A9-9420 vs i5-540M

VS

Aggregate performance score

Core i5-540M
2010
2 cores / 4 threads, 35 Watt
1.14
+21.3%
A9-9420
2016
2 cores / 2 threads, 15 Watt
0.94

Core i5-540M outperforms A9-9420 by a significant 21% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i5-540M and A9-9420 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking23772507
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
SeriesIntel Core i5AMD Bristol Ridge
Power efficiency3.085.93
Architecture codenameArrandale (2010−2011)Stoney Ridge (2016−2019)
Release date7 January 2010 (14 years ago)31 May 2016 (8 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$257no data

Detailed specifications

Core i5-540M and A9-9420 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)
Threads42
Base clock speed2.53 GHz3 GHz
Boost clock speed3.07 GHz3.6 GHz
Bus typeDMI 1.0no data
Bus rate1 × 2.5 GT/sno data
Multiplier19no data
L1 cache64K (per core)160 KB
L2 cache256K (per core)1 MB (shared)
L3 cache3 MB (shared)no data
Chip lithography32 nm28 nm
Die size81+114 mm2125 mm2
Maximum core temperature105 °C90 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)no data74 °C
Number of transistors382+177 Million1,200 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--

Compatibility

Information on Core i5-540M and A9-9420 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 configuration1 (Uniprocessor)1
SocketBGA1288,PGA988FT4
Power consumption (TDP)35 Watt15 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-540M and A9-9420. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2Virtualization,
AES-NI++
FMA++
AVX-+
vPro+no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)+no data
Turbo Boost Technology+no data
Hyper-Threading Technology+no data
Idle States+no data
Thermal Monitoring+-
Flex Memory Access+no data
PAE36 Bitno data
FDI+no data
Fast Memory Access+no data

Security technologies

Core i5-540M and A9-9420 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT+no data
EDB+no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i5-540M and A9-9420 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i5-540M and A9-9420. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR4
Maximum memory size8 GBno data
Max memory channels2no data
Maximum memory bandwidth17.051 GB/sno data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardIntel HD Graphics for Previous Generation Intel ProcessorsRadeon R5
Clear Video+no data
Clear Video HD+no data
Graphics max frequency766 MHzno data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i5-540M and A9-9420 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported2no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-540M and A9-9420.

PCIe version2.03.0
PCI Express lanes168

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.

i5-540M 1.14
+21.3%
A9-9420 0.94

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.

i5-540M 1808
+20.7%
A9-9420 1498

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.

i5-540M 375
+15.4%
A9-9420 325

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.

i5-540M 720
+44%
A9-9420 500

Cinebench 10 32-bit single-core

Cinebench R10 is an ancient ray tracing benchmark for processors by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. Its single core version uses just one CPU thread to render a futuristic looking motorcycle.

i5-540M 3133
+9%
A9-9420 2875

Cinebench 10 32-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 10 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R10 using all the processor threads. Possible number of threads is limited by 16 in this version.

i5-540M 7031
+45.2%
A9-9420 4841

wPrime 32

wPrime 32M is a math multi-thread processor test, which calculates square roots of first 32 million integer numbers. Its result is measured in seconds, so that the less is benchmark result, the faster the processor.

i5-540M 18.5
+15.1%
A9-9420 21.29

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 11.5 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R11.5 which uses all the processor threads. A maximum of 64 threads is supported in this version.

i5-540M 2
+34.8%
A9-9420 2

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 1.14 0.94
Recency 7 January 2010 31 May 2016
Threads 4 2
Chip lithography 32 nm 28 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 35 Watt 15 Watt

i5-540M has a 21.3% higher aggregate performance score, and 100% more threads.

A9-9420, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 6 years, a 14.3% more advanced lithography process, and 133.3% lower power consumption.

The Core i5-540M is our recommended choice as it beats the A9-9420 in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i5-540M and A9-9420, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Core i5-540M
Core i5-540M
AMD A9-9420
A9-9420

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Community ratings

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


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Questions & comments

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