Intel Core i3-3227U vs AMD Athlon II X4 860K

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i3-3227U CPU1 vs CPU2 AMD Athlon II X4 860K
Intel Core i3-3227U AMD Athlon II X4 860K

CPU comparison

Intel Core i3-3227U or AMD Athlon II X4 860K - which processor is faster? In this comparison we look at the differences and analyze which of these two CPUs is better. We compare the technical data and benchmark results.

The Intel Core i3-3227U has 2 cores with 4 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 1.90 GHz. Up to 32 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i3-3227U was released in Q1/2013.

The AMD Athlon II X4 860K has 4 cores with 4 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.00 GHz. The CPU supports up to 32 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The AMD Athlon II X4 860K was released in Q4/2014.
Intel Core i3 (202) Family AMD Athlon II (52)
Intel Core i 3000U (12) CPU group AMD Athlon II X4 (Kaveri) (1)
3 Generation 5
Ivy Bridge U Architecture Kaveri
Mobile Segment Desktop / Server
-- Predecessor --
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core i3-3227U is a 2 core processor with a clock frequency of 1.90 GHz. The AMD Athlon II X4 860K has 4 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 3.70 GHz (4.00 GHz).

Intel Core i3-3227U Characteristic AMD Athlon II X4 860K
2 Cores 4
4 Threads 4
normal Core architecture normal
Yes Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? Yes
1.90 GHz Frequency 3.70 GHz
-- Turbo Frequency (1 Core) 4.00 GHz
-- Turbo Frequency (All Cores) 4.00 GHz

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 i3-3227U Characteristic AMD Athlon II X4 860K
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

The integrated graphics unit of a processor is not only responsible for the pure image output on the system, but can also significantly increase the efficiency of the system with the support of modern video codecs.

Intel HD Graphics 4000 GPU no iGPU
0.35 GHz GPU frequency --
1.10 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

The Intel Core i3-3227U supports a maximum of 32 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The AMD Athlon II X4 860K can connect up to 32 GB of memory in 2 memory channels.

Intel Core i3-3227U Characteristic AMD Athlon II X4 860K
DDR3-1600 Memory DDR3-2133
32 GB Max. Memory 32 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
25.6 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 34.1 GB/s
No ECC Yes
-- L2 Cache 4.00 MB
3.00 MB L3 Cache --
2.0 PCIe version 3.0
16 PCIe lanes 16
8.0 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth 15.8 GB/s

Thermal Management

The TDP (Thermal Design Power) of a processor specifies the required cooling solution. The Intel Core i3-3227U has a TDP of 17 W, that of the AMD Athlon II X4 860K is 95 W.

Intel Core i3-3227U Characteristic AMD Athlon II X4 860K
17 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 95 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Intel Core i3-3227U has a 3.00 MB cache, while the AMD Athlon II X4 860K cache has a total of 4.00 MB.

Intel Core i3-3227U Characteristic AMD Athlon II X4 860K
22 nm Technology 32 nm
Monolithic Chip design Unknown
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX ISA extensions MMX, 3DNow!, SSE3, SSE4a
BGA 1023 Socket FM2+
VT-x, VT-x EPT Virtualization AMD-V
Yes AES-NI No
Windows 10, Linux Operating systems Windows 10, Linux
Q1/2013 Release date Q4/2014
-- Release price 70 $
show more data show more data


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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
⌀ Multi core performance in 3 CPU benchmarks

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 i3-3227U Intel Core i3-3227U
2C 4T @ 1.90 GHz
392 (73%)
AMD Athlon II X4 860K AMD Athlon II X4 860K
4C 4T @ 4.00 GHz
539 (100%)

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 i3-3227U Intel Core i3-3227U
2C 4T @ 1.90 GHz
952 (60%)
AMD Athlon II X4 860K AMD Athlon II X4 860K
4C 4T @ 4.00 GHz
1586 (100%)

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 i3-3227U Intel Core i3-3227U
2C 4T @ 1.90 GHz
1284 (38%)
AMD Athlon II X4 860K AMD Athlon II X4 860K
4C 4T @ 4.00 GHz
3410 (100%)

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 i3-3227U Intel Core i3-3227U
2C 4T @ 1.90 GHz
69 (73%)
AMD Athlon II X4 860K AMD Athlon II X4 860K
4C 4T @ 4.00 GHz
94 (100%)

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 i3-3227U Intel Core i3-3227U
2C 4T @ 1.90 GHz
175 (59%)
AMD Athlon II X4 860K AMD Athlon II X4 860K
4C 4T @ 4.00 GHz
295 (100%)

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 i3-3227U Intel Core i3-3227U
2C 4T @ 1.90 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Athlon II X4 860K AMD Athlon II X4 860K
4C 4T @ 4.00 GHz
517 (100%)

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 i3-3227U Intel Core i3-3227U
2C 4T @ 1.90 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Athlon II X4 860K AMD Athlon II X4 860K
4C 4T @ 4.00 GHz
1677 (100%)

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 i3-3227U Intel Core i3-3227U
2C 4T @ 1.90 GHz
331 (100%)
AMD Athlon II X4 860K AMD Athlon II X4 860K
4C 4T @ 4.00 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 i3-3227U Intel Core i3-3227U
2C 4T @ 1.90 GHz
697 (100%)
AMD Athlon II X4 860K AMD Athlon II X4 860K
4C 4T @ 4.00 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 i3-3227U Intel Core i3-3227U
2C 4T @ 1.90 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Athlon II X4 860K AMD Athlon II X4 860K
4C 4T @ 4.00 GHz
670 (100%)

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 i3-3227U Intel Core i3-3227U
Intel HD Graphics 4000 @ 1.10 GHz
282 (100%)
AMD Athlon II X4 860K AMD Athlon II X4 860K
@ 0.00 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 i3-3227U Intel Core i3-3227U
2C 4T @ 1.90 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Athlon II X4 860K AMD Athlon II X4 860K
4C 4T @ 3.70 GHz
747 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core i3-3227U AMD Athlon II X4 860K
Unknown Unknown

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