Intel Core i3-550 vs Intel Atom Z2580

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i3-550 CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Atom Z2580
Intel Core i3-550 Intel Atom Z2580

CPU comparison

Intel Core i3-550 or Intel Atom Z2580 - 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 i3-550 has 2 cores with 4 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.20 GHz. Up to 16 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i3-550 was released in Q2/2010.

The Intel Atom Z2580 has 2 cores with 4 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 2.00 GHz. The CPU supports up to 2 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Intel Atom Z2580 was released in Q2/2013.
Intel Core i3 (205) Family Intel Atom (108)
Intel Core i3 500 (4) CPU group Intel Atom Z2500/Z2700 (3)
1 Generation 2
Clarkdale Architecture Cloverview
Desktop / Server Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor --
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core i3-550 has 2 CPU cores and can calculate 4 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Intel Core i3-550 is 3.20 GHz while the Intel Atom Z2580 has 2 CPU cores and 4 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the Intel Atom Z2580 is at 2.00 GHz.

Intel Core i3-550 Characteristic Intel Atom Z2580
2 Cores 2
4 Threads 4
normal Core architecture normal
Yes Hyperthreading Yes
No Overclocking ? No
3.20 GHz Frequency 2.00 GHz
-- Turbo Frequency (1 Core) --
-- 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 i3-550 Characteristic Intel Atom Z2580
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

The Intel Core i3-550 or Intel Atom Z2580 has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short. The iGPU uses the system's main memory as graphics memory and sits on the processor's die.

Intel HD Graphics (Westmere) GPU PowerVR SGX544 MP2
0.50 GHz GPU frequency 0.40 GHz
0.73 GHz GPU (Turbo) 0.53 GHz
5 GPU Generation --
32 nm Technology 45nm
2 Max. displays 2
12 Compute units 4
24 Shader 8
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
2 GB Max. GPU Memory --
10.1 DirectX Version 10.1

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 (Westmere) GPU PowerVR SGX544 MP2
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
Decode Codec h264 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP9 No
No Codec VP8 Decode
No Codec AV1 No
Decode Codec AVC No
No Codec VC-1 No
No Codec JPEG No

Memory & PCIe

The Intel Core i3-550 can use up to 16 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 21.3 GB/s. The Intel Atom Z2580 supports up to 2 GB of memory in 2 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 8.5 GB/s.

Intel Core i3-550 Characteristic Intel Atom Z2580
DDR3-1066, DDR3-1333 Memory LPDDR2-1066
16 GB Max. Memory 2 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
21.3 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 8.5 GB/s
Yes ECC No
0.50 MB L2 Cache 1.00 MB
4.00 MB L3 Cache --
2.0 PCIe version --
16 PCIe lanes --
8.0 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Intel Core i3-550 is 73 W, while the Intel Atom Z2580 has a TDP of --. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.

Intel Core i3-550 Characteristic Intel Atom Z2580
73 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) --
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. 90 °C

Technical details

The Intel Core i3-550 is manufactured in 32 nm and has 4.50 MB cache. The Intel Atom Z2580 is manufactured in 32 nm and has a 1.00 MB cache.

Intel Core i3-550 Characteristic Intel Atom Z2580
32 nm Technology 32 nm
Monolithic Chip design Monolithic
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2 ISA extensions MMX, SSE3, SSSE3
LGA 1156 Socket BGA
VT-x, VT-x EPT Virtualization None
No AES-NI No
Windows 10, Linux Operating systems
Q2/2010 Release date Q2/2013
117 $ Release price --
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Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Intel Core i3-550 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 1.0 stars (2 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Intel Atom Z2580 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 0 stars (0 ratings). Rate now:


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 i3-550 Intel Core i3-550
2C 4T @ 3.20 GHz
489 (100%)
Intel Atom Z2580 Intel Atom Z2580
2C 4T @ 2.00 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 i3-550 Intel Core i3-550
2C 4T @ 3.20 GHz
1170 (100%)
Intel Atom Z2580 Intel Atom Z2580
2C 4T @ 2.00 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 i3-550 Intel Core i3-550
2C 4T @ 3.20 GHz
505 (100%)
Intel Atom Z2580 Intel Atom Z2580
2C 4T @ 2.00 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 i3-550 Intel Core i3-550
2C 4T @ 3.20 GHz
992 (100%)
Intel Atom Z2580 Intel Atom Z2580
2C 4T @ 2.00 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 i3-550 Intel Core i3-550
Intel HD Graphics (Westmere) @ 0.73 GHz
35 (100%)
Intel Atom Z2580 Intel Atom Z2580
PowerVR SGX544 MP2 @ 0.53 GHz
0 (0%)

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 i3-550 Intel Core i3-550
2C 4T @ 3.20 GHz
1597 (100%)
Intel Atom Z2580 Intel Atom Z2580
2C 4T @ 2.00 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 i3-550 Intel Core i3-550
2C 4T @ 3.20 GHz
717 (100%)
Intel Atom Z2580 Intel Atom Z2580
2C 4T @ 2.00 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core i3-550 Intel Atom Z2580
Unknown Unknown

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