Athlon II X2 215 vs Phenom X3 8550
Aggregate performance score
Phenom X3 8550 outperforms Athlon II X2 215 by a moderate 18% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Phenom X3 8550 and Athlon II X2 215 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 2695 | 2798 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 2.13 | 8.66 |
| Market segment | Desktop processor | Desktop processor |
| Power efficiency | 0.72 | 0.89 |
| Architecture codename | Toliman (2008) | Regor (2009−2013) |
| Release date | April 2008 (16 years ago) | 20 October 2009 (15 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $170 | $45 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Athlon II X2 215 has 307% better value for money than Phenom X3 8550.
Detailed specifications
Phenom X3 8550 and Athlon II X2 215 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 | 3 (Tri-Core) | 2 (Dual-core) |
| Threads | 3 | 2 |
| Base clock speed | no data | 2.7 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 2.2 GHz | 2.7 GHz |
| L1 cache | 128 KB (per core) | 128 KB |
| L2 cache | 512 KB (per core) | 512 KB |
| L3 cache | 2 MB (shared) | 0 KB |
| Chip lithography | 65 nm | 45 nm |
| Die size | 285 mm2 | 117 mm2 |
| Number of transistors | 450 million | 410 million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
Compatibility
Information on Phenom X3 8550 and Athlon II X2 215 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 | 1 |
| Socket | AM2+ | AM3 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 95 Watt | 65 Watt |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Phenom X3 8550 and Athlon II X2 215 are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | + | - |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Phenom X3 8550 and Athlon II X2 215. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | no data | DDR3 |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | no data | On certain motherboards (Chipset feature) |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Phenom X3 8550 and Athlon II X2 215.
| 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.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 0.72 | 0.61 |
| Physical cores | 3 | 2 |
| Threads | 3 | 2 |
| Chip lithography | 65 nm | 45 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 95 Watt | 65 Watt |
Phenom X3 8550 has a 18% higher aggregate performance score, and 50% more physical cores and 50% more threads.
Athlon II X2 215, on the other hand, has a 44.4% more advanced lithography process, and 46.2% lower power consumption.
The Phenom X3 8550 is our recommended choice as it beats the Athlon II X2 215 in performance tests.
Should you still have questions on choice between Phenom X3 8550 and Athlon II X2 215, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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