Phenom II X3 720 vs i3-3250

Place in the ranking	2122	2465
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.20	5.16
Market segment	Desktop processor	Desktop processor
Power efficiency	2.65	0.99
Architecture codename	Ivy Bridge (2012−2013)	Heka (2009−2010)
Release date	9 June 2013 (11 years ago)	1 January 2010 (14 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$138	$75

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Phenom II X3 720 has 2480% better value for money than i3-3250.

Detailed specifications

Core i3-3250 and Phenom II X3 720 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)	3 (Tri-Core)
Threads	4	3
Base clock speed	3.5 GHz	2.8 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.5 GHz	2.8 GHz
Bus rate	5 GT/s	no data
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	128 KB (per core)
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	512 KB (per core)
L3 cache	3 MB (shared)	6 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	22 nm	45 nm
Die size	94 mm²	258 mm²
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	65 °C	no data
Number of transistors	no data	758 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-

Compatibility

Information on Core i3-3250 and Phenom II X3 720 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	AM3
Power consumption (TDP)	55 Watt	95 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i3-3250 and Phenom II X3 720. 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
AVX	+	-
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	+	-
FDI	+	no data

Security technologies

Core i3-3250 and Phenom II X3 720 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

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

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i3-3250 and Phenom II X3 720 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 Core i3-3250 and Phenom II X3 720. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3-1333, DDR3-1600	DDR3
Maximum memory size	32 GB	no data
Max memory channels	2	no data
Maximum memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s	no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	Intel HD Graphics 2500	no data
Quick Sync Video	+	-
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 i3-3250 and Phenom II X3 720 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported

no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i3-3250 and Phenom II X3 720.

PCIe version	2.0	2.0
PCI Express lanes	16	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.

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.

i3-3250 1.54
+55.6%

Phenom II X3 720 0.99

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.

i3-3250 2442
+55%

Phenom II X3 720 1575

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.

i3-3250 581
+78.2%

Phenom II X3 720 326

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.

i3-3250 1178
+49.1%

Phenom II X3 720 790

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	1.54	0.99
Recency	9 June 2013	1 January 2010
Physical cores	2	3
Threads	4	3
Chip lithography	22 nm	45 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	55 Watt	95 Watt

i3-3250 has a 55.6% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 3 years, 33.3% more threads, a 104.5% more advanced lithography process, and 72.7% lower power consumption.

Phenom II X3 720, on the other hand, has 50% more physical cores.

The Core i3-3250 is our recommended choice as it beats the Phenom II X3 720 in performance tests.

Should you still have questions on choice between Core i3-3250 and Phenom II X3 720, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.