Athlon II X4 640 vs Core 2 Duo P9700
Aggregate performance score
Athlon II X4 640 outperforms Core 2 Duo P9700 by an impressive 96% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Core 2 Duo P9700 and Athlon II X4 640 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 2678 | 2195 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | no data | 2.92 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Desktop processor |
| Series | Intel Core 2 Duo | no data |
| Power efficiency | 2.44 | 1.41 |
| Architecture codename | Penryn (2008−2011) | Propus (2009−2011) |
| Release date | 2 June 2009 (15 years ago) | 11 May 2010 (14 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $348 | $80 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Core 2 Duo P9700 and Athlon II X4 640 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 | 2 (Dual-core) | 4 (Quad-Core) |
| Threads | 2 | 4 |
| Base clock speed | 2.8 GHz | 3 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 2.8 GHz | 3 GHz |
| Bus rate | 1066 MHz | no data |
| L1 cache | 64 KB (per core) | 128 KB (per core) |
| L2 cache | 6 MB (shared) | 512 KB (per core) |
| L3 cache | 6 MB L2 Cache | 0 KB |
| Chip lithography | 45 nm | 45 nm |
| Die size | 107 mm2 | 169 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | 105 °C | no data |
| Number of transistors | 410 million | 300 million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
| VID voltage range | 1.012V-1.175V | no data |
Compatibility
Information on Core 2 Duo P9700 and Athlon II X4 640 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 | PGA478 | AM3 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 28 Watt | 95 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core 2 Duo P9700 and Athlon II X4 640. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | no data |
| Turbo Boost Technology | - | no data |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | - | no data |
| Demand Based Switching | - | no data |
Security technologies
Core 2 Duo P9700 and Athlon II X4 640 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 Core 2 Duo P9700 and Athlon II X4 640 are enumerated here.
| VT-x | + | no data |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core 2 Duo P9700 and Athlon II X4 640. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR2, DDR3 | DDR3 |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | On certain motherboards (Chipset feature) | no data |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core 2 Duo P9700 and Athlon II X4 640.
| 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.
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.
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.
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.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 0.75 | 1.47 |
| Recency | 2 June 2009 | 11 May 2010 |
| Physical cores | 2 | 4 |
| Threads | 2 | 4 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 28 Watt | 95 Watt |
Core 2 Duo P9700 has 239.3% lower power consumption.
Athlon II X4 640, on the other hand, has a 96% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 11 months, and 100% more physical cores and 100% more threads.
The Athlon II X4 640 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core 2 Duo P9700 in performance tests.
Be aware that Core 2 Duo P9700 is a notebook processor while Athlon II X4 640 is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Core 2 Duo P9700 and Athlon II X4 640, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
Similar processor comparisons
We picked several similar comparisons of processors in the same market segment and performance relatively close to those reviewed on this page.
