Athlon II X4 638 vs Core i3-3210

General info

Comparing Core i3-3210 and Athlon II X4 638 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking	2068	2053
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Value for money	0.06	2.05
Market segment	Desktop processor	Desktop processor
Architecture codename	Ivy Bridge (2012−2013)	Llano (2011−2012)
Release date	1 January 2013 (11 years old)	6 February 2012 (12 years old)
Launch price (MSRP)	$120	no data
Current price	$366 (3.1x MSRP)	$27

Value for money

Performance per price, higher is better.

Athlon II X4 638 has 3317% better value for money than i3-3210.

Technical specs

Core i3-3210 and Athlon II X4 638 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	4	4
Base clock speed	3.2 GHz	2.7 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.2 GHz	2.7 GHz
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	128 KB (per core)
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	1 MB (per core)
L3 cache	3072 KB (shared)	0 KB
Chip lithography	22 nm	32 nm
Die size	94 mm2	228 mm2
Maximum core temperature	65 °C	no data
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	65 °C	no data
Number of transistors	no data	1,178 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
Unlocked multiplier	No	No

Compatibility

Information on Core i3-3210 and Athlon II X4 638 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	FCLGA1155	FM1
Power consumption (TDP)	55 Watt	65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i3-3210 and Athlon II X4 638. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX	no data
AES-NI	-	no data
AVX	+	no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	no data
My WiFi	+	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	-	no data
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	no data
Idle States	+	no data
Thermal Monitoring	+	no data
FDI	+	no data
Status	Discontinued	no data

Security technologies

Core i3-3210 and Athlon II X4 638 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	no data
EDB	+	no data
Secure Key	-	no data
Identity Protection	+	no data
Anti-Theft	+	no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i3-3210 and Athlon II X4 638 are enumerated here.

AMD-V	no data	+
VT-d	-	no data
VT-x	+	no data
EPT	+	no data

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i3-3210 and Athlon II X4 638. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR3
Maximum memory size	32 GB	no data
Max memory channels	2	no data
Maximum memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s	no data
ECC memory support	-	no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	Intel HD Graphics 2500	no data
Quick Sync Video	+	no data
Clear Video HD	+	no data
Graphics max frequency	1.05 GHz	no data
InTru 3D	+	no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i3-3210 and Athlon II X4 638 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported

3

no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i3-3210 and Athlon II X4 638.

PCIe version

2.0

no data

Synthetic benchmark performance

Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.

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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 638 outperforms Core i3-3210 by 1% based on our aggregated benchmark results.

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Advantages and disadvantages

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Performance score	1.44	1.46
Recency	1 January 2013	6 February 2012
Physical cores	2	4
Chip lithography	22 nm	32 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	55 Watt	65 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Core i3-3210 and Athlon II X4 638, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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