Intel Core i5-3570K vs AMD Phenom II X2 521

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i5-3570K CPU1 vs CPU2 AMD Phenom II X2 521
Intel Core i5-3570K AMD Phenom II X2 521

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Intel Core i5-3570K and the AMD Phenom II X2 521 and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Intel Core i5-3570K 4 core processor released in Q2/2012 with the AMD Phenom II X2 521 which has 2 CPU cores and was introduced in Q2/2011.
Intel Core i5 (328) Family AMD Phenom II (52)
Intel Core i 3000 (31) CPU group AMD Phenom II - 500 (2)
3 Generation 1
Ivy Bridge S Architecture Regor (K10)
Desktop / Server Segment Desktop / Server
Intel Core i5-2550k Predecessor --
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core i5-3570K is a 4 core processor with a clock frequency of 3.40 GHz (3.80 GHz). The processor can compute 4 threads at the same time. The AMD Phenom II X2 521 clocks with 3.50 GHz, has 2 CPU cores and can calculate 2 threads in parallel.

Intel Core i5-3570K Characteristic AMD Phenom II X2 521
4 Cores 2
4 Threads 2
normal Core architecture normal
No Hyperthreading No
Yes Overclocking ? Yes
3.40 GHz Frequency 3.50 GHz
3.80 GHz Turbo Frequency (1 Core) --
3.80 GHz Turbo Frequency (All Cores) --

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. Algorithms for ML improve their performance the more data they have collected via software. ML tasks can be processed up to 10,000 times faster than with a classic processor.

Intel Core i5-3570K Characteristic AMD Phenom II X2 521
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

Graphics (iGPU) integrated into the processor not only enable image output without having to rely on a dedicated graphics solution, but can also efficiently accelerate video playback.

Intel HD Graphics 4000 GPU no iGPU
0.65 GHz GPU frequency --
1.15 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
7 GPU Generation --
22 nm Technology
3 Max. displays
16 Compute units --
128 Shader --
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
2 GB Max. GPU Memory --
11.0 DirectX Version --

Hardware codec support

A photo or video codec that is accelerated in hardware can greatly accelerate the working speed of a processor and extend the battery life of notebooks or smartphones when playing videos.

Intel HD Graphics 4000 GPU no iGPU
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
Decode / Encode Codec h264 No
No Codec VP9 No
No Codec VP8 No
No Codec AV1 No
Decode / Encode Codec AVC No
Decode Codec VC-1 No
Decode Codec JPEG No

Memory & PCIe

Up to 32 GB of memory in a maximum of 2 memory channels is supported by the Intel Core i5-3570K, while the AMD Phenom II X2 521 supports a maximum of GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 21.3 GB/s enabled.

Intel Core i5-3570K Characteristic AMD Phenom II X2 521
DDR3-1600 Memory DDR3-1333, DDR2-1066
32 GB Max. Memory
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
25.6 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 21.3 GB/s
No ECC No
-- L2 Cache --
6.00 MB L3 Cache 2.00 MB
3.0 PCIe version --
16 PCIe lanes --
15.8 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The Intel Core i5-3570K has a TDP of 77 W. The TDP of the AMD Phenom II X2 521 is 65 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Intel Core i5-3570K Characteristic AMD Phenom II X2 521
77 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 65 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Intel Core i5-3570K has 6.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 22 nm. The cache of AMD Phenom II X2 521 is at 2.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 45 nm.

Intel Core i5-3570K Characteristic AMD Phenom II X2 521
22 nm Technology 45 nm
Monolithic Chip design Unknown
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX ISA extensions SSE3, SSE4a
LGA 1155 Socket AM3
VT-x, VT-x EPT Virtualization AMD-V
Yes AES-NI No
Windows 10, Linux Operating systems Windows 10, Linux
Q2/2012 Release date Q2/2011
235 $ Release price 35 $
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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
⌀ Multi core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks

Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark

Some of the CPUs listed below have been benchmarked by CPU-monkey. However the majority of CPUs have not been tested and the results have been estimated by a CPU-monkey’s secret proprietary formula. As such they do not accurately reflect the actual Passmark CPU mark values and are not endorsed by PassMark Software Pty Ltd.
Intel Core i5-3570K Intel Core i5-3570K
4C 4T @ 3.80 GHz
4958 (100%)
AMD Phenom II X2 521 AMD Phenom II X2 521
2C 2T @ 3.50 GHz
2253 (45%)

Cinebench R15 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Core i5-3570K Intel Core i5-3570K
4C 4T @ 3.80 GHz
132 (100%)
AMD Phenom II X2 521 AMD Phenom II X2 521
2C 2T @ 3.50 GHz
92 (70%)

Cinebench R15 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Core i5-3570K Intel Core i5-3570K
4C 4T @ 3.80 GHz
510 (100%)
AMD Phenom II X2 521 AMD Phenom II X2 521
2C 2T @ 3.50 GHz
177 (35%)

Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Core i5-3570K Intel Core i5-3570K
4C 4T @ 3.80 GHz
731 (100%)
AMD Phenom II X2 521 AMD Phenom II X2 521
2C 2T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Core i5-3570K Intel Core i5-3570K
4C 4T @ 3.80 GHz
2808 (100%)
AMD Phenom II X2 521 AMD Phenom II X2 521
2C 2T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Core i5-3570K Intel Core i5-3570K
4C 4T @ 3.80 GHz
835 (100%)
AMD Phenom II X2 521 AMD Phenom II X2 521
2C 2T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Core i5-3570K Intel Core i5-3570K
4C 4T @ 3.80 GHz
2866 (100%)
AMD Phenom II X2 521 AMD Phenom II X2 521
2C 2T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The single-core benchmark only evaluates the performance of the fastest CPU core, the number of CPU cores in a processor is irrelevant here.
Intel Core i5-3570K Intel Core i5-3570K
4C 4T @ 3.80 GHz
755 (100%)
AMD Phenom II X2 521 AMD Phenom II X2 521
2C 2T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The multi-core benchmark evaluates the performance of all of the processor's CPU cores. Virtual thread improvements such as AMD SMT or Intel's Hyper-Threading have a positive impact on the benchmark result.
Intel Core i5-3570K Intel Core i5-3570K
4C 4T @ 3.80 GHz
2286 (100%)
AMD Phenom II X2 521 AMD Phenom II X2 521
2C 2T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R20 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Core i5-3570K Intel Core i5-3570K
4C 4T @ 3.80 GHz
275 (100%)
AMD Phenom II X2 521 AMD Phenom II X2 521
2C 2T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R20 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Core i5-3570K Intel Core i5-3570K
4C 4T @ 3.80 GHz
1041 (100%)
AMD Phenom II X2 521 AMD Phenom II X2 521
2C 2T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)

iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

The theoretical computing performance of the internal graphics unit of the processor with simple accuracy (32 bit) in GFLOPS. GFLOPS indicates how many billion floating point operations the iGPU can perform per second.
Intel Core i5-3570K Intel Core i5-3570K
Intel HD Graphics 4000 @ 1.15 GHz
294 (100%)
AMD Phenom II X2 521 AMD Phenom II X2 521
@ 0.00 GHz
0 (0%)

Blender 3.1 Benchmark

In the Blender Benchmark 3.1, the scenes "monster", "junkshop" and "classroom" are rendered and the time required by the system is measured. In our benchmark we test the CPU and not the graphics card. Blender 3.1 was presented as a standalone version in March 2022.
Intel Core i5-3570K Intel Core i5-3570K
4C 4T @ 3.80 GHz
38 (100%)
AMD Phenom II X2 521 AMD Phenom II X2 521
2C 2T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)

Blender 2.81 (bmw27)

Blender is a free 3D graphics software for rendering (creating) 3D bodies, which can also be textured and animated in the software. The Blender benchmark creates predefined scenes and measures the time (s) required for the entire scene. The shorter the time required, the better. We selected bmw27 as the benchmark scene.
Intel Core i5-3570K Intel Core i5-3570K
4C 4T @ 3.80 GHz
673.9 (100%)
AMD Phenom II X2 521 AMD Phenom II X2 521
2C 2T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)

CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Single-Core)

The CPU-Z benchmark measures a processor's performance by measuring the time it takes the system to complete all benchmark calculations. The faster the benchmark is completed, the higher the score.
Intel Core i5-3570K Intel Core i5-3570K
4C 4T @ 3.80 GHz
384 (100%)
AMD Phenom II X2 521 AMD Phenom II X2 521
2C 2T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)

CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Multi-Core)

The CPU-Z benchmark measures a processor's performance by measuring the time it takes the system to complete all benchmark calculations. The faster the benchmark is completed, the higher the score.
Intel Core i5-3570K Intel Core i5-3570K
4C 4T @ 3.40 GHz
1447 (100%)
AMD Phenom II X2 521 AMD Phenom II X2 521
2C 2T @ 3.50 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core i5-3570K AMD Phenom II X2 521
Unknown Unknown

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