Intel Core i3-2120 vs AMD Athlon 64 FX-57

Comparative analysis of Intel Core i3-2120 and AMD Athlon 64 FX-57 processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Graphics, Graphics interfaces, Compatibility, Peripherals, Security & Reliability, Advanced Technologies, Virtualization. Benchmark processor performance analysis: PassMark - Single thread mark, PassMark - CPU mark, Geekbench 4 - Single Core, Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core, 3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score, CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s).

Intel Core i3-2120

AMD Athlon 64 FX-57

Differences

Reasons to consider the Intel Core i3-2120

CPU is newer: launch date 5 year(s) 8 month(s) later
1 more cores, run more applications at once: 2 vs 1
Around 18% higher clock speed: 3.3 GHz vs 2.8 GHz
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 32 nm vs 90 nm
Around 60% lower typical power consumption: 65 Watt vs 104 Watt
2.7x better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1509 vs 552
3.8x better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 1956 vs 517

Specifications (specs)
Launch date	February 2011 vs June 2005
Number of cores	2 vs 1
Maximum frequency	3.3 GHz vs 2.8 GHz
Manufacturing process technology	32 nm vs 90 nm
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	65 Watt vs 104 Watt
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	1509 vs 552
PassMark - CPU mark	1956 vs 517

Reasons to consider the AMD Athlon 64 FX-57

2x more L2 cache, more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later

L2 cache	1024 KB vs 256 KB (per core)

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: Intel Core i3-2120
CPU 2: AMD Athlon 64 FX-57

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1509

552

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1956

517

Name	Intel Core i3-2120	AMD Athlon 64 FX-57
PassMark - Single thread mark	1509	552
PassMark - CPU mark	1956	517
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	577
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	1265
3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score	0
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)	0.073
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)	35.45
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)	0.227
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s)	0.999
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)	2.296

Compare specifications (specs)

	Intel Core i3-2120	AMD Athlon 64 FX-57
Essentials
Architecture codename	Sandy Bridge	San Diego
Launch date	February 2011	June 2005
Launch price (MSRP)	$95
Place in performance rating	2893	2915
Price now	$30
Processor Number	i3-2120
Series	Legacy Intel® Core™ Processors
Status	Launched
Value for money (0-100)	38.51
Vertical segment	Desktop	Desktop
Performance
64 bit support
Base frequency	3.30 GHz
Bus Speed	5 GT/s DMI
Die size	131 mm	115 mm
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	128 KB
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	1024 KB
L3 cache	3072 KB (shared)
Manufacturing process technology	32 nm	90 nm
Maximum core temperature	69.1°C
Maximum frequency	3.3 GHz	2.8 GHz
Number of cores	2	1
Number of threads	4
Transistor count	504 million	114 million
Memory
Max memory channels	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	21 GB/s
Maximum memory size	32 GB
Supported memory types	DDR3 1066/1333
Graphics
Device ID	0x102
Graphics base frequency	850 MHz
Graphics max dynamic frequency	1.10 GHz
Graphics max frequency	1.1 GHz
Intel® Clear Video HD technology
Intel® Flexible Display Interface (Intel® FDI)
Intel® InTru™ 3D technology
Intel® Quick Sync Video
Processor graphics	Intel® HD Graphics 2000
Graphics interfaces
Number of displays supported	2
Wireless Display (WiDi) support
Compatibility
Low Halogen Options Available
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	1	1
Package Size	37.5mm x 37.5mm
Sockets supported	FCLGA1155	939
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	65 Watt	104 Watt
Peripherals
Max number of PCIe lanes	16
PCI Express revision	2.0
Security & Reliability
Execute Disable Bit (EDB)
Intel® Identity Protection technology
Intel® Trusted Execution technology (TXT)
Advanced Technologies
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® technology
Flexible Display interface (FDI)
Idle States
Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX
Intel 64
Intel® AES New Instructions
Intel® Fast Memory Access
Intel® Flex Memory Access
Intel® Hyper-Threading technology
Intel® Turbo Boost technology
Intel® vPro™ Platform Eligibility
Thermal Monitoring
Virtualization
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)
Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)
Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)