD Phenom II X2 550
CPU 2: AMD Phenom X3 8600

Name	AMD Phenom II X2 550	AMD Phenom X3 8600
PassMark - Single thread mark	1233
PassMark - CPU mark	1167
Geekbench 4 - Single Core		1030
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core		2486

Compare specifications (specs)

	AMD Phenom II X2 550	AMD Phenom X3 8600
Essentials
Architecture codename	Callisto	Toliman
Launch date	November 2009	March 2008
Launch price (MSRP)	$133
Place in performance rating	2042	2027
Price now	$49.99
Value for money (0-100)	11.92
Vertical segment	Desktop	Desktop
Performance
64 bit support
Die size	258 mm	285 mm
L1 cache	128 KB (per core)	128 KB (per core)
L2 cache	512 KB (per core)	512 KB (per core)
L3 cache	6144 KB (shared)	2048 KB (shared)
Manufacturing process technology	45 nm	65 nm
Maximum frequency	3.1 GHz	2.3 GHz
Number of cores	2	3
Transistor count	758 million	450 million
Memory
Supported memory types	DDR3
Compatibility
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	1	1
Sockets supported	AM3	AM2+
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	80 Watt	95 Watt
Virtualization
AMD Virtualization (AMD-V™)