Athlon 950 vs Opteron 246
Contents
Primary details
Comparing processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 3470 | not rated |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 0.01 | no data |
| Market segment | Server | Desktop processor |
| Power efficiency | 0.11 | no data |
| Designer | AMD | AMD |
| Architecture codename | SledgeHammer (2003−2005) | Thunderbird (1999−2000) |
| Release date | August 2003 (22 years ago) | 6 March 2000 (26 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $109 | $999 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Performance to price scatter graph
Currently popular graphics cards are shown for comparison.
Detailed specifications
Basic parameters of Opteron 246 and Athlon 950: 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 | 1 (Single-Core) | 1 (Single-Core) |
| Threads | 1 | 1 |
| Boost clock speed | 2 GHz | 0.95 GHz |
| L1 cache | 128 KB | 128 KB |
| L2 cache | 1 MB | 512 KB |
| L3 cache | 0 KB | 0 KB |
| Chip lithography | 130 nm | 180 nm |
| Die size | 193 mm2 | 102 mm2 |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | no data | 70 °C |
| Number of transistors | 106 million | 22 million |
| 64 bit support | + | - |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
Compatibility
Information on Opteron 246 and Athlon 950 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 | 2 | 1 |
| Socket | 940 | A |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 89 Watt | 62 Watt |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Opteron 246 and Athlon 950. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | no data | DDR1 |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | no data | N/A |
Pros & cons summary
| Chip lithography | 130 nm | 180 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 89 Watt | 62 Watt |
Opteron 246 has a 38% more advanced lithography process.
Athlon 950, on the other hand, has 44% lower power consumption.
We couldn't decide between AMD Opteron 246 and AMD Athlon 950. We've got no test results to judge.
Be aware that Opteron 246 is a server/workstation processor while Athlon 950 is a desktop one.
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