i3-3250 vs Phenom II X4 P960
Aggregate performance score
Core i3-3250 outperforms Phenom II X4 P960 by an impressive 59% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Phenom II X4 P960 and Core i3-3250 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 2496 | 2136 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | no data | 0.21 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Desktop processor |
| Series | 4x AMD Phenom II | no data |
| Power efficiency | 3.67 | 2.65 |
| Architecture codename | Champlain (2010−2011) | Ivy Bridge (2012−2013) |
| Release date | 19 October 2010 (14 years ago) | 9 June 2013 (11 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | no data | $138 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Phenom II X4 P960 and Core i3-3250 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 | 4 | 4 |
| Base clock speed | no data | 3.5 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 1.8 GHz | 3.5 GHz |
| Bus rate | 3600 MHz | 5 GT/s |
| L1 cache | 512 KB | 64 KB (per core) |
| L2 cache | 2 MB | 256 KB (per core) |
| L3 cache | no data | 3 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 45 nm | 22 nm |
| Die size | no data | 94 mm2 |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | no data | 65 °C |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
Compatibility
Information on Phenom II X4 P960 and Core i3-3250 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 | no data | 1 |
| Socket | S1 (S1g4) | FCLGA1155 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 25 Watt | 55 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Phenom II X4 P960 and Core i3-3250. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | MMX, 3DNow, SSE (1,2,3,4A), AMD64, Enhanced Virus Protection, Virtualization, HyperTransport 3.0 | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX |
| AVX | - | + |
| VirusProtect | + | - |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | no data | + |
| My WiFi | no data | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | no data | - |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | no data | + |
| Idle States | no data | + |
| Thermal Monitoring | - | + |
| FDI | no data | + |
Security technologies
Phenom II X4 P960 and Core i3-3250 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | no data | + |
| EDB | no data | + |
| Secure Key | no data | - |
| Identity Protection | - | + |
| Anti-Theft | no data | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Phenom II X4 P960 and Core i3-3250 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 Phenom II X4 P960 and Core i3-3250. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3 | DDR3-1333, DDR3-1600 |
| Maximum memory size | no data | 32 GB |
| Max memory channels | no data | 2 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | no data | 25.6 GB/s |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | no data | Intel HD Graphics 2500 |
| Quick Sync Video | - | + |
| Clear Video HD | no data | + |
| Graphics max frequency | no data | 1.05 GHz |
| InTru 3D | no data | + |
Graphics interfaces
Available interfaces and connections of Phenom II X4 P960 and Core i3-3250 integrated GPUs.
| Number of displays supported | no data | 3 |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Phenom II X4 P960 and Core i3-3250.
| PCIe version | no data | 2.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | no data | 16 |
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.
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 | 0.97 | 1.54 |
| Recency | 19 October 2010 | 9 June 2013 |
| Physical cores | 4 | 2 |
| Chip lithography | 45 nm | 22 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 25 Watt | 55 Watt |
Phenom II X4 P960 has 100% more physical cores, and 120% lower power consumption.
i3-3250, on the other hand, has a 58.8% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, and a 104.5% more advanced lithography process.
The Core i3-3250 is our recommended choice as it beats the Phenom II X4 P960 in performance tests.
Be aware that Phenom II X4 P960 is a notebook processor while Core i3-3250 is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Phenom II X4 P960 and Core i3-3250, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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.
