Intel Core i5-2500 vs AMD Athlon II X2 260

Comparative analysis of Intel Core i5-2500 and AMD Athlon II X2 260 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 i5-2500

AMD Athlon II X2 260

Differences

Reasons to consider the Intel Core i5-2500

CPU is newer: launch date 8 month(s) later
2 more cores, run more applications at once: 4 vs 2
Around 16% higher clock speed: 3.70 GHz vs 3.2 GHz
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 32 nm vs 45 nm
2x more L1 cache, more data can be stored in the L1 cache for quick access later
Around 36% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1707 vs 1252
3.5x better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 4125 vs 1167
Around 93% better performance in Geekbench 4 - Single Core: 712 vs 369
3.5x better performance in Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core: 2283 vs 651

Specifications (specs)
Launch date	January 2011 vs May 2010
Number of cores	4 vs 2
Maximum frequency	3.70 GHz vs 3.2 GHz
Manufacturing process technology	32 nm vs 45 nm
L1 cache	64 KB (per core) vs 128 KB
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	1707 vs 1252
PassMark - CPU mark	4125 vs 1167
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	712 vs 369
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	2283 vs 651

Reasons to consider the AMD Athlon II X2 260

Around 46% lower typical power consumption: 65 Watt vs 95 Watt

Thermal Design Power (TDP)	65 Watt vs 95 Watt

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: Intel Core i5-2500
CPU 2: AMD Athlon II X2 260

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1707

1252

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

4125

1167

Geekbench 4 - Single Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

712

369

Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

2283

651

Name	Intel Core i5-2500	AMD Athlon II X2 260
PassMark - Single thread mark	1707	1252
PassMark - CPU mark	4125	1167
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	712	369
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	2283	651
3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score	2388
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)	3.022
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)	57.075
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)	0.373
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s)	1.772
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)	4.47

Compare specifications (specs)

	Intel Core i5-2500	AMD Athlon II X2 260
Essentials
Architecture codename	Sandy Bridge	Regor
Launch date	January 2011	May 2010
Launch price (MSRP)	$85	$48
Place in performance rating	2427	2429
Price now	$88.99	$19.99
Processor Number	i5-2500
Series	Legacy Intel® Core™ Processors
Status	Discontinued
Value for money (0-100)	20.95	27.59
Vertical segment	Desktop	Desktop
Performance
64 bit support
Base frequency	3.30 GHz
Bus Speed	5 GT/s DMI
Die size	216 mm	117 mm
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	128 KB
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	1024 KB
L3 cache	6144 KB (shared)
Manufacturing process technology	32 nm	45 nm
Maximum core temperature	72.6°C
Maximum frequency	3.70 GHz	3.2 GHz
Number of cores	4	2
Number of threads	4
Transistor count	1160 million	410 million
Memory
Max memory channels	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	21 GB/s
Maximum memory size	32 GB
Supported memory types	DDR3 1066/1333	DDR3
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	LGA1155	AM3
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	95 Watt	65 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® Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX)
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)