Intel Atom Z540 vs AMD Athlon 850

Comparative analysis of Intel Atom Z540 and AMD Athlon 850 processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Compatibility, Security & Reliability, Advanced Technologies, Virtualization, Memory. Benchmark processor performance analysis: PassMark - Single thread mark, PassMark - CPU mark.

Intel Atom Z540

AMD Athlon 850

Differences

Reasons to consider the Intel Atom Z540

CPU is newer: launch date 7 year(s) 10 month(s) later
Around 119% higher clock speed: 1.86 GHz vs 0.85 GHz
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 45 nm vs 180 nm
2x more L2 cache, more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later
23.5x lower typical power consumption: 2.4 Watt vs 47 Watt

Launch date	April 2008 vs June 2000
Maximum frequency	1.86 GHz vs 0.85 GHz
Manufacturing process technology	45 nm vs 180 nm
L2 cache	512 KB (per core) vs 256 KB
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	2.4 Watt vs 47 Watt

Reasons to consider the AMD Athlon 850

2x more L1 cache, more data can be stored in the L1 cache for quick access later

L1 cache	128 KB vs 64 KB (per core)

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: Intel Atom Z540
CPU 2: AMD Athlon 850

Name	Intel Atom Z540	AMD Athlon 850
PassMark - Single thread mark	0
PassMark - CPU mark	348

Compare specifications (specs)

	Intel Atom Z540	AMD Athlon 850
Essentials
Architecture codename	Silverthorne	Thunderbird
Launch date	April 2008	June 2000
Place in performance rating	3345	not rated
Processor Number	Z540
Series	Legacy Intel Atom® Processors
Status	Discontinued
Vertical segment	Mobile	Desktop
Performance
Base frequency	1.86 GHz
Bus Speed	533 MHz FSB
Die size	26 mm2	120 mm
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	128 KB
L2 cache	512 KB (per core)	256 KB
Manufacturing process technology	45 nm	180 nm
Maximum core temperature	90°C
Maximum frequency	1.86 GHz	0.85 GHz
Number of cores	1	1
Transistor count	47 million	37 million
VID voltage range	0.75 -1.1V
Compatibility
Low Halogen Options Available
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	1	1
Package Size	13mm x 14mm
Scenario Design Power (SDP)	0.96 W
Sockets supported	PBGA441	A
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	2.4 Watt	47 Watt
Security & Reliability
Execute Disable Bit (EDB)
Intel® Trusted Execution technology (TXT)
Advanced Technologies
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® technology
FSB parity
Idle States
Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE2, Intel® SSE3, Intel® SSSE3
Intel 64
Intel® Demand Based Switching
Intel® Hyper-Threading technology
Intel® Turbo Boost technology
Thermal Monitoring
Virtualization
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)
Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)
Memory
Supported memory types		DDR1