Intel Core i5-6500 vs AMD Athlon II X2 280

Comparative analysis of Intel Core i5-6500 and AMD Athlon II X2 280 processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Graphics, Graphics interfaces, Graphics image quality, Graphics API support, 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), GFXBench 4.0 - Car Chase Offscreen (Frames), GFXBench 4.0 - Manhattan (Frames), GFXBench 4.0 - T-Rex (Frames), GFXBench 4.0 - Car Chase Offscreen (Fps), GFXBench 4.0 - Manhattan (Fps), GFXBench 4.0 - T-Rex (Fps).

Intel Core i5-6500

AMD Athlon II X2 280

Differences

Reasons to consider the Intel Core i5-6500

CPU is newer: launch date 2 year(s) 6 month(s) later
2 more cores, run more applications at once: 4 vs 2
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 14 nm vs 45 nm
2x more L1 cache, more data can be stored in the L1 cache for quick access later
Around 44% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 2107 vs 1462
4.1x better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 5623 vs 1355

Specifications (specs)
Launch date	5 August 2015 vs February 2013
Number of cores	4 vs 2
Manufacturing process technology	14 nm vs 45 nm
L1 cache	256 KB vs 128 KB
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	2107 vs 1462
PassMark - CPU mark	5623 vs 1355

Reasons to consider the AMD Athlon II X2 280

2.2x better performance in Geekbench 4 - Single Core: 1941 vs 899
Around 11% better performance in Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core: 3272 vs 2938

Benchmarks
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	1941 vs 899
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	3272 vs 2938

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: Intel Core i5-6500
CPU 2: AMD Athlon II X2 280

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

2107

1462

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

5623

1355

Geekbench 4 - Single Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

899

1941

Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

2938

3272

Name	Intel Core i5-6500	AMD Athlon II X2 280
PassMark - Single thread mark	2107	1462
PassMark - CPU mark	5623	1355
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	899	1941
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	2938	3272
3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score	2112
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)	3.525
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)	75.209
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)	0.436
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s)	2.188
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)	5.811
GFXBench 4.0 - Car Chase Offscreen (Frames)	1575
GFXBench 4.0 - Manhattan (Frames)	3075
GFXBench 4.0 - T-Rex (Frames)	5455
GFXBench 4.0 - Car Chase Offscreen (Fps)	1575
GFXBench 4.0 - Manhattan (Fps)	3075
GFXBench 4.0 - T-Rex (Fps)	5455

Compare specifications (specs)

	Intel Core i5-6500	AMD Athlon II X2 280
Essentials
Architecture codename	Skylake	Regor
Launch date	5 August 2015	February 2013
Launch price (MSRP)	$192	$100
Place in performance rating	1444	1472
Price now	$234.38	$99.99
Processor Number	i5-6500
Series	6th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors
Status	Launched
Value for money (0-100)	9.10	6.28
Vertical segment	Desktop	Desktop
Performance
64 bit support
Base frequency	3.20 GHz
Bus Speed	8 GT/s DMI3
Die size	177 mm	117 mm
L1 cache	256 KB	128 KB
L2 cache	1 MB	1024 KB
L3 cache	6 MB
Manufacturing process technology	14 nm	45 nm
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	72 °C
Maximum core temperature	71°C
Maximum frequency	3.60 GHz	3.6 GHz
Number of cores	4	2
Number of threads	4
Transistor count		410 million
Memory
Max memory channels	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	34.1 GB/s
Maximum memory size	64 GB
Supported memory types	DDR4-1866/2133, DDR3L-1333/1600 @ 1.35V	DDR2, DDR3
Graphics
Device ID	0x1912
Graphics base frequency	350 MHz
Graphics max dynamic frequency	1.05 GHz
Graphics max frequency	1.05 GHz
Intel® Clear Video HD technology
Intel® Clear Video technology
Intel® InTru™ 3D technology
Intel® Quick Sync Video
Max video memory	64 GB
Processor graphics	Intel® HD Graphics 530
Graphics interfaces
DisplayPort
DVI
eDP
HDMI
Number of displays supported	3
Wireless Display (WiDi) support
Graphics image quality
4K resolution support
Max resolution over DisplayPort	4096x2304@60Hz
Max resolution over eDP	4096x2304@60Hz
Max resolution over HDMI 1.4	4096x2304@24Hz
Max resolution over VGA	N / A
Max resolution over WiDi	1080p
Graphics API support
DirectX	12
OpenGL	4.5
Compatibility
Low Halogen Options Available
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	1	1
Package Size	37.5mm x 37.5mm
Sockets supported	FCLGA1151	AM3
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	65 Watt	65 Watt
Thermal Solution	PCG 2015C (65W)
Peripherals
Max number of PCIe lanes	16
PCI Express revision	3.0
PCIe configurations	Up to 1x16, 2x8, 1x8+2x4
Scalability	1S Only
Security & Reliability
Execute Disable Bit (EDB)
Intel® Identity Protection technology
Intel® Memory Protection Extensions (Intel® MPX)
Intel® OS Guard
Intel® Secure Key technology
Intel® Software Guard Extensions (Intel® SGX)
Intel® Trusted Execution technology (TXT)
Secure Boot
Advanced Technologies
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® technology
Idle States
Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2
Intel 64
Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX)
Intel® AES New Instructions
Intel® Hyper-Threading technology
Intel® Optane™ Memory Supported
Intel® Stable Image Platform Program (SIPP)
Intel® TSX-NI
Intel® Turbo Boost technology
Intel® vPro™ Platform Eligibility
Thermal Monitoring
Virtualization
AMD Virtualization (AMD-V™)
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)
Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)
Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)