Athlon II X4 640 vs i7-5500U

Aggregate performance score

Core i7-5500U
2015
2 cores / 4 threads, 15 Watt
1.79
+24.3%
Athlon II X4 640
2010
4 cores / 4 threads, 95 Watt
1.44

Core i7-5500U outperforms Athlon II X4 640 by a significant 24% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-5500U and Athlon II X4 640 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking20192198
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluationno data2.92
Market segmentLaptopDesktop processor
SeriesIntel Core i7no data
Power efficiency11.081.41
Architecture codenameBroadwell-U (2015)Propus (2009−2011)
Release date1 March 2015 (9 years ago)11 May 2010 (14 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$393$80

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Core i7-5500U and Athlon II X4 640 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)4 (Quad-Core)
Threads44
Base clock speed2.4 GHz3 GHz
Boost clock speed3 GHz3 GHz
Bus rate5 GT/sno data
L1 cache64K (per core)128 KB (per core)
L2 cache256K (per core)512 KB (per core)
L3 cache4 MB (shared)0 KB
Chip lithography14 nm45 nm
Die size82 mm2169 mm2
Maximum core temperature105 °Cno data
Maximum case temperature (TCase)105 °Cno data
Number of transistors1300 Million300 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-5500U and Athlon II X4 640 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 configuration11
SocketFCBGA1168AM3
Power consumption (TDP)15 Watt95 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-5500U and Athlon II X4 640. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2no data
AES-NI+-
AVX+-
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)+no data
Turbo Boost Technology2.0no data
Hyper-Threading Technology+no data
Idle States+no data
Thermal Monitoring+-
Flex Memory Access+no data
Smart Response+no data
FDI+no data
Fast Memory Access+no data

Security technologies

Core i7-5500U and Athlon II X4 640 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

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-5500U and Athlon II X4 640 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 i7-5500U and Athlon II X4 640. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR3
Maximum memory size16 GBno data
Max memory channels2no data
Maximum memory bandwidth25.6 GB/sno data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardIntel HD Graphics 5500no data
Max video memory16 GBno data
Quick Sync Video+-
Clear Video+no data
Clear Video HD+no data
Graphics max frequency950 MHzno data
InTru 3D+no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-5500U and Athlon II X4 640 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported3no data
eDP+no data
DisplayPort+-
HDMI+-

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i7-5500U and Athlon II X4 640 integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

Max resolution over HDMI 1.42560x1600@60Hzno data
Max resolution over DisplayPort3840x2160@60Hzno data

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i7-5500U and Athlon II X4 640 integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX11.2/12no data
OpenGL4.3no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-5500U and Athlon II X4 640.

PCIe version2.02.0
PCI Express lanes12no 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.

i7-5500U 1.79
+24.3%
Athlon II X4 640 1.44

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.

i7-5500U 2785
+24.1%
Athlon II X4 640 2245

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.

i7-5500U 881
+181%
Athlon II X4 640 313

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.

i7-5500U 1689
+77.8%
Athlon II X4 640 950

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 1.79 1.44
Recency 1 March 2015 11 May 2010
Physical cores 2 4
Chip lithography 14 nm 45 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 15 Watt 95 Watt

i7-5500U has a 24.3% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 4 years, a 221.4% more advanced lithography process, and 533.3% lower power consumption.

Athlon II X4 640, on the other hand, has 100% more physical cores.

The Core i7-5500U is our recommended choice as it beats the Athlon II X4 640 in performance tests.

Be aware that Core i7-5500U is a notebook processor while Athlon II X4 640 is a desktop one.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-5500U and Athlon II X4 640, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite CPU.


Intel Core i7-5500U
Core i7-5500U
AMD Athlon II X4 640
Athlon II X4 640

Similar processor comparisons

We picked several similar comparisons of processors in the same market segment and performance relatively close to those reviewed on this page.

Community ratings

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


3.3 335 votes

Rate Core i7-5500U on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
3.7 1360 votes

Rate Athlon II X4 640 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about Core i7-5500U or Athlon II X4 640, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.