Core i5-520M vs Athlon II X4 640
Aggregate performance score
Athlon II X4 640 outperforms i5-520M by a substantial 31% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Athlon II X4 640 and Core i5-520M processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in performance ranking | 2098 | 2298 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 2.92 | no data |
| Market segment | Desktop processor | Laptop |
| Series | no data | Intel Core i5 |
| Architecture codename | Propus (2009−2011) | Arrandale (2010−2011) |
| Release date | 11 May 2010 (14 years ago) | 4 January 2010 (14 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $80 | $225 |
| Current price | $42 (0.5x MSRP) | $108 (0.5x MSRP) |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Athlon II X4 640 and Core i5-520M basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.
| Physical cores | 4 (Quad-Core) | 2 (Dual-core) |
| Threads | 4 | 4 |
| Base clock speed | 3 GHz | 2.4 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3 GHz | 2.93 GHz |
| Bus support | no data | 2500 MHz |
| L1 cache | 128 KB (per core) | 128 KB |
| L2 cache | 512 KB (per core) | 512 KB |
| L3 cache | 0 KB | 3 MB |
| Chip lithography | 45 nm | 32 nm |
| Die size | 169 mm2 | 81+114 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | no data | 105 °C |
| Number of transistors | 300 million | 382+177 Million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
| Unlocked multiplier | No | No |
Compatibility
Information on Athlon II X4 640 and Core i5-520M compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.
| Number of CPUs in a configuration | 1 | 1 |
| Socket | AM3 | BGA1288,PGA988 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 95 Watt | 35 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Athlon II X4 640 and Core i5-520M. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | no data | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2 |
| AES-NI | no data | + |
| FMA | no data | + |
| vPro | no data | + |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | no data | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | no data | + |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | no data | + |
| Idle States | no data | + |
| Thermal Monitoring | no data | + |
| Flex Memory Access | no data | + |
| PAE | no data | 36 Bit |
| FDI | no data | + |
| Fast Memory Access | no data | + |
| Status | no data | Discontinued |
Security technologies
Athlon II X4 640 and Core i5-520M technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | no data | + |
| EDB | no data | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Athlon II X4 640 and Core i5-520M are enumerated here.
| VT-d | no data | + |
| VT-x | no data | + |
| EPT | no data | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Athlon II X4 640 and Core i5-520M. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3 | DDR3-800, DDR3-1066 |
| Maximum memory size | no data | 8.3 GB |
| Max memory channels | no data | 2 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | no data | 17.1 GB/s |
| ECC memory support | no data | - |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | no data | Intel® HD Graphics for Previous Generation Intel® Processors |
| Clear Video | no data | + |
| Clear Video HD | no data | + |
| Graphics max frequency | no data | 766 MHz |
Graphics interfaces
Available interfaces and connections of Athlon II X4 640 and Core i5-520M integrated GPUs.
| Number of displays supported | no data | 2 |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Athlon II X4 640 and Core i5-520M.
| PCIe version | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | no data | 16 |
Synthetic benchmark performance
Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.
Combined synthetic benchmark score
This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.
Athlon II X4 640 outperforms Core i5-520M by 31% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Passmark
Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance.
Benchmark coverage: 68%
Athlon II X4 640 outperforms Core i5-520M by 30% in Passmark.
GeekBench 5 Single-Core
GeekBench 5 Single-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses only a single CPU core.
Benchmark coverage: 42%
Core i5-520M outperforms Athlon II X4 640 by 16% in GeekBench 5 Single-Core.
GeekBench 5 Multi-Core
GeekBench 5 Multi-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses all available CPU cores.
Benchmark coverage: 42%
Athlon II X4 640 outperforms Core i5-520M by 32% in GeekBench 5 Multi-Core.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 1.45 | 1.11 |
| Recency | 11 May 2010 | 4 January 2010 |
| Physical cores | 4 | 2 |
| Cost | $80 | $225 |
| Chip lithography | 45 nm | 32 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 95 Watt | 35 Watt |
The Athlon II X4 640 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i5-520M in performance tests.
Note that Athlon II X4 640 is a desktop processor while Core i5-520M is a notebook one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Athlon II X4 640 and Core i5-520M, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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