Athlon II X2 260 vs Phenom II X3 720
Aggregate performance score
Phenom II X3 720 outperforms Athlon II X2 260 by a substantial 34% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Phenom II X3 720 and Athlon II X2 260 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 2479 | 2677 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 5.16 | 3.72 |
| Market segment | Desktop processor | Desktop processor |
| Power efficiency | 0.99 | 1.08 |
| Architecture codename | Heka (2009−2010) | Regor (2009−2013) |
| Release date | 1 January 2010 (14 years ago) | 11 May 2010 (14 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $75 | $48 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Phenom II X3 720 has 39% better value for money than Athlon II X2 260.
Detailed specifications
Phenom II X3 720 and Athlon II X2 260 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 | 3 (Tri-Core) | 2 (Dual-core) |
| Threads | 3 | 2 |
| Base clock speed | 2.8 GHz | 3.2 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 2.8 GHz | 3.2 GHz |
| L1 cache | 128 KB (per core) | 128 KB |
| L2 cache | 512 KB (per core) | 1 MB |
| L3 cache | 6 MB (shared) | 0 KB |
| Chip lithography | 45 nm | 45 nm |
| Die size | 258 mm2 | 117 mm2 |
| Number of transistors | 758 million | 410 million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
Compatibility
Information on Phenom II X3 720 and Athlon II X2 260 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 | AM3 | AM3 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 95 Watt | 65 Watt |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Phenom II X3 720 and Athlon II X2 260. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3 | DDR3 |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Phenom II X3 720 and Athlon II X2 260.
| PCIe version | 2.0 | 2.0 |
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.
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.
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.
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.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 0.99 | 0.74 |
| Recency | 1 January 2010 | 11 May 2010 |
| Physical cores | 3 | 2 |
| Threads | 3 | 2 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 95 Watt | 65 Watt |
Phenom II X3 720 has a 33.8% higher aggregate performance score, and 50% more physical cores and 50% more threads.
Athlon II X2 260, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 4 months, and 46.2% lower power consumption.
The Phenom II X3 720 is our recommended choice as it beats the Athlon II X2 260 in performance tests.
Should you still have questions on choice between Phenom II X3 720 and Athlon II X2 260, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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