Pentium Extreme Edition 965 vs Athlon II X2 250
Aggregate performance score
Athlon II X2 250 outperforms Pentium Extreme Edition 965 by a moderate 10% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Athlon II X2 250 and Pentium Extreme Edition 965 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 2740 | 2791 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 3.61 | no data |
| Market segment | Desktop processor | Desktop processor |
| Power efficiency | 0.99 | 0.45 |
| Architecture codename | Regor (2009−2013) | Presler (2005−2007) |
| Release date | 2 June 2009 (15 years ago) | 26 March 2006 (18 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $39 | $999 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Athlon II X2 250 and Pentium Extreme Edition 965 have a nearly equal value for money.
Detailed specifications
Athlon II X2 250 and Pentium Extreme Edition 965 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 | 2 (Dual-core) | 2 (Dual-core) |
| Threads | 2 | 4 |
| Base clock speed | 3 GHz | 3.733 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3 GHz | 0.73 GHz |
| L1 cache | 256 KB | 16 KB (per core) |
| L2 cache | 2 MB | 2 MB (per core) |
| L3 cache | 0 KB | no data |
| Chip lithography | 45 nm | 65 nm |
| Die size | 117 mm2 | 2x 81 mm2 |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | no data | 67 °C |
| Number of transistors | 410 million | 376 million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | no data |
| Unlocked multiplier | - | + |
Compatibility
Information on Athlon II X2 250 and Pentium Extreme Edition 965 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 | AM3 | 775 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 65 Watt | 130 Watt |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Athlon II X2 250 and Pentium Extreme Edition 965 are enumerated here.
| VT-x | no data | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Athlon II X2 250 and Pentium Extreme Edition 965. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3 | DDR1, DDR2, DDR3 Depends on motherboard |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | On certain motherboards (Chipset feature) | On certain motherboards (Chipset feature) |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Athlon II X2 250 and Pentium Extreme Edition 965.
| PCIe version | 2.0 | 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.
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 | 0.68 | 0.62 |
| Recency | 2 June 2009 | 26 March 2006 |
| Threads | 2 | 4 |
| Chip lithography | 45 nm | 65 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 65 Watt | 130 Watt |
Athlon II X2 250 has a 9.7% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 3 years, a 44.4% more advanced lithography process, and 100% lower power consumption.
Pentium Extreme Edition 965, on the other hand, has 100% more threads.
Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between Athlon II X2 250 and Pentium Extreme Edition 965.
Should you still have questions on choice between Athlon II X2 250 and Pentium Extreme Edition 965, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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