Phenom II X4 925 vs Core i5-3230M

Place in performance ranking	2032	2129
Place by popularity	90	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	no data	0.11
Market segment	Laptop	Desktop processor
Series	Intel Core i5	no data
Architecture codename	Ivy Bridge (2012−2013)	Deneb (2009−2011)
Release date	1 January 2013 (11 years ago)	11 May 2009 (15 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$225	$160

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Core i5-3230M and Phenom II X4 925 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	2.8 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.2 GHz	2.8 GHz
L1 cache	128 KB	128 KB (per core)
L2 cache	512 KB	512 KB (per core)
L3 cache	3 MB	6 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	22 nm	45 nm
Die size	118 mm²	258 mm²
Maximum core temperature	105 °C	no data
Number of transistors	no data	758 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-

Compatibility

Information on Core i5-3230M and Phenom II X4 925 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	FCPGA988	AM3
Power consumption (TDP)	35 Watt	95 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-3230M and Phenom II X4 925. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® AVX	no data
AES-NI	+	-
AVX	+	-
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
Status	Discontinued	no data

Security technologies

Core i5-3230M and Phenom II X4 925 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 i5-3230M and Phenom II X4 925 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 i5-3230M and Phenom II X4 925. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	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 4000	On certain motherboards (Chipset feature)
Quick Sync Video	+	-
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 i5-3230M and Phenom II X4 925 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported	3	no data
eDP	+	no data
DisplayPort	+	-
HDMI	+	-
SDVO	+	no data
CRT	+	no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-3230M and Phenom II X4 925.

PCIe version	3.0	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.

i5-3230M 1.66
+12.9%

Phenom II X4 925 1.47

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.

i5-3230M 2563
+12.9%

Phenom II X4 925 2271

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.

i5-3230M 507
+57.5%

Phenom II X4 925 322

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.

i5-3230M 1024
+6%

Phenom II X4 925 966

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	1.66	1.47
Recency	1 January 2013	11 May 2009
Physical cores	2	4
Chip lithography	22 nm	45 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	35 Watt	95 Watt

i5-3230M has a 12.9% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 3 years, a 104.5% more advanced lithography process, and 171.4% lower power consumption.

Phenom II X4 925, on the other hand, has 100% more physical cores.

The Core i5-3230M is our recommended choice as it beats the Phenom II X4 925 in performance tests.

Be aware that Core i5-3230M is a notebook processor while Phenom II X4 925 is a desktop one.

Should you still have questions on choice between Core i5-3230M and Phenom II X4 925, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.