Athlon II X3 455 vs Phenom II X4 N970
Aggregate performance score
Athlon II X3 455 outperforms Phenom II X4 N970 by a moderate 14% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Phenom II X4 N970 and Athlon II X3 455 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 2430 | 2346 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | no data | 5.52 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Desktop processor |
| Series | 4x AMD Phenom II | no data |
| Power efficiency | 2.81 | 1.18 |
| Architecture codename | Champlain (2010−2011) | Rana (2009−2011) |
| Release date | 16 December 2010 (13 years ago) | 7 December 2010 (13 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | no data | $88 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Phenom II X4 N970 and Athlon II X3 455 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 | 4 (Quad-Core) | 3 (Tri-Core) |
| Threads | 4 | 3 |
| Base clock speed | no data | 3.3 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 2.2 GHz | 3.3 GHz |
| Bus rate | 3600 MHz | no data |
| L1 cache | 512 KB | 128 KB (per core) |
| L2 cache | 2 MB | 512 KB (per core) |
| L3 cache | no data | 0 KB |
| Chip lithography | 45 nm | 45 nm |
| Die size | no data | 169 mm2 |
| Number of transistors | no data | 300 million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
Compatibility
Information on Phenom II X4 N970 and Athlon II X3 455 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 | no data | 1 |
| Socket | S1 | AM3 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 35 Watt | 95 Watt |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Phenom II X4 N970 and Athlon II X3 455. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | no data | DDR3 |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Phenom II X4 N970 and Athlon II X3 455.
| PCIe version | no data | 2.0 |
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.
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.
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.
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.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 1.08 | 1.23 |
| Physical cores | 4 | 3 |
| Threads | 4 | 3 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 35 Watt | 95 Watt |
Phenom II X4 N970 has 33.3% more physical cores and 33.3% more threads, and 171.4% lower power consumption.
Athlon II X3 455, on the other hand, has a 13.9% higher aggregate performance score.
The Athlon II X3 455 is our recommended choice as it beats the Phenom II X4 N970 in performance tests.
Be aware that Phenom II X4 N970 is a notebook processor while Athlon II X3 455 is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Phenom II X4 N970 and Athlon II X3 455, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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