Phenom II X4 840 vs Athlon X4 950
Aggregate performance score
Athlon X4 950 outperforms Phenom II X4 840 by an impressive 50% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Athlon X4 950 and Phenom II X4 840 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in performance ranking | 1717 | 2025 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 3.66 | 3.08 |
| Market segment | Desktop processor | Desktop processor |
| Architecture codename | Bristol Ridge (2016−2019) | Propus (2009−2011) |
| Release date | 27 July 2017 (6 years ago) | 4 January 2011 (13 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $60 | $90 |
| Current price | $52 (0.9x MSRP) | $38 (0.4x MSRP) |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Athlon X4 950 has 19% better value for money than Phenom II X4 840.
Detailed specifications
Athlon X4 950 and Phenom II X4 840 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) | 4 (Quad-Core) |
| Threads | 4 | 4 |
| Base clock speed | 3.5 GHz | 3.2 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3.8 GHz | 3.2 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 | 0 KB |
| Chip lithography | 28 nm | 45 nm |
| Die size | 246 mm2 | 169 mm2 |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | 74 °C | no data |
| Number of transistors | 1,178 million | 300 million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
| Unlocked multiplier | Yes | No |
Compatibility
Information on Athlon X4 950 and Phenom II X4 840 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 X4 840. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| AES-NI | + | no data |
| FMA | + | no data |
| AVX | + | no data |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Athlon X4 950 and Phenom II X4 840 are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | + | no data |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Athlon X4 950 and Phenom II X4 840. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR4 Dual-channel | DDR3 |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Athlon X4 950 and Phenom II X4 840.
| PCIe version | no data | 2.0 |
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 X4 950 outperforms Phenom II X4 840 by 50% 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 X4 950 outperforms Phenom II X4 840 by 49% 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%
Athlon X4 950 outperforms Phenom II X4 840 by 104% 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 X4 950 outperforms Phenom II X4 840 by 84% in GeekBench 5 Multi-Core.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 2.32 | 1.55 |
| Recency | 27 July 2017 | 4 January 2011 |
| Cost | $60 | $90 |
| Chip lithography | 28 nm | 45 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 65 Watt | 95 Watt |
The Athlon X4 950 is our recommended choice as it beats the Phenom II X4 840 in performance tests.
Should you still have questions on choice between Athlon X4 950 and Phenom II X4 840, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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