Athlon II X2 255 vs i7-4790

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-4790 and Athlon II X2 255 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	1295	2664
Place by popularity	71	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.83	0.02
Market segment	Desktop processor	Desktop processor
Series	Core i7 (Desktop)	no data
Power efficiency	5.16	1.08
Architecture codename	Haswell (2013−2015)	Regor (2009−2013)
Release date	1 May 2014 (10 years ago)	25 January 2010 (14 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$303	$60

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

i7-4790 has 4050% better value for money than Athlon II X2 255.

Detailed specifications

Core i7-4790 and Athlon II X2 255 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	3.6 GHz	3.1 GHz
Boost clock speed	4 GHz	3.1 GHz
Bus rate	5 GT/s	no data
L1 cache	64K (per core)	128 KB
L2 cache	256K (per core)	1 MB
L3 cache	8 MB (shared)	0 KB
Chip lithography	22 nm	45 nm
Die size	177 mm2	117 mm2
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	72 °C	no data
Number of transistors	1,400 million	410 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-4790 and Athlon II X2 255 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	FCLGA1150	AM3
Power consumption (TDP)	84 Watt	65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-4790 and Athlon II X2 255. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2	no data
AES-NI	+	-
AVX	+	-
vPro	+	no data
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	+	-
SIPP	+	-
FDI	+	no data

Security technologies

Core i7-4790 and Athlon II X2 255 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	no data
EDB	+	no data
Secure Key	+	no data
Identity Protection	+	-
OS Guard	+	no data
Anti-Theft	+	no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-4790 and Athlon II X2 255 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 i7-4790 and Athlon II X2 255. 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 4600	no data
Max video memory	2 GB	no data
Quick Sync Video	+	-
Clear Video HD	+	no data
Graphics max frequency	1.2 GHz	no data
InTru 3D	+	no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-4790 and Athlon II X2 255 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported	3	no data
eDP	+	no data
DisplayPort	+	-
HDMI	+	-
DVI	+	no data
VGA	+	no data

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i7-4790 and Athlon II X2 255 integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

Max resolution over HDMI 1.4	4096x2304@24Hz	no data
Max resolution over eDP	3840x2160@60Hz	no data
Max resolution over DisplayPort	3840x2160@60Hz	no data
Max resolution over VGA	1920x1200@60Hz	no data

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i7-4790 and Athlon II X2 255 integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX	11.2/12	no data
OpenGL	4.3	no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-4790 and Athlon II X2 255.

PCIe version	Up to 3.0	2.0
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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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.

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Pros & cons summary

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Performance score	4.58	0.74
Recency	1 May 2014	25 January 2010
Physical cores	4	2
Threads	8	2
Chip lithography	22 nm	45 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	84 Watt	65 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-4790 and Athlon II X2 255, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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