- Conclusion Get the lowdown
- Differences Technical showdown
- Performance Real world benchmarks
- Features How they compare
- Reviews Word on the street
- Competition Others to consider
- Discussion Answers and opinions
Compare with...
- Intel Core i7 3770K
- Intel Core i5 3570K
- AMD FX 8350
- AMD FX 6300
- AMD A10 5800K
Rated 90% by by Tech Radar (Jan, 2011)Note: This Intel Core i5-2500K review also reviews the Sandy Bridge architecture as a whole, as well as the high-end Intel Core i7-2600K processor.
- 3.7 GHz
- Quad core
- Unlocked
Released May, 2011
Rated 100% by by Jhug (Aug, 2011)Idle temps at stock clock speed are amazing, I have added alot of extra's for cooling but at stock you will still similar temps with the stock cooler.
Conclusion Which is better for you?
 | Performance | ||
Overall performance using all cores | |||
| Core i5 2500K |
| ||
| Phenom II X4 Black 980 |
| ||
| Ingredients: Cinebench R10 32-bit and GeekBench | |||
 | Single-core Performance | ||
Performance of an individual core | |||
| Core i5 2500K |
| ||
| Phenom II X4 Black 980 |
| ||
| Ingredients: Cinebench R10 32-bit (1-core) | |||
 | Overclocking | ||
How much speed can you get out of the processor? | |||
| Core i5 2500K |
| ||
| Phenom II X4 Black 980 |
| ||
| Ingredients: Unlocked, Maximum Overclocked Clock Speed (Air) and 2 more | |||
 | Value | ||
Are you paying a premium for performance? | |||
| Core i5 2500K |
| ||
| Phenom II X4 Black 980 |
| ||
| Ingredients: Performance Per Dollar | |||
Winner Intel Core i5 2500K | 8.3 7.2 |
| Overall Score |
Differences What are the advantages of each
Advantages compared to the AMD Phenom II X4 Black 980
| Newer manufacturing process | 32 nms | vs | 45 nms |
|---|---|---|---|
| A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor | |||
| Has a built-in GPU | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; A separate graphics adapter is not required | |||
| Significantly better GeekBench score | 13,525 | vs | 7,135 |
| Around 90% better GeekBench score | |||
| Lower peak power consumption | 125.6W | vs | 164.6W |
| More than 20% lower peak power consumption | |||
| Better SysMark 2007 overall score | 265 | vs | 215 |
| More than 20% better SysMark 2007 overall score | |||
| Significantly better cinebench r10 32Bit (1-core) score | 4,877 | vs | 3,292 |
| Around 50% better cinebench r10 32Bit (1-core) score | |||
| Lower typical power consumption | 112.55W | vs | 133.74W |
| Around 20% lower typical power consumption | |||
| Significantly better SysMark 2007 3D score | 296 | vs | 205 |
| More than 40% better SysMark 2007 3D score | |||
| Better 3DMark11 physics score | 5,990 | vs | 4,310 |
| Around 40% better 3DMark11 physics score | |||
| Better SysMark 2007 productivity score | 273 | vs | 216 |
| Around 30% better SysMark 2007 productivity score | |||
| Better overclocked clock speed (Air) | 5.05 GHz | vs | 4.27 GHz |
| Around 20% better overclocked clock speed (Air) | |||
| Better 3DMark06 CPU score | 6,316 | vs | 5,478 |
| Around 20% better 3DMark06 CPU score | |||
| Better cinebench r10 32Bit score | 16,354 | vs | 11,950 |
| Around 40% better cinebench r10 32Bit score | |||
| Better performance per watt | 13.18 pt/W | vs | 8.24 pt/W |
| Around 60% better performance per watt | |||
| Lower annual commercial energy cost | 110.03 $/year | vs | 144.19 $/year |
| More than 20% lower annual commercial energy cost | |||
| Better overclocked clock speed (Water) | 5.14 GHz | vs | 4.64 GHz |
| More than 10% better overclocked clock speed (Water) | |||
Advantages compared to the Intel Core i5 2500K
| Higher clock speed | 3.7 GHz | vs | 3.3 GHz |
|---|---|---|---|
| More than 10% higher clock speed | |||
| 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 | |||
| More l2 cache per core | 0.5 MB/core | vs | 0.25 MB/core |
| 2x more l2 cache per core | |||
| Marginally newer | May, 2011 | vs | Jan, 2011 |
| Release date 4 months later | |||
Performance Real world tests of Intel Core i5 2500K vs AMD Phenom II X4 Black 980
3D Mark 11 (Physics)
Core i5 2500K by P.-CarmonaOn the other hand i ran Futuremark 3dmark vantage and i did notice on the processor score a 30% difference i think, cant remember, its a bit faster than the i7.
3D Mark 06 (CPU)
Core i5 2500K by rusty (Nov, 2011)I haven't had after market cooler but with power set to balanced in windows the computer idols @ around 1500 - 1600mhz w temps avging23c -32c 3dmark bench testing took the temp up to 72cw\o aftermarket cooling.
Cinebench R10 32-Bit
Phenom II X4 Black 980 by Legit Reviews (May, 2011)Limiting CINEBENCH to a single core and the performance of all of our processors is much more comparable.
Features Key features of the Intel Core i5 2500K compared to the AMD Phenom II X4 Black 980
clock speed
Core i5 2500K by G.-WhiteThe Intel fan boys are buzzing over the new Sandy Bridge processors, particularly the overclocking friendly K-series parts (Core i5-2500K and Core i7-2600K) which have already proven stable at clock speeds of up to 5 GHz.
Phenom II X4 Black 980 by Legit Reviews (May, 2011)This core was well designed as we showed you that the 980 BE was able to hit 4.5GHz in our overclocking section, which was a clock frequency that we could reach on the very first Deneb revisions back in 2009.
L2 cache
Core i5 2500K by J.L.--silver-sky (Jul, 2012)The extra cache and frequency performance boost might not be easily noticeable.
Phenom II X4 Black 980 by Legit Reviews (May, 2011)AMD says that the 980BE is a great general purpose CPU for enthusiasts and gamers alike because it has the cores, the cache and the frequency needed for a wide range of tasks.
L3 cache
Core i5 2500K by Robert-Dale-Massingill--Jr (Nov, 2012)ok i kno my spelling is bad but pls bare with mei'm runing a Dell e520 my processor is only a 2 core and it dos not have pins in the processor only on the mutherbord SO i was wondering if the (Intel Core i5-2500K Quad-Core Processor 3.3 GHz 6 MB Cache LGA 1155 - BX80623I52500K) had no pins on the processor cus the bord got the pins.....dos this make any since?
Phenom II X4 Black 980 by Tech Radar (Jul, 2011)Intel's 32nm chips are superior in a straight fight, but with the X4 980 BE you still get 6MB of L3 cache and an out-of-the-box clockspeed of 3.7GHz – AMD's fastest ever quad-core.
overclocked clock speed (air)
Core i5 2500K by T.-Tozawa (Oct, 2012)Definitely not demanding and even at OEM speeds, I'm sure the CPU is quick - however, the first thing I did after my build was overclock since that was the reason I purchased this CPU.
Phenom II X4 Black 980 by Tech Radar (Jul, 2011)What's more, they both overclock well – topping 4GHz on air.
overclocked clock speed (water)
Core i5 2500K by Jody-R.-Roberts--Jody-R-Roberts (Jun, 2011)I am completely happy with my choice and have had excellent results with the overclocking capability of this CPU.
Phenom II X4 Black 980 by Legit Reviews (May, 2011)AMD 'Black Edition' processors come with unlocked multipliers for easy tuning for overclocking, so getting this CPU over 4GHz should be very easy.
Reviews Word on the street
Intel Core i5 2500K | AMD Phenom II X4 Black 980 | ||
 |   | 
| |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Rated by 165 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by goodgirl (Sep, 2011) Rated 100% by by K.-Barresi (Jul, 2011) Rated 100% by by Igor-V.-Zavoychinskiy (Aug, 2011) | Rated by 3 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by Jhug (Aug, 2011) Rated 100% by by Jhug (Aug, 2011) | |
Socket Type
Intel Core i5 2500K | Rated 100% by by Sean-Webster (Nov, 2011)Previously I had an i7 930 overclocked to 4.2GHz and now with this i5 2500k overclocked to 4.8GHz it equals my i7 930 I had in benchmarks, but seems way faster in normal use.
Intel Core i5 2500K | Rated 100% by by L2MICRO (Sep, 2011)i5 2500k is easily overclocked to 4.1ghz with BIOS tweaks or third party software.
Intel Core i5 2500K | Rated 100% by by fsp4ever (Oct, 2011)2500k rulez and its better than the best bulldozer, so buy it dude and over to 4.5 without any trouble buying a good cooler o.
socket
Intel Core i5 2500K | Rated 100% by by Alex-Szeto--JDM (Jan, 2012)The prices of the 2500k vary from $205-$230 when the 2600k ranges from $300-$320, Like the forums that I've read said, the extra 100 dollars can go towards a better GPU.
Intel Core i5 2500K | Rated 100% by by DionYSUS====. > http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-cpu-core-i5-2500k-amd-e350,2843-5.htmlAlthough I would recommend waiting until the end of February to build your system, so you can get the updated and bug/degradation/error free P67 chipset motherboards.
Intel Core i5 2500K | Rated 100% by by G.-WhiteI'm running the i5-2500K at a stable 4.5 GHz, which is a 36% overclock!
multicore
Intel Core i5 2500K | Rated 100% by by Fatman85 (Apr, 2012)The 2500K literally doubled my frames in Battlefield 3, MW3, Skyrim, amongst many other newer games utilizing quad cores.
Intel Core i5 2500K | Rated 100% by by G.-WhiteI highly recommend the Core i5-2500K - it's an excellent foundation for a system!
Intel Core i5 2500K | Rated 100% by by CrazyZach (Feb, 2012)The Intel Core i5-2500k is an excellent processor.
consumption
AMD Phenom™ II X4 Black 980 | by Legit Reviews (May, 2011)A quick look at the power consumption chart shows that this platform uses less power at idle than the second generation Intel Core i5-2500K 'Sandy Bridge' processor and that is pretty amazing when you think about it.
AMD Phenom™ II X4 Black 980 | by Legit Reviews (May, 2011)The load power consumption numbers of the AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition, which is drawing 216 Watts, place it in the second spot as well, though this time it is second to the Intel Core i5 2500K which was drawing only 171 Watts at full load!
power
Intel Core i5 2500K | Rated 80% by by Nicholas-G.-Bennett (Apr, 2012)The raw power of the core i5-2500k is worth seeing for yourself.
Intel Core i5 2500K | Rated 100% by by Chrozome (Jul, 2011)While i was deciding what was going to go into my build there is tons of choices available but everywhere I looked said that the i5 2500K was the best power~>cost ratio and they were entirely correct.
Competition What else you should consider
 | 2 | Intel Core i5 3570K 2-way tie: OK turbo clock speed |
 | 3 | AMD FX 8350 High clock speed |
 | 4 | AMD FX 6300 Good performance per dollar |
 | 5 | AMD A10 5800K Quite high Maximum Operating Temperature |
 | 6 | Intel Core i5 3470 Low idle power consumption |
 | 7 | AMD FX 8320 2-way tie: Lots of l2 cache |
 | 8 | Intel Core i5 3330 Low typical power consumption |
