Athlon 64 X2 5600+ vs A8-3870K

Place in the ranking	2157	2805
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Desktop processor	Desktop processor
Power efficiency	1.39	0.61
Architecture codename	Llano (2011−2012)	Windsor (2006−2007)
Release date	20 December 2011 (12 years ago)	December 2006 (17 years ago)

Detailed specifications

A8-3870K and Athlon 64 X2 5600+ 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)	2 (Dual-core)
Threads	4	2
Base clock speed	3 GHz	no data
Boost clock speed	3 GHz	2.9 GHz
L1 cache	128 KB (per core)	256 KB
L2 cache	1 MB (per core)	512K
L3 cache	0 KB	0 KB
Chip lithography	32 nm	90 nm
Die size	228 mm²	220 mm²
Number of transistors	1,178 million	227 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
Unlocked multiplier	+	-

Compatibility

Information on A8-3870K and Athlon 64 X2 5600+ 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	FM1	AM2
Power consumption (TDP)	100 Watt	89 Watt

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by A8-3870K and Athlon 64 X2 5600+ are enumerated here.

AMD-V

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by A8-3870K and Athlon 64 X2 5600+. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types

DDR3

no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card

AMD Radeon HD 6550D

no 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.

A8-3870K 1.52
+153%

Athlon 64 X2 5600+ 0.60

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.

A8-3870K 2321
+155%

Athlon 64 X2 5600+ 911

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	1.52	0.60
Physical cores	4	2
Threads	4	2
Chip lithography	32 nm	90 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	100 Watt	89 Watt

A8-3870K has a 153.3% higher aggregate performance score, 100% more physical cores and 100% more threads, and a 181.3% more advanced lithography process.

Athlon 64 X2 5600+, on the other hand, has 12.4% lower power consumption.

The A8-3870K is our recommended choice as it beats the Athlon 64 X2 5600+ in performance tests.

Should you still have questions on choice between A8-3870K and Athlon 64 X2 5600+, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.