Ryzen Threadripper 2920X vs i3-540

Place in the ranking	2478	412
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.11	9.11
Market segment	Desktop processor	Desktop processor
Series	no data	AMD Ryzen Threadripper
Power efficiency	1.25	8.42
Architecture codename	Clarkdale (2010−2011)	ZEN+ (2018−2019)
Release date	7 January 2010 (14 years ago)	6 August 2018 (6 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$45	$649

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Ryzen Threadripper 2920X has 8182% better value for money than i3-540.

Detailed specifications

Core i3-540 and Ryzen Threadripper 2920X 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)	12 (Dodeca-Core)
Threads	4	24
Base clock speed	3.06 GHz	3.5 GHz
Boost clock speed	0.07 GHz	4.3 GHz
Bus rate	2.5 GT/s	4 × 8 GT/s
Multiplier	no data	35
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	1.125 MB
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	6 MB
L3 cache	4 MB (shared)	32 MB
Chip lithography	32 nm	12 nm
Die size	81 mm²	213 mm²
Maximum core temperature	73 °C	no data
Number of transistors	382 million	9600 Million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	+
Unlocked multiplier	-	+

Compatibility

Information on Core i3-540 and Ryzen Threadripper 2920X 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 (Uniprocessor)
Socket	FCLGA1156	SP3r2
Power consumption (TDP)	73 Watt	180 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i3-540 and Ryzen Threadripper 2920X. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

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

Security technologies

Core i3-540 and Ryzen Threadripper 2920X 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 Ryzen Threadripper 2920X are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i3-540 and Ryzen Threadripper 2920X. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR4 Quad-channel
Maximum memory size	16.38 GB	2 TiB
Max memory channels	2	no data
Maximum memory bandwidth	21 GB/s	93.867 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	Intel® HD Graphics for Previous Generation Intel® Processors	-
Clear Video HD	+	-

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i3-540 and Ryzen Threadripper 2920X integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i3-540 and Ryzen Threadripper 2920X.

PCIe version	2.0	no data
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.

i3-540 1.00

Ryzen Threadripper 2920X 16.63
+1563%

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.

i3-540 1538

Ryzen Threadripper 2920X 25454
+1555%

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.

i3-540 410

Ryzen Threadripper 2920X 1279
+212%

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.

i3-540 837

Ryzen Threadripper 2920X 7352
+778%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	1.00	16.63
Recency	7 January 2010	6 August 2018
Physical cores	2	12
Threads	4	24
Chip lithography	32 nm	12 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	73 Watt	180 Watt

i3-540 has 146.6% lower power consumption.

Ryzen Threadripper 2920X, on the other hand, has a 1563% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 8 years, 500% more physical cores and 500% more threads, and a 166.7% more advanced lithography process.

The Ryzen Threadripper 2920X is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i3-540 in performance tests.

Should you still have questions on choice between Core i3-540 and Ryzen Threadripper 2920X, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.