Pentium D 960 vs Athlon II X2 250

VS

Aggregate performance score

Athlon II X2 250
2009
2 cores / 2 threads, 65 Watt
0.68
+33.3%
Pentium D 960
2006
2 cores / 2 threads, 130 Watt
0.51

Athlon II X2 250 outperforms Pentium D 960 by a substantial 33% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Athlon II X2 250 and Pentium D 960 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking27402886
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation3.61no data
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
Power efficiency0.990.37
Architecture codenameRegor (2009−2013)Presler (2005−2007)
Release date2 June 2009 (15 years ago)23 April 2006 (18 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$39$523

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Athlon II X2 250 and Pentium D 960 have a nearly equal value for money.

Detailed specifications

Athlon II X2 250 and Pentium D 960 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 cores2 (Dual-core)2 (Dual-core)
Threads22
Base clock speed3 GHz3.6 GHz
Boost clock speed3 GHz3.6 GHz
L1 cache256 KB16 KB (per core)
L2 cache2 MB2 MB (per die)
L3 cache0 KB0 KB
Chip lithography45 nm65 nm
Die size117 mm22x 81 mm2
Maximum case temperature (TCase)no data69 °C
Number of transistors410 million376 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--
VID voltage rangeno data1.2V-1.3375V

Compatibility

Information on Athlon II X2 250 and Pentium D 960 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,PLGA775
Power consumption (TDP)65 Watt130 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Athlon II X2 250 and Pentium D 960. 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+
Demand Based Switchingno data-
PAEno data32 Bit
FSB parityno data-

Security technologies

Athlon II X2 250 and Pentium D 960 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXTno data-
EDBno data+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Athlon II X2 250 and Pentium D 960 are enumerated here.

VT-dno data-
VT-xno data+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Athlon II X2 250 and Pentium D 960. 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)On certain motherboards (Chipset feature)

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Athlon II X2 250 and Pentium D 960.

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.

Athlon II X2 250 0.68
+33.3%
Pentium D 960 0.51

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.

Athlon II X2 250 1080
+33.8%
Pentium D 960 807

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 0.68 0.51
Recency 2 June 2009 23 April 2006
Chip lithography 45 nm 65 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 65 Watt 130 Watt

Athlon II X2 250 has a 33.3% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 3 years, a 44.4% more advanced lithography process, and 100% lower power consumption.

The Athlon II X2 250 is our recommended choice as it beats the Pentium D 960 in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Athlon II X2 250 and Pentium D 960, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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AMD Athlon II X2 250
Athlon II X2 250
Intel Pentium D 960
Pentium D 960

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Community ratings

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


3.4 1172 votes

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Questions & comments

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