Athlon II X2 250 vs i7-2657M
Aggregate performance score
Core i7-2657M outperforms Athlon II X2 250 by a considerable 45% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Core i7-2657M and Athlon II X2 250 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 2461 | 2720 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | no data | 3.61 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Desktop processor |
| Series | Intel Core i7 | no data |
| Power efficiency | 5.52 | 1.00 |
| Architecture codename | Sandy Bridge (2011−2013) | Regor (2009−2013) |
| Release date | 3 January 2011 (13 years ago) | 2 June 2009 (15 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $317 | $39 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Core i7-2657M and Athlon II X2 250 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) | 2 (Dual-core) |
| Threads | 4 | 2 |
| Base clock speed | 1.6 GHz | 3 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 2.7 GHz | 3 GHz |
| Bus type | DMI 2.0 | no data |
| Bus rate | 4 × 5 GT/s | no data |
| Multiplier | 16 | no data |
| L1 cache | 128 KB | 256 KB |
| L2 cache | 512 KB | 2 MB |
| L3 cache | 4 MB | 0 KB |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | 45 nm |
| Die size | 149 mm2 | 117 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | 100 °C | no data |
| Number of transistors | 624 Million | 410 million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
Compatibility
Information on Core i7-2657M and Athlon II X2 250 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 | AM3 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 17 Watt | 65 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-2657M and Athlon II X2 250. 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 | + | 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 i7-2657M and Athlon II X2 250 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 i7-2657M and Athlon II X2 250 are enumerated here.
| VT-d | + | no data |
| VT-x | + | no data |
| EPT | + | no data |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-2657M and Athlon II X2 250. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3-1066, DDR3-1333 | DDR3 |
| Maximum memory size | 8.01 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 | On certain motherboards (Chipset feature) |
| Quick Sync Video | + | - |
| Clear Video HD | + | no data |
| Graphics max frequency | 1 GHz | no data |
| InTru 3D | + | no data |
Graphics interfaces
Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-2657M and Athlon II X2 250 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 i7-2657M and Athlon II X2 250.
| PCIe version | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | 16 | no data |
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 1.03 | 0.71 |
| Recency | 3 January 2011 | 2 June 2009 |
| Threads | 4 | 2 |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | 45 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 17 Watt | 65 Watt |
i7-2657M has a 45.1% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 1 year, 100% more threads, a 40.6% more advanced lithography process, and 282.4% lower power consumption.
The Core i7-2657M is our recommended choice as it beats the Athlon II X2 250 in performance tests.
Be aware that Core i7-2657M is a notebook processor while Athlon II X2 250 is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-2657M and Athlon II X2 250, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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