i5-3230M vs Phenom II X2 X640 BE

Athlon II P320 Athlon II P340 Athlon II P360 Phenom II X3 N830 Phenom II X4 N930 Phenom II X4 N970 Phenom II X4 P960 Turion II P520 Turion II P540 V-Series V120 V-Series V140 V-Series V160
VS
Core i3-3110M Core i3-3120M Core i3-3217U Core i5-3210M Core i5-3230M Core i5-3320M Core i5-3337U Core i7-3520M Core i7-3610QM Core i7-3630QM Core i7-3632QM Pentium 2020M

Aggregate performance score

Phenom II X2 X640 BE
2011
2 cores / 2 threads, 45 Watt
1.01
Core i5-3230M
2013
2 cores / 4 threads, 35 Watt
1.61
+59.4%

Core i5-3230M outperforms Phenom II X2 X640 BE by an impressive 59% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Contents

Phenom II X2 X640 BE Phenom II X2 X640 BE
i5-3230M i5-3230M

Primary details

Comparing Phenom II X2 X640 BE and Core i5-3230M processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking24552089
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
Series2x AMD Phenom IIIntel Core i5
Power efficiency2.124.35
Architecture codenameChamplain (2010−2011)Ivy Bridge (2012−2013)
Release date12 May 2011 (13 years ago)1 January 2013 (11 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)no data$225

Detailed specifications

Phenom II X2 X640 BE and Core i5-3230M 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)2 (Dual-core)
Threads24
Base clock speedno data2.6 GHz
Boost clock speed3.2 GHz3.2 GHz
Bus rate3600 MHz5 GT/s
L1 cache256 KB64K (per core)
L2 cache2 MB256K (per core)
L3 cacheno data3 MB (shared)
Chip lithography45 nm22 nm
Die sizeno data118 mm2
Maximum core temperatureno data105 °C
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--

Compatibility

Information on Phenom II X2 X640 BE and Core i5-3230M 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 configurationno data1
SocketS1FCPGA988
Power consumption (TDP)45 Watt35 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Phenom II X2 X640 BE and Core i5-3230M. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsMMX, 3DNow!, SSE1-3A, AMD64, Enhanced Virus Protection, VirtualizationIntel® AVX
AES-NI-+
AVX-+
VirusProtect+-
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)no data+
My WiFino data+
Turbo Boost Technologyno data2.0
Hyper-Threading Technologyno data+
Idle Statesno data+
Thermal Monitoring-+
Flex Memory Accessno data+
Demand Based Switchingno data-
FDIno data+
Fast Memory Accessno data+

Security technologies

Phenom II X2 X640 BE and Core i5-3230M technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXTno data-
EDBno data+
Secure Keyno data+
Identity Protection-+
Anti-Theftno data+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Phenom II X2 X640 BE and Core i5-3230M are enumerated here.

AMD-V++
VT-dno data+
VT-xno data+
EPTno data+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Phenom II X2 X640 BE and Core i5-3230M. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR3
Maximum memory sizeno data32 GB
Max memory channelsno data2
Maximum memory bandwidthno data25.6 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardno dataIntel HD Graphics 4000
Quick Sync Video-+
Clear Video HDno data+
Graphics max frequencyno data1.1 GHz
InTru 3Dno data+

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Phenom II X2 X640 BE and Core i5-3230M integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supportedno data3
eDPno data+
DisplayPort-+
HDMI-+
SDVOno data+
CRTno data+

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Phenom II X2 X640 BE and Core i5-3230M.

PCIe versionno data3.0
PCI Express lanesno data16

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.

Phenom II X2 X640 BE 1.01
i5-3230M 1.61
+59.4%

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.

Phenom II X2 X640 BE 2839
i5-3230M 4268
+50.3%

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.

Phenom II X2 X640 BE 5439
i5-3230M 9159
+68.4%

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.

Phenom II X2 X640 BE 2684
i5-3230M 3760
+40.1%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score 1.01 1.61
Recency 12 May 2011 1 January 2013
Threads 2 4
Chip lithography 45 nm 22 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 45 Watt 35 Watt

i5-3230M has a 59.4% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 1 year, 100% more threads, a 104.5% more advanced lithography process, and 28.6% lower power consumption.

The Core i5-3230M is our recommended choice as it beats the Phenom II X2 X640 BE in performance tests.

Should you still have questions on choice between Phenom II X2 X640 BE and Core i5-3230M, 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.

AMD Phenom II X2 X640 BE
Phenom II X2 X640 BE
Intel Core i5-3230M
Core i5-3230M
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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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