Athlon II X4 640 vs A8-5600K
Aggregate performance score
A8-5600K outperforms Athlon II X4 640 by a significant 27% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing A8-5600K and Athlon II X4 640 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 2008 | 2198 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | no data | 2.92 |
| Market segment | Desktop processor | Desktop processor |
| Series | AMD A-Series (Desktop) | no data |
| Power efficiency | 1.70 | 1.41 |
| Architecture codename | Trinity (2012−2013) | Propus (2009−2011) |
| Release date | 2 October 2012 (12 years ago) | 11 May 2010 (14 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | no data | $80 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
A8-5600K and Athlon II X4 640 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) | 4 (Quad-Core) |
| Threads | 4 | 4 |
| Base clock speed | 3.6 GHz | 3 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3.9 GHz | 3 GHz |
| L1 cache | 128K (per core) | 128 KB (per core) |
| L2 cache | 1 MB (per core) | 512 KB (per core) |
| L3 cache | 0 KB | 0 KB |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | 45 nm |
| Die size | 246 mm2 | 169 mm2 |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | 74 °C | no data |
| Number of transistors | 1,178 million | 300 million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
| Unlocked multiplier | + | - |
Compatibility
Information on A8-5600K and Athlon II X4 640 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 | FM2 | AM3 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 100 Watt | 95 Watt |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by A8-5600K and Athlon II X4 640 are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | + | - |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by A8-5600K and Athlon II X4 640. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3 | DDR3 |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | AMD Radeon HD 7560D | no data |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by A8-5600K and Athlon II X4 640.
| 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.
3DMark Fire Strike Physics
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 1.83 | 1.44 |
| Recency | 2 October 2012 | 11 May 2010 |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | 45 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 100 Watt | 95 Watt |
A8-5600K has a 27.1% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, and a 40.6% more advanced lithography process.
Athlon II X4 640, on the other hand, has 5.3% lower power consumption.
The A8-5600K is our recommended choice as it beats the Athlon II X4 640 in performance tests.
Should you still have questions on choice between A8-5600K and Athlon II X4 640, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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.
