AMD Phenom II X3 720 BE vs AMD Athlon XP 2500+

Comparative analysis of AMD Phenom II X3 720 BE and AMD Athlon XP 2500+ processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Compatibility. Benchmark processor performance analysis: CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s), PassMark - Single thread mark, PassMark - CPU mark.

AMD Phenom II X3 720 BE

AMD Athlon XP 2500+

Differences

Reasons to consider the AMD Phenom II X3 720 BE

CPU is newer: launch date 6 year(s) 0 month(s) later
Processor is unlocked, an unlocked multiplier allows for easier overclocking
2 more cores, run more applications at once: 3 vs 1
Around 53% higher clock speed: 2.8 GHz vs 1.83 GHz
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 45 nm vs 130 nm
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

Launch date	February 2009 vs February 2003
Unlocked	Unlocked vs Locked
Number of cores	3 vs 1
Maximum frequency	2.8 GHz vs 1.83 GHz
Manufacturing process technology	45 nm vs 130 nm
L1 cache	128 KB (per core) vs 128 KB
L2 cache	512 KB (per core) vs 512 KB

Reasons to consider the AMD Athlon XP 2500+

Around 40% lower typical power consumption: 68 Watt vs 95 Watt

Thermal Design Power (TDP)	68 Watt vs 95 Watt

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: AMD Phenom II X3 720 BE
CPU 2: AMD Athlon XP 2500+

Name	AMD Phenom II X3 720 BE	AMD Athlon XP 2500+
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)	0.161
PassMark - Single thread mark		353
PassMark - CPU mark		231

Compare specifications (specs)

	AMD Phenom II X3 720 BE	AMD Athlon XP 2500+
Essentials
Architecture codename	Heka	Barton
Launch date	February 2009	February 2003
Place in performance rating	3211	3199
Vertical segment	Desktop	Desktop
Performance
64 bit support
Die size	258 mm	101 mm
L1 cache	128 KB (per core)	128 KB
L2 cache	512 KB (per core)	512 KB
L3 cache	6144 KB (shared)
Manufacturing process technology	45 nm	130 nm
Maximum frequency	2.8 GHz	1.83 GHz
Number of cores	3	1
Transistor count	758 million	63 million
Unlocked
Memory
Supported memory types	DDR3
Compatibility
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	1	1
Sockets supported	AM3	A
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	95 Watt	68 Watt