Athlon II X2 255 vs Xeon E5540
Aggregate performance score
Xeon E5540 outperforms Athlon II X2 255 by a whopping 137% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Xeon E5540 and Athlon II X2 255 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in performance ranking | 1984 | 2621 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 0.64 | 0.02 |
| Market segment | Server | Desktop processor |
| Architecture codename | Gainestown (2009−2010) | Regor (2009−2013) |
| Release date | 30 March 2009 (15 years ago) | 25 January 2010 (14 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $30 | $60 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Xeon E5540 has 3100% better value for money than Athlon II X2 255.
Detailed specifications
Xeon E5540 and Athlon II X2 255 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 | 8 | 2 |
| Base clock speed | 2.53 GHz | 3.1 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 2.8 GHz | 3.1 GHz |
| L1 cache | 64 KB (per core) | 128 KB |
| L2 cache | 256 KB (per core) | 1 MB |
| L3 cache | 8 MB (shared) | 0 KB |
| Chip lithography | 45 nm | 45 nm |
| Die size | 263 mm2 | 117 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | 76 °C | no data |
| Number of transistors | 731 million | 410 million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
Compatibility
Information on Xeon E5540 and Athlon II X2 255 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 | 2 | 1 |
| Socket | FCLGA1366 | AM3 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 80 Watt | 65 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon E5540 and Athlon II X2 255. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | no data |
| Turbo Boost Technology | 1.0 | no data |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | + | no data |
| Idle States | + | no data |
| Demand Based Switching | + | no data |
| PAE | 40 Bit | no data |
| Status | Discontinued | no data |
Security technologies
Xeon E5540 and Athlon II X2 255 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | + | no data |
| EDB | + | no data |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon E5540 and Athlon II X2 255 are enumerated here.
| VT-d | + | no data |
| VT-x | + | no data |
| EPT | + | no data |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon E5540 and Athlon II X2 255. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3 | DDR3 |
| Maximum memory size | 144 GB | no data |
| Max memory channels | 3 | no data |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 25.6 GB/s | no data |
| ECC memory support | + | - |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | N/A | no data |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon E5540 and Athlon II X2 255.
| 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 | 1.80 | 0.76 |
| Recency | 30 March 2009 | 25 January 2010 |
| Physical cores | 4 | 2 |
| Threads | 8 | 2 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 80 Watt | 65 Watt |
Xeon E5540 has a 136.8% higher aggregate performance score, and 100% more physical cores and 300% more threads.
Athlon II X2 255, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 9 months, and 23.1% lower power consumption.
The Xeon E5540 is our recommended choice as it beats the Athlon II X2 255 in performance tests.
Be aware that Xeon E5540 is a server/workstation processor while Athlon II X2 255 is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon E5540 and Athlon II X2 255, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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