Core 2 Duo E8500 vs Phenom II X4 920

Aggregate performance score

Phenom II X4 920
2009
4 cores / 4 threads, 125 Watt
1.36
+70%
Core 2 Duo E8500
2008
2 cores / 2 threads, 65 Watt
0.80

Phenom II X4 920 outperforms Core 2 Duo E8500 by an impressive 70% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Phenom II X4 920 and Core 2 Duo E8500 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking22342595
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation4.49no data
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
Power efficiency1.031.16
Architecture codenameDeneb (2009−2011)Wolfdale (2008−2010)
Release date8 January 2009 (15 years ago)January 2008 (16 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$90no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Phenom II X4 920 and Core 2 Duo E8500 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 cores4 (Quad-Core)2 (Dual-core)
Threads42
Base clock speed2.8 GHz3.16 GHz
Boost clock speed2.8 GHz3.17 GHz
Bus rateno data1333 MHz
L1 cache128 KB (per core)64 KB
L2 cache512 KB (per core)6 MB (shared)
L3 cache6 MB (shared)0 KB
Chip lithography45 nm45 nm
Die size258 mm2107 mm2
Maximum case temperature (TCase)no data72 °C
Number of transistors758 million410 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--
VID voltage rangeno data0.85V-1.3625V

Compatibility

Information on Phenom II X4 920 and Core 2 Duo E8500 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 configuration11
SocketAM3LGA775
Power consumption (TDP)125 Watt65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Phenom II X4 920 and Core 2 Duo E8500. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)no data+
Turbo Boost Technologyno data-
Hyper-Threading Technologyno data-
Idle Statesno data+
Thermal Monitoring-+
Demand Based Switchingno data-
FSB parityno data-

Security technologies

Phenom II X4 920 and Core 2 Duo E8500 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXTno data+
EDBno data+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Phenom II X4 920 and Core 2 Duo E8500 are enumerated here.

AMD-V+-
VT-dno data+
VT-xno data+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Phenom II X4 920 and Core 2 Duo E8500. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR1, DDR2, DDR3

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardOn certain motherboards (Chipset feature)no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Phenom II X4 920 and Core 2 Duo E8500.

PCIe version2.0no 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.

Phenom II X4 920 1.36
+70%
Core 2 Duo E8500 0.80

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.

Phenom II X4 920 2156
+69%
Core 2 Duo E8500 1276

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.

Phenom II X4 920 350
Core 2 Duo E8500 388
+10.9%

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.

Phenom II X4 920 1097
+72.5%
Core 2 Duo E8500 636

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 1.36 0.80
Physical cores 4 2
Threads 4 2
Power consumption (TDP) 125 Watt 65 Watt

Phenom II X4 920 has a 70% higher aggregate performance score, and 100% more physical cores and 100% more threads.

Core 2 Duo E8500, on the other hand, has 92.3% lower power consumption.

The Phenom II X4 920 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core 2 Duo E8500 in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Phenom II X4 920 and Core 2 Duo E8500, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite CPU.


AMD Phenom II X4 920
Phenom II X4 920
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500
Core 2 Duo E8500

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.

Community ratings

Here you can see how users rate the processors, as well as rate them yourself.


4.2 44 votes

Rate Phenom II X4 920 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
3.8 624 votes

Rate Core 2 Duo E8500 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about Phenom II X4 920 or Core 2 Duo E8500, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.