Phenom II X3 N870 vs i5-540M

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Aggregate performance score

Core i5-540M
2010
2 cores / 4 threads, 35 Watt
1.18
+7.3%

Core i5-540M outperforms Phenom II X3 N870 by a small 7% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i5-540M and Phenom II X3 N870 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking23692412
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
SeriesIntel Core i53x AMD Phenom II
Power efficiency3.072.87
Architecture codenameArrandale (2010−2011)Champlain (2010−2011)
Release date7 January 2010 (14 years ago)16 December 2010 (13 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$257no data

Detailed specifications

Core i5-540M and Phenom II X3 N870 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)3 (Tri-Core)
Threads43
Base clock speed2.53 GHzno data
Boost clock speed3.07 GHz2.3 GHz
Bus typeDMI 1.0no data
Bus rate1 × 2.5 GT/s3600 MHz
Multiplier19no data
L1 cache128 KB384 KB
L2 cache512 KB1.5 MB
L3 cache3 MB (shared)no data
Chip lithography32 nm45 nm
Die size81+114 mm2no data
Maximum core temperature105 °Cno data
Number of transistors382+177 Millionno data
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--

Compatibility

Information on Core i5-540M and Phenom II X3 N870 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)no data
SocketBGA1288,PGA988S1 (S1g4)
Power consumption (TDP)35 Watt35 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-540M and Phenom II X3 N870. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.286x MMX(+), 3DNow!(+), SSE(1,2,3,4A),-64, AMD-V
AES-NI+-
FMA+-
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 Phenom II X3 N870 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 Phenom II X3 N870 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 Phenom II X3 N870. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR3
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® Processorsno data
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 Phenom II X3 N870 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported2no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-540M and Phenom II X3 N870.

PCIe version2.0no data
PCI Express lanes16no 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.

i5-540M 1.18
+7.3%
Phenom II X3 N870 1.10

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
+12.8%
Phenom II X3 N870 2

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 1.18 1.10
Recency 7 January 2010 16 December 2010
Physical cores 2 3
Threads 4 3
Chip lithography 32 nm 45 nm

i5-540M has a 7.3% higher aggregate performance score, 33.3% more threads, and a 40.6% more advanced lithography process.

Phenom II X3 N870, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 11 months, and 50% more physical cores.

Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between Core i5-540M and Phenom II X3 N870.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i5-540M and Phenom II X3 N870, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Core i5-540M
Core i5-540M
AMD Phenom II X3 N870
Phenom II X3 N870

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Community ratings

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


3.7 162 votes

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Questions & comments

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