Athlon X4 970 vs Pentium N3540

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Aggregate performance score

Pentium N3540
2014
4 cores / 4 threads, 7 Watt
0.76
Athlon X4 970
2017
4 cores / 4 threads, 65 Watt
1.66
+118%

Athlon X4 970 outperforms Pentium N3540 by a whopping 118% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Pentium N3540 and Athlon X4 970 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking26452062
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Market segmentLaptopDesktop processor
SeriesIntel Pentiumno data
Power efficiency9.592.42
Architecture codenameBay Trail-M (2013−2014)Bristol Ridge (2016−2019)
Release date22 May 2014 (10 years ago)27 July 2017 (7 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$251no data

Detailed specifications

Pentium N3540 and Athlon X4 970 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 cores4 (Quad-Core)4 (Quad-Core)
Threads44
Base clock speed2.16 GHz3.8 GHz
Boost clock speed2.66 GHz4 GHz
L1 cache224 KB128 KB (per core)
L2 cache2 MB512 KB (per core)
L3 cache2 MB L2 Cache0 KB
Chip lithography22 nm28 nm
Die sizeno data246 mm2
Maximum core temperature100 °Cno data
Maximum case temperature (TCase)no data74 °C
Number of transistorsno data1,178 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--
Unlocked multiplier-+

Compatibility

Information on Pentium N3540 and Athlon X4 970 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
SocketFCBGA1170AM4
Power consumption (TDP)7.5 Watt65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Pentium N3540 and Athlon X4 970. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

AES-NI-+
FMA-+
AVX-+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)+no data
Turbo Boost Technology-no data
Hyper-Threading Technology-no data
Idle States+no data
Smart Connect+no data

Security technologies

Pentium N3540 and Athlon X4 970 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

EDB+no data
Secure Key+no data
Anti-Theft-no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Pentium N3540 and Athlon X4 970 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Pentium N3540 and Athlon X4 970. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3L-1333DDR4 Dual-channel
Maximum memory size8 GBno data
Max memory channels2no data
Maximum memory bandwidth21.32 GB/sno data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardIntel® HD Graphics for Intel Atom® Processor Z3700 Seriesno data
Quick Sync Video+-
Graphics max frequency896 MHzno data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Pentium N3540 and Athlon X4 970 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported2no data

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Pentium N3540 and Athlon X4 970 integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX11.2no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Pentium N3540 and Athlon X4 970.

PCIe version2.0no data
PCI Express lanes4no data
USB revision3.0 and 2.0no data
Total number of SATA ports2no data
Number of USB ports5no 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.

Pentium N3540 0.76
Athlon X4 970 1.66
+118%

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.

Pentium N3540 1200
Athlon X4 970 2644
+120%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 0.76 1.66
Recency 22 May 2014 27 July 2017
Chip lithography 22 nm 28 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 7 Watt 65 Watt

Pentium N3540 has a 27.3% more advanced lithography process, and 828.6% lower power consumption.

Athlon X4 970, on the other hand, has a 118.4% higher aggregate performance score, and an age advantage of 3 years.

The Athlon X4 970 is our recommended choice as it beats the Pentium N3540 in performance tests.

Be aware that Pentium N3540 is a notebook processor while Athlon X4 970 is a desktop one.


Should you still have questions on choice between Pentium N3540 and Athlon X4 970, 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 Pentium N3540
Pentium N3540
AMD Athlon X4 970
Athlon X4 970

Similar processor comparisons

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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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