Phenom II X2 X640 BE vs i7-3940XM

Place in the ranking	1477	2447
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Laptop	Laptop
Series	Intel Core i7	2x AMD Phenom II
Power efficiency	6.32	2.11
Architecture codename	Ivy Bridge (2012−2013)	Champlain (2010−2011)
Release date	3 September 2012 (12 years ago)	12 May 2011 (13 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$1,096	no data

Detailed specifications

Core i7-3940XM and Phenom II X2 X640 BE 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	8	2
Base clock speed	3 GHz	no data
Boost clock speed	3.9 GHz	3.2 GHz
Bus rate	5 GT/s	3600 MHz
L1 cache	64K (per core)	256 KB
L2 cache	256K (per core)	2 MB
L3 cache	8 MB (shared)	no data
Chip lithography	22 nm	45 nm
Die size	160 mm²	no data
Maximum core temperature	105 °C	no data
Number of transistors	1,400 million	no data
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
Unlocked multiplier	+	-

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-3940XM and Phenom II X2 X640 BE 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	FCPGA988	S1
Power consumption (TDP)	55 Watt	45 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-3940XM and Phenom II X2 X640 BE. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® AVX	MMX, 3DNow!, SSE1-3A, AMD64, Enhanced Virus Protection, Virtualization
AES-NI	+	-
AVX	+	-
VirusProtect	-	+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	no data
My WiFi	+	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
Demand Based Switching	-	no data
FDI	+	no data
Fast Memory Access	+	no data

Security technologies

Core i7-3940XM and Phenom II X2 X640 BE technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

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

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-3940XM and Phenom II X2 X640 BE 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 i7-3940XM and Phenom II X2 X640 BE. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR3
Maximum memory size	32 GB	no data
Max memory channels	2	no data
Maximum memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s	no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	Intel HD Graphics 4000	no data
Quick Sync Video	+	-
Clear Video HD	+	no data
Graphics max frequency	1.35 GHz	no data
InTru 3D	+	no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-3940XM and Phenom II X2 X640 BE integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported	3	no data
eDP	+	no data
DisplayPort	+	-
HDMI	+	-
SDVO	+	no data
CRT	+	no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-3940XM and Phenom II X2 X640 BE.

PCIe version	3.0	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.

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.

i7-3940XM 3.81
+266%

Phenom II X2 X640 BE 1.04

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.

i7-3940XM 5252
+85%

Phenom II X2 X640 BE 2839

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.

i7-3940XM 20564
+278%

Phenom II X2 X640 BE 5439

3DMark06 CPU

3DMark06 is a discontinued DirectX 9 benchmark suite from Futuremark. Its CPU part contains two scenarios, one dedicated to artificial intelligence pathfinding, another to game physics using PhysX package.

i7-3940XM 7176
+167%

Phenom II X2 X640 BE 2684

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	3.81	1.04
Recency	3 September 2012	12 May 2011
Physical cores	4	2
Threads	8	2
Chip lithography	22 nm	45 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	55 Watt	45 Watt

i7-3940XM has a 266.3% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 1 year, 100% more physical cores and 300% more threads, and a 104.5% more advanced lithography process.

Phenom II X2 X640 BE, on the other hand, has 22.2% lower power consumption.

The Core i7-3940XM is our recommended choice as it beats the Phenom II X2 X640 BE in performance tests.

Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-3940XM and Phenom II X2 X640 BE, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.