Phenom II X3 720 BE vs Athlon X4 950
Primary details
Comparing Athlon X4 950 and Phenom II X3 720 BE processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 1828 | not rated |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 3.66 | no data |
| Market segment | Desktop processor | Desktop processor |
| Power efficiency | 3.29 | no data |
| Architecture codename | Bristol Ridge (2016−2019) | Heka (2009−2010) |
| Release date | 27 July 2017 (7 years ago) | 9 February 2009 (15 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $60 | no data |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Athlon X4 950 and Phenom II X3 720 BE 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) | 3 (Tri-Core) |
| Threads | 4 | 3 |
| Base clock speed | 3.5 GHz | 2.8 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3.8 GHz | 2.8 GHz |
| L1 cache | 128 KB (per core) | 128 KB (per core) |
| L2 cache | 512 KB (per core) | 512 KB (per core) |
| L3 cache | 0 KB | 6 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 28 nm | 45 nm |
| Die size | 246 mm2 | 258 mm2 |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | 74 °C | no data |
| Number of transistors | 1,178 million | 758 million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
| Unlocked multiplier | + | + |
Compatibility
Information on Athlon X4 950 and Phenom II X3 720 BE 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 | AM4 | AM3 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 65 Watt | 95 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Athlon X4 950 and Phenom II X3 720 BE. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| AES-NI | + | - |
| FMA | + | - |
| AVX | + | - |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Athlon X4 950 and Phenom II X3 720 BE are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | + | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Athlon X4 950 and Phenom II X3 720 BE. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR4 Dual-channel | DDR3 |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | no data | On certain motherboards (Chipset feature) |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Athlon X4 950 and Phenom II X3 720 BE.
| PCIe version | no data | 2.0 |
Pros & cons summary
| Recency | 27 July 2017 | 9 February 2009 |
| Physical cores | 4 | 3 |
| Threads | 4 | 3 |
| Chip lithography | 28 nm | 45 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 65 Watt | 95 Watt |
Athlon X4 950 has an age advantage of 8 years, 33.3% more physical cores and 33.3% more threads, a 60.7% more advanced lithography process, and 46.2% lower power consumption.
We couldn't decide between Athlon X4 950 and Phenom II X3 720 BE. We've got no test results to judge.
Should you still have questions on choice between Athlon X4 950 and Phenom II X3 720 BE, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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