Athlon X4 970 vs i5-2540M

Place in the ranking	2148	2062
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Laptop	Desktop processor
Series	Intel Core i5	no data
Power efficiency	4.03	2.42
Architecture codename	Sandy Bridge (2011−2013)	Bristol Ridge (2016−2019)
Release date	1 February 2011 (13 years ago)	27 July 2017 (7 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$266	no data

Detailed specifications

Core i5-2540M and Athlon X4 970 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	2.6 GHz	3.8 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.3 GHz	4 GHz
Bus type	DMI 2.0	no data
Bus rate	4 × 5 GT/s	no data
Multiplier	26	no data
L1 cache	64K (per core)	128 KB (per core)
L2 cache	256K (per core)	512 KB (per core)
L3 cache	3 MB (shared)	0 KB
Chip lithography	32 nm	28 nm
Die size	149 mm²	246 mm²
Maximum core temperature	100 °C	no data
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	no data	74 °C
Number of transistors	624 million	1,178 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
Unlocked multiplier	-	+

Compatibility

Information on Core i5-2540M and Athlon X4 970 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 (Uniprocessor)	1
Socket	FCBGA1023,PPGA988	AM4
Power consumption (TDP)	35 Watt	65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-2540M and Athlon X4 970. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® AVX	no data
AES-NI	+	+
FMA	+	+
AVX	+	+
vPro	+	no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	no data
My WiFi	+	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	no data
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	no data
Idle States	+	no data
Thermal Monitoring	+	-
Flex Memory Access	+	no data
Demand Based Switching	-	no data
FDI	+	no data
Fast Memory Access	+	no data

Security technologies

Core i5-2540M and Athlon X4 970 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

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

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i5-2540M and Athlon X4 970 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i5-2540M and Athlon X4 970. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR4 Dual-channel
Maximum memory size	16 GB	no data
Max memory channels	2	no data
Maximum memory bandwidth	21.335 GB/s	no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	Intel HD Graphics 3000	no data
Quick Sync Video	+	-
Clear Video HD	+	no data
Graphics max frequency	1.3 GHz	no data
InTru 3D	+	no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i5-2540M and Athlon X4 970 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported	2	no data
eDP	+	no data
DisplayPort	+	-
HDMI	+	-
SDVO	+	no data
CRT	+	no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-2540M and Athlon X4 970.

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.

i5-2540M 1.49

Athlon X4 970 1.66
+11.4%

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.

i5-2540M 2365

Athlon X4 970 2644
+11.8%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	1.49	1.66
Recency	1 February 2011	27 July 2017
Physical cores	2	4
Chip lithography	32 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	35 Watt	65 Watt

i5-2540M has 85.7% lower power consumption.

Athlon X4 970, on the other hand, has a 11.4% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 6 years, 100% more physical cores, and a 14.3% more advanced lithography process.

The Athlon X4 970 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i5-2540M in performance tests.

Be aware that Core i5-2540M is a notebook processor while Athlon X4 970 is a desktop one.

Should you still have questions on choice between Core i5-2540M and Athlon X4 970, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.