Athlon 64 X2 4600+ vs i5-2500K

Primary details

Comparing Core i5-2500K and Athlon 64 X2 (Desktop) 4600+ processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	1718	not rated
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.31	no data
Market segment	Desktop processor	Desktop processor
Series	Core i5 (Desktop)	2x Athlon 64 (Desktop)
Power efficiency	2.59	no data
Architecture codename	Sandy Bridge (2011−2013)	Windsor (2006−2007)
Release date	9 January 2011 (13 years ago)	no data (2024 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$216	no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Detailed specifications

Core i5-2500K and Athlon 64 X2 (Desktop) 4600+ 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	3.3 GHz	no data
Boost clock speed	3.7 GHz	2.4 GHz
Bus rate	5 GT/s	1000 MHz
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	no data
L2 cache	256K (per core)	no data
L3 cache	6 MB (shared)	no data
Chip lithography	32 nm	90 nm
Die size	216 mm2	no data
Maximum core temperature	73 °C	no data
Number of transistors	1,160 million	no data
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
Unlocked multiplier	+	-

Compatibility

Information on Core i5-2500K and Athlon 64 X2 (Desktop) 4600+ 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	no data
Socket	LGA1155	no data
Power consumption (TDP)	95 Watt	65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-2500K and Athlon 64 X2 (Desktop) 4600+. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX	no data
AES-NI	+	-
AVX	+	-
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	no data
Hyper-Threading Technology	-	no data
Idle States	+	no data
Thermal Monitoring	+	-
Flex Memory Access	+	no data
FDI	+	no data
Fast Memory Access	+	no data

Security technologies

Core i5-2500K and Athlon 64 X2 (Desktop) 4600+ technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	-	no data
EDB	+	no data
Identity Protection	+	-

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i5-2500K and Athlon 64 X2 (Desktop) 4600+ are enumerated here.

VT-d	-	no data
VT-x	+	no data
EPT	+	no data

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i5-2500K and Athlon 64 X2 (Desktop) 4600+. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	no data
Maximum memory size	32 GB	no data
Max memory channels	2	no data
Maximum memory bandwidth	21 GB/s	no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	Intel HD Graphics 3000	no data
Quick Sync Video	+	-
Clear Video HD	+	no data
Graphics max frequency	1.1 GHz	no data
InTru 3D	+	no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i5-2500K and Athlon 64 X2 (Desktop) 4600+ integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported

2

no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-2500K and Athlon 64 X2 (Desktop) 4600+.

PCIe version	2.0	no data
PCI Express lanes	16	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.

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Pros & cons summary

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Physical cores	4	2
Threads	4	2
Chip lithography	32 nm	90 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	95 Watt	65 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Core i5-2500K and Athlon 64 X2 4600+, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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