Intel Core i3-540 vs AMD Athlon 64 2800+

Comparative analysis of Intel Core i3-540 and AMD Athlon 64 2800+ 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).

Intel Core i3-540

AMD Athlon 64 2800+

Differences

Reasons to consider the Intel Core i3-540

CPU is newer: launch date 5 year(s) 9 month(s) later
1 more cores, run more applications at once: 2 vs 1
Around 70% higher clock speed: 3.06 GHz vs 1.8 GHz
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 32 nm vs 130 nm
Around 22% lower typical power consumption: 73 Watt vs 89 Watt
2.5x better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1269 vs 511
3.5x better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 1540 vs 438

Specifications (specs)
Launch date	January 2010 vs April 2004
Number of cores	2 vs 1
Maximum frequency	3.06 GHz vs 1.8 GHz
Manufacturing process technology	32 nm vs 130 nm
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	73 Watt vs 89 Watt
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	1269 vs 511
PassMark - CPU mark	1540 vs 438

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: Intel Core i3-540
CPU 2: AMD Athlon 64 2800+

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1269

511

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1540

438

Name	Intel Core i3-540	AMD Athlon 64 2800+
PassMark - Single thread mark	1269	511
PassMark - CPU mark	1540	438
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	459
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	1015
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)	0.508
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)	29.815
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)	0.151
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s)	0.816
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)	2.263

Compare specifications (specs)

	Intel Core i3-540	AMD Athlon 64 2800+
Essentials
Architecture codename	Clarkdale	NewCastle
Launch date	January 2010	April 2004
Launch price (MSRP)	$45	$100
Place in performance rating	2965	2976
Price now	$21	$99.99
Processor Number	i3-540
Series	Legacy Intel® Core™ Processors
Status	Discontinued
Value for money (0-100)	37.72	1.29
Vertical segment	Desktop	Desktop
Performance
64 bit support
Base frequency	3.06 GHz
Bus Speed	2.5 GT/s DMI
Die size	81 mm2	144 mm
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	128 KB
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	512 KB
L3 cache	4096 KB (shared)
Manufacturing process technology	32 nm	130 nm
Maximum core temperature	72.6°C
Maximum frequency	3.06 GHz	1.8 GHz
Number of cores	2	1
Number of threads	4
Transistor count	382 million	69 million
VID voltage range	0.6500V-1.4000V
Memory
Max memory channels	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	21 GB/s
Maximum memory size	16.38 GB
Supported memory types	DDR3 1066/1333
Graphics
Graphics base frequency	733 MHz
Intel® Clear Video HD technology
Intel® Flexible Display Interface (Intel® FDI)
Processor graphics	Intel HD Graphics
Graphics interfaces
Number of displays supported	2
Compatibility
Low Halogen Options Available
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	1	1
Package Size	37.5mm x 37.5mm
Sockets supported	FCLGA1156	754
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	73 Watt	89 Watt
Peripherals
Max number of PCIe lanes	16
PCI Express revision	2.0
PCIe configurations	1x16, 2x8
Security & Reliability
Execute Disable Bit (EDB)
Intel® Trusted Execution technology (TXT)
Advanced Technologies
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® technology
Flexible Display interface (FDI)
Idle States
Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.2
Intel 64
Intel® AES New Instructions
Intel® Demand Based Switching
Intel® Hyper-Threading technology
Intel® Turbo Boost technology
Intel® vPro™ Platform Eligibility
Physical Address Extensions (PAE)	36-bit
Thermal Monitoring
Virtualization
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)
Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)