CPUBoss Review Our evaluation of 550 vs 250 among desktop CPUs

Performance

Benchmark performance using all cores
Phenom II X2 550
5.1
Athlon II X2 250
4.9
Core i3 3220
5.5
PCMark 8 Home 3.0 Accelerated, PassMark and 1 more

Single-core Performance

Individual core benchmark performance
Phenom II X2 550
4.2
Athlon II X2 250
4.0
Core i3 3220
6.9
PassMark (Single Core), Geekbench 3 Single Core and 1 more

Integrated Graphics

Integrated GPU performance for graphics
Phenom II X2 550
0.0
Athlon II X2 250
0.0
Core i3 3220
0.5
Fire Strike

Integrated Graphics (OpenCL)

Integrated GPU performance for parallel computing
Phenom II X2 550
0.0
Athlon II X2 250
0.0
Core i3 3220
4.9
CompuBench 1.5 Bitcoin mining and 4 more

Performance per Watt

How efficiently does the processor use electricity?
Phenom II X2 550
4.9
Athlon II X2 250
5.1
Core i3 3220
6.6
Fire Strike, CompuBench 1.5 Bitcoin mining and 11 more

Value

Are you paying a premium for performance?
Phenom II X2 550
n.d.
Athlon II X2 250
n.d.
Core i3 3220
6.0
Fire Strike, CompuBench 1.5 Bitcoin mining and 11 more

No winner declared

Too close to call

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VS

AMD Phenom II X2 550

Front view of AMD Phenom II X2 550
Front view of AMD Athlon II X2 250

AMD Athlon II X2 250

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Differences What are the advantages of each

Front view of AMD Phenom II X2 550

Reasons to consider the
AMD Phenom II X2 550

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Much more l3 cache 6 MB vs 0 MB Compared to all cpus, 6 MB l3 cache is just OK
Is unlocked Yes vs No Somewhat common; An unlocked multiplier allows for easier overclocking
Much more l3 cache per core 3 MB/core vs 0 MB/core Compared to all cpus, 3 MB/core l3 cache per core is just OK
Higher clock speed 3.1 GHz vs 3 GHz Around 5% higher clock speed
Better overclocked clock speed (Air) 3.81 GHz vs 3.72 GHz Almost the same
Front view of AMD Athlon II X2 250

Reasons to consider the
AMD Athlon II X2 250

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Much more l2 cache 2 MB vs 1 MB 2x more l2 cache; more data can be stored in the l2 cache for quick access later
Much lower typical power consumption 52.81W vs 124.5W 2.4x lower typical power consumption
Much newer manufacturing process 32 nm vs 45 nm A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor
Much better performance per watt 1.79 pt/W vs 0.89 pt/W More than 2x better performance per watt
Much more l2 cache per core 1 MB/core vs 0.5 MB/core 2x more l2 cache per core
Much lower annual home energy cost 15.66 $/year vs 46.25 $/year 3x lower annual home energy cost
Significantly higher Maximum operating temperature 74 °C vs 70 °C More than 5% higher Maximum operating temperature
Much lower annual commercial energy cost 56.94 $/year vs 120.89 $/year 2.1x lower annual commercial energy cost
Much better overclocked clock speed (Water) 4.04 GHz vs 3.12 GHz Around 30% better overclocked clock speed (Water)

Benchmarks Real world tests of Phenom II X2 550 vs Athlon II X2 250

GeekBench 3 (Multi-core) Data courtesy Primate Labs

Phenom II X2 550
2,966
Athlon II X2 250
2,814

GeekBench 3 (Single core) Data courtesy Primate Labs

Phenom II X2 550
1,601
Athlon II X2 250
1,524

GeekBench 3 (AES single core) Data courtesy Primate Labs

Phenom II X2 550
125,000 MB/s
Athlon II X2 250
120,700 MB/s

GeekBench (32-bit) Data courtesy Primate Labs

Phenom II X2 550
2,839
Athlon II X2 250
2,690

GeekBench (64-bit) Data courtesy Primate Labs

Phenom II X2 550
4,747
Athlon II X2 250
2,929

GeekBench

Phenom II X2 550
4,747
Athlon II X2 250
4,461

PassMark Data courtesy Passmark

Phenom II X2 550
2,028
Athlon II X2 250
1,750

PassMark (Single Core)

Phenom II X2 550
1,067
Athlon II X2 250
1,008

Reviews Word on the street

Phenom II X2 550  vs Athlon II X2 250 
7.0
read review
6.0
read review

Specifications Full list of technical specs

summary

 Phenom II X2 550  vs
Athlon II X2 250 
Clock speed 3.1 GHz 3 GHz
Cores Dual core Dual core
Socket type
AM3
Is unlocked Yes No

features
Has a NX bit Yes Yes
Has virtualization support Yes Yes
Instruction set extensions
SSE4a
AVX 1.1
SSE2
F16C
MMX
XOP
AVX
SSE3
SSE
BMI1
AMD64
SSE4.1
FMA4
FMA3
SSE4.2
ABM
CVT16
AMD-V
3DNow!
Supplemental SSE3
AES
TBM
Supports dynamic frequency scaling Yes Yes

integrated graphics
GPU None None
Label N/A N/A
Latest DirectX N/A N/A
Number of displays supported N/A N/A
GPU clock speed N/A N/A
Turbo clock speed N/A N/A
3DMark06 N/A N/A

details

 Phenom II X2 550  vs
Athlon II X2 250 
Architecture x86-64 x86-64
Threads 2 2
L2 cache 1 MB 2 MB
L2 cache per core 0.5 MB/core 1 MB/core
L3 cache 6 MB 0 MB
L3 cache per core 3 MB/core 0 MB/core
Manufacture process 45 nm 32 nm
Max CPUs 1 1
Voltage range 0.85 - 1.43V 0.85 - 1.43V
Operating temperature Unknown - 70°C Unknown - 74°C

overclocking
Overclock popularity 7 25
Overclocked clock speed 3.81 GHz 3.72 GHz
Overclocked clock speed (Water) 3.12 GHz 4.04 GHz
PassMark (Overclocked) 1,881.5 2,374.3
Overclocked clock speed (Air) 3.81 GHz 3.72 GHz

power consumption
TDP 80W 65W
Annual home energy cost 46.25 $/year 15.66 $/year
Annual commercial energy cost 120.89 $/year 56.94 $/year
Performance per watt 0.89 pt/W 1.79 pt/W
Typical power consumption 124.5W 52.81W

bus
Clock speed 2,000 MHz 2,000 MHz
AMD Phenom II X2 550
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AMD Athlon II X2 250
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