Intel Core 2 Duo E6540 vs AMD Athlon II X4 600e

Comparative analysis of Intel Core 2 Duo E6540 and AMD Athlon II X4 600e 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 Core 2 Duo E6540

AMD Athlon II X4 600e

Differences

Reasons to consider the Intel Core 2 Duo E6540

Around 6% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 969 vs 913

Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	969 vs 913

Reasons to consider the AMD Athlon II X4 600e

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
Around 44% lower typical power consumption: 45 Watt vs 65 Watt
2.2x better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 1795 vs 808

Specifications (specs)
Number of cores	4 vs 2
Manufacturing process technology	45 nm vs 65 nm
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	45 Watt vs 65 Watt
Benchmarks
PassMark - CPU mark	1795 vs 808

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: Intel Core 2 Duo E6540
CPU 2: AMD Athlon II X4 600e

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

969

913

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

808

1795

Name	Intel Core 2 Duo E6540	AMD Athlon II X4 600e
PassMark - Single thread mark	969	913
PassMark - CPU mark	808	1795

Compare specifications (specs)

	Intel Core 2 Duo E6540	AMD Athlon II X4 600e
Essentials
Architecture codename	Conroe	Propus
Launch date	Q3'07	October 2009
Place in performance rating	2339	2389
Processor Number	E6540
Series	Legacy Intel® Core™ Processors
Status	Discontinued
Vertical segment	Desktop	Desktop
Launch price (MSRP)		$130
Price now		$130.23
Value for money (0-100)		5.55
Performance
64 bit support
Base frequency	2.33 GHz
Bus Speed	1333 MHz FSB
Die size	143 mm2	169 mm
Manufacturing process technology	65 nm	45 nm
Maximum core temperature	72°C
Number of cores	2	4
Transistor count	291 million	300 million
VID voltage range	0.8500V-1.5V
L1 cache		128 KB (per core)
L2 cache		512 KB (per core)
Maximum frequency		2.2 GHz
Compatibility
Low Halogen Options Available
Package Size	37.5mm x 37.5mm
Sockets supported	PLGA775	AM3
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	65 Watt	45 Watt
Max number of CPUs in a configuration		1
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
Thermal Monitoring
Virtualization
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)
Memory
Supported memory types		DDR3