Phenom II X3 N870 vs Core i5-520M
Aggregated performance score
Core i5-520M outperforms Phenom II X3 N870 by a minimal 3% based on our aggregated benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Core i5-520M and Phenom II X3 N870 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in performance ranking | 2275 | 2291 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Laptop |
| Series | Intel Core i5 | 3x AMD Phenom II |
| Architecture codename | Arrandale (2010−2011) | Champlain (2010−2011) |
| Release date | 4 January 2010 (14 years ago) | 16 December 2010 (13 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $225 | no data |
| Current price | $108 (0.5x MSRP) | no data |
Detailed specifications
Core i5-520M and Phenom II X3 N870 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 | 2.4 GHz | no data |
| Boost clock speed | 2.93 GHz | 2.3 GHz |
| Bus support | 2500 MHz | 3600 MHz |
| L1 cache | 128 KB | 384 KB |
| L2 cache | 512 KB | 1.5 MB |
| L3 cache | 3 MB | no data |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | 45 nm |
| Die size | 81+114 mm2 | no data |
| Maximum core temperature | 105 °C | no data |
| Number of transistors | 382+177 Million | no data |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
| Unlocked multiplier | No | No |
Compatibility
Information on Core i5-520M and Phenom II X3 N870 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 | no data |
| Socket | BGA1288,PGA988 | S1 (S1g4) |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 35 Watt | 35 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-520M and Phenom II X3 N870. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2 | 86x MMX(+), 3DNow!(+), SSE(1,2,3,4A),-64, AMD-V, DDR3-1333 memory controller |
| AES-NI | + | no data |
| FMA | + | no data |
| vPro | + | 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 |
| Flex Memory Access | + | no data |
| PAE | 36 Bit | no data |
| FDI | + | no data |
| Fast Memory Access | + | no data |
| Status | Discontinued | no data |
Security technologies
Core i5-520M and Phenom II X3 N870 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 i5-520M and Phenom II X3 N870 are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | no data | + |
| VT-d | + | no data |
| VT-x | + | no data |
| EPT | + | no data |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i5-520M and Phenom II X3 N870. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3-800, DDR3-1066 | DDR3 |
| Maximum memory size | 8.3 GB | no data |
| Max memory channels | 2 | no data |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 17.1 GB/s | no data |
| ECC memory support | - | 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 | + | no data |
| Clear Video HD | + | no data |
| Graphics max frequency | 766 MHz | no data |
Graphics interfaces
Available interfaces and connections of Core i5-520M and Phenom II X3 N870 integrated GPUs.
| Number of displays supported | 2 | no data |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-520M and Phenom II X3 N870.
| 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.
Core i5-520M outperforms Phenom II X3 N870 by 3% based on our aggregated benchmark results.
Cinebench 11.5 64-bit multi-core
Cinebench Release 11.5 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R11.5 which uses all the processor threads. A maximum of 64 threads is supported in this version.
Benchmark coverage: 17%
Core i5-520M outperforms Phenom II X3 N870 by 11% in Cinebench 11.5 64-bit multi-core.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 1.11 | 1.08 |
| Recency | 4 January 2010 | 16 December 2010 |
| Physical cores | 2 | 3 |
| Threads | 4 | 3 |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | 45 nm |
Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between Core i5-520M and Phenom II X3 N870.
Should you still have questions on choice between Core i5-520M and Phenom II X3 N870, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
Similar processor comparisons
We picked several similar comparisons of processors in the same market segment and performance relatively close to those reviewed on this page.
