Intel Core i3-3217U vs AMD Athlon II X4 640

Comparative analysis of Intel Core i3-3217U and AMD Athlon II X4 640 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, 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), GFXBench 4.0 - T-Rex (Frames), GFXBench 4.0 - T-Rex (Fps), 3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score.

 

Differences

Reasons to consider the Intel Core i3-3217U

  • CPU is newer: launch date 2 year(s) 1 month(s) later
  • A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 22 nm vs 45 nm
  • 5.6x lower typical power consumption: 17 Watt vs 95 Watt
  • 2.8x better performance in CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s): 21.093 vs 7.618
Specifications (specs)
Launch date 3 June 2012 vs May 2010
Manufacturing process technology 22 nm vs 45 nm
Thermal Design Power (TDP) 17 Watt vs 95 Watt
Benchmarks
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s) 21.093 vs 7.618

Reasons to consider the AMD Athlon II X4 640

  • 2 more cores, run more applications at once: 4 vs 2
  • Around 67% higher clock speed: 3 GHz vs 1.8 GHz
  • 4x more L1 cache, more data can be stored in the L1 cache for quick access later
  • 4x more L2 cache, more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later
  • Around 33% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1212 vs 910
  • Around 84% better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 2262 vs 1228
  • Around 9% better performance in Geekbench 4 - Single Core: 358 vs 329
  • Around 60% better performance in Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core: 1191 vs 746
  • 2.4x better performance in CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s): 2.776 vs 1.153
  • Around 12% better performance in CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s): 0.17 vs 0.152
  • 2.8x better performance in CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s): 4.052 vs 1.427
Specifications (specs)
Number of cores 4 vs 2
Maximum frequency 3 GHz vs 1.8 GHz
L1 cache 128 KB (per core) vs 128 KB
L2 cache 512 KB (per core) vs 512 KB
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark 1212 vs 910
PassMark - CPU mark 2262 vs 1228
Geekbench 4 - Single Core 358 vs 329
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core 1191 vs 746
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s) 2.776 vs 1.153
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s) 0.17 vs 0.152
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s) 4.052 vs 1.427

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: Intel Core i3-3217U
CPU 2: AMD Athlon II X4 640

PassMark - Single thread mark
CPU 1
CPU 2
910
1212
PassMark - CPU mark
CPU 1
CPU 2
1228
2262
Geekbench 4 - Single Core
CPU 1
CPU 2
329
358
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core
CPU 1
CPU 2
746
1191
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)
CPU 1
CPU 2
1.153
2.776
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)
CPU 1
CPU 2
21.093
7.618
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)
CPU 1
CPU 2
0.152
0.17
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)
CPU 1
CPU 2
1.427
4.052
Name Intel Core i3-3217U AMD Athlon II X4 640
PassMark - Single thread mark 910 1212
PassMark - CPU mark 1228 2262
Geekbench 4 - Single Core 329 358
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core 746 1191
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s) 1.153 2.776
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s) 21.093 7.618
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s) 0.152 0.17
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s) 0.546
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s) 1.427 4.052
GFXBench 4.0 - T-Rex (Frames) 2739
GFXBench 4.0 - T-Rex (Fps) 2739
3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score 0

Compare specifications (specs)

Intel Core i3-3217U AMD Athlon II X4 640

Essentials

Architecture codename Ivy Bridge Propus
Launch date 3 June 2012 May 2010
Launch price (MSRP) $225 $80
Place in performance rating 2732 3034
Price now $229.99 $239.95
Processor Number i3-3217U
Series Legacy Intel® Core™ Processors
Status Launched
Value for money (0-100) 2.95 4.07
Vertical segment Mobile Desktop

Performance

64 bit support
Base frequency 1.80 GHz
Bus Speed 5 GT/s DMI
Die size 118 mm 169 mm
L1 cache 128 KB 128 KB (per core)
L2 cache 512 KB 512 KB (per core)
L3 cache 3072 KB
Manufacturing process technology 22 nm 45 nm
Maximum core temperature 105 °C
Maximum frequency 1.8 GHz 3 GHz
Number of cores 2 4
Number of threads 4
Transistor count 300 million

Memory

Max memory channels 2
Maximum memory bandwidth 25.6 GB/s
Maximum memory size 32 GB
Supported memory types DDR3/L/-RS 1333/1600 DDR3

Graphics

Device ID 0x166
Graphics base frequency 350 MHz
Graphics max dynamic frequency 1.05 GHz
Graphics max frequency 1.05 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 4000

Graphics interfaces

CRT
DisplayPort
eDP
HDMI
Number of displays supported 3
SDVO
Wireless Display (WiDi) support

Compatibility

Low Halogen Options Available
Max number of CPUs in a configuration 1 1
Package Size 31mm x 24mm
Sockets supported FCBGA1023 AM3
Thermal Design Power (TDP) 17 Watt 95 Watt

Peripherals

Max number of PCIe lanes 16
PCI Express revision 2.0
PCIe configurations 1x16, 2x8, 1x8 2x4

Security & Reliability

Anti-Theft technology
Execute Disable Bit (EDB)
Intel® Identity Protection technology
Intel® Trusted Execution technology (TXT)

Advanced Technologies

4G WiMAX Wireless
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® technology
Flexible Display interface (FDI)
Idle States
Instruction set extensions Intel® AVX
Intel 64
Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX)
Intel® AES New Instructions
Intel® Demand Based Switching
Intel® Fast Memory Access
Intel® Flex Memory Access
Intel® Hyper-Threading technology
Intel® My WiFi 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)