AMD Athlon II X3 420e vs Intel Core i3-540

General info

Comparing Core i3-540 and Athlon II X3 420e processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking	2331	2319
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Value for money	0.11	5.80
Market segment	Desktop processor	Desktop processor
Architecture codename	Clarkdale (2010−2011)	Rana (2009−2011)
Release date	7 January 2010 (14 years old)	21 September 2010 (13 years old)
Launch price (MSRP)	$45	$116
Current price	$46 (1x MSRP)	$17.22 (0.1x MSRP)

Athlon II X3 420e has 5173% better value for money than i3-540.

Technical specs

Core i3-540 and Athlon II X3 420e 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	3.06 GHz	2.6 GHz
Boost clock speed	0.07 GHz	2.6 GHz
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	128 KB (per core)
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	512 KB (per core)
L3 cache	4 MB (shared)	0 KB
Chip lithography	32 nm	45 nm
Die size	81 mm2	169 mm2
Maximum core temperature	73 °C	no data
Number of transistors	382 million	300 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
Unlocked multiplier	No	No

Compatibility

Information on Core i3-540 and Athlon II X3 420e 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	FCLGA1156	AM3
Power consumption (TDP)	73 Watt	45 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i3-540 and Athlon II X3 420e. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.2	no data
AES-NI	-	no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	-	no data
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	no data
Idle States	+	no data
Thermal Monitoring	-	no data
Demand Based Switching	-	no data
PAE	36 Bit	no data
FDI	+	no data
Status	Discontinued	no data

Security technologies

Core i3-540 and Athlon II X3 420e 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 i3-540 and Athlon II X3 420e are enumerated here.

VT-x	+	no data
EPT	+	no data

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i3-540 and Athlon II X3 420e. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR3
Maximum memory size	16.38 GB	no data
Max memory channels	2	no data
Maximum memory bandwidth	21 GB/s	no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	Intel® HD Graphics for Previous Generation Intel® Processors	no data
Clear Video HD	+	no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i3-540 and Athlon II X3 420e integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported

2

no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i3-540 and Athlon II X3 420e.

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.

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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 X3 420e outperforms Core i3-540 by 2% based on our aggregated benchmark results.

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Advantages and disadvantages

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Performance score	1.00	1.02
Recency	7 January 2010	21 September 2010
Physical cores	2	3
Threads	4	3
Cost	$45	$116
Chip lithography	32 nm	45 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	73 Watt	45 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Core i3-540 and Athlon II X3 420e, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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