Atom N550 vs Core i5-2500S

Primary details

Comparing Core i5-2500S and Atom N550 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking	1758	not rated
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	4.87	no data
Market segment	Desktop processor	Laptop
Series	no data	Intel Atom
Architecture codename	Sandy Bridge (2011−2013)	Pineview (2009−2011)
Release date	9 January 2011 (13 years ago)	23 August 2010 (13 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$75	$86
Current price	$29 (0.4x MSRP)	$198 (2.3x MSRP)

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Detailed specifications

Core i5-2500S and Atom N550 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	4 (Quad-Core)	2 (Dual-core)
Threads	4	4
Base clock speed	2.7 GHz	1.5 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.7 GHz	1.5 GHz
Bus support	no data	666 MHz
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	64K (per core)
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	512K (per core)
L3 cache	6144 KB (shared)	0 KB
Chip lithography	32 nm	45 nm
Die size	216 mm2	87 mm2
Maximum core temperature	69 °C	no data
Number of transistors	1,160 million	176 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
Unlocked multiplier	No	No

Compatibility

Information on Core i5-2500S and Atom N550 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	LGA1155	FCBGA559
Power consumption (TDP)	65 Watt	8.5 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-2500S and Atom N550. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX	Intel® SSE2, Intel® SSE3, Intel® SSSE3
AES-NI	+	no data
AVX	+	no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	-
Hyper-Threading Technology	-	+
Idle States	+	no data
Thermal Monitoring	+	+
Flex Memory Access	+	no data
Demand Based Switching	no data	-
FDI	+	no data
Fast Memory Access	+	no data
Status	Discontinued	Discontinued

Security technologies

Core i5-2500S and Atom N550 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	-
EDB	+	+
Identity Protection	+	no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i5-2500S and Atom N550 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i5-2500S and Atom N550. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR3
Maximum memory size	32 GB	2 GB
Max memory channels	2	1
Maximum memory bandwidth	21 GB/s	no data
ECC memory support	-	no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card Compare	Intel HD Graphics 2000	Intel GMA 3150
Quick Sync Video	+	no data
Clear Video HD	+	no data
Graphics max frequency	1.1 GHz	no data
InTru 3D	+	no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i5-2500S and Atom N550 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported

2

no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-2500S and Atom N550.

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.

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Pros & cons summary

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Recency	9 January 2011	23 August 2010
Physical cores	4	2
Cost	$75	$86
Chip lithography	32 nm	45 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	65 Watt	8 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Core i5-2500S and Atom N550, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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