Intel Core i9-12900HX vs AMD Athlon II X2 260u

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i9-12900HX CPU1 vs CPU2 AMD Athlon II X2 260u
Intel Core i9-12900HX AMD Athlon II X2 260u

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Intel Core i9-12900HX and the AMD Athlon II X2 260u and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Intel Core i9-12900HX 16 core processor released in Q2/2022 with the AMD Athlon II X2 260u which has 2 CPU cores and was introduced in Q3/2009.
Intel Core i9 (78) Family AMD Athlon II (52)
Intel Core i 12000H (23) CPU group AMD Athlon II X2 (Propus) (18)
12 Generation 1
Alder Lake H Architecture Propus
Mobile Segment Desktop / Server
-- Predecessor --
Intel Core i9-13900HX Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core i9-12900HX is a 16 core processor with a clock frequency of 2.30 GHz (5.00 GHz). The processor can compute 24 threads at the same time. The AMD Athlon II X2 260u clocks with 1.80 GHz, has 2 CPU cores and can calculate 2 threads in parallel.

Intel Core i9-12900HX Characteristic AMD Athlon II X2 260u
16 Cores 2
24 Threads 2
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture normal
Yes Hyperthreading No
Yes Overclocking ? No
2.30 GHz (5.00 GHz)
8x Golden Cove
A-Core 1.80 GHz
1.70 GHz (3.60 GHz)
8x Gracemont
B-Core --

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 i9-12900HX Characteristic AMD Athlon II X2 260u
-- 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 UHD Graphics 770 GPU no iGPU
0.30 GHz GPU frequency --
1.55 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
11 GPU Generation --
10 nm Technology
3 Max. displays
32 Compute units --
256 Shader --
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
64 GB Max. GPU Memory --
12 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 UHD Graphics 770 GPU no iGPU
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
Decode / Encode Codec h264 No
Decode / Encode Codec VP9 No
Decode / Encode Codec VP8 No
Decode Codec AV1 No
Decode / Encode Codec AVC No
Decode Codec VC-1 No
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG No

Memory & PCIe

Up to 128 GB of memory in a maximum of 2 memory channels is supported by the Intel Core i9-12900HX, while the AMD Athlon II X2 260u supports a maximum of 16 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 21.3 GB/s enabled.

Intel Core i9-12900HX Characteristic AMD Athlon II X2 260u
LPDDR5-5200, LPDDR4X-4266, DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200 Memory DDR3-1333
128 GB Max. Memory 16 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
83.2 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 21.3 GB/s
No ECC No
14.00 MB L2 Cache 2.00 MB
30.00 MB L3 Cache --
5.0 PCIe version 2.0
20 PCIe lanes --
78.8 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The Intel Core i9-12900HX has a TDP of 55 W. The TDP of the AMD Athlon II X2 260u is 25 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Intel Core i9-12900HX Characteristic AMD Athlon II X2 260u
55 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 25 W
157 W TDP (PL2) --
86 W TDP up --
45 W TDP down --
100 °C Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Intel Core i9-12900HX has 44.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 10 nm. The cache of AMD Athlon II X2 260u is at 2.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 45 nm.

Intel Core i9-12900HX Characteristic AMD Athlon II X2 260u
10 nm Technology 45 nm
Monolithic Chip design Unknown
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX2+ ISA extensions MMX, 3DNow!, SSE3, SSE4a
BGA 1744 Socket AM3
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d Virtualization AMD-V
Yes AES-NI No
Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux Operating systems Windows 10, Linux
Q2/2022 Release date Q3/2009
606 $ Release price --
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Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Intel Core i9-12900HX to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.5 stars (2 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the AMD Athlon II X2 260u to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 5.0 stars (1 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 3 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i9-12900HX (100%)
AMD Athlon II X2 260u (14%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 4 CPU benchmarks
Intel Core i9-12900HX (100%)
AMD Athlon II X2 260u (3%)

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 i9-12900HX Intel Core i9-12900HX
16C 24T @ 5.00 GHz
1902 (100%)
AMD Athlon II X2 260u AMD Athlon II X2 260u
2C 2T @ 1.80 GHz
258 (14%)

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 i9-12900HX Intel Core i9-12900HX
16C 24T @ 2.30 GHz
18845 (100%)
AMD Athlon II X2 260u AMD Athlon II X2 260u
2C 2T @ 1.80 GHz
478 (3%)

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 i9-12900HX Intel Core i9-12900HX
16C 24T @ 5.00 GHz
1861 (100%)
AMD Athlon II X2 260u AMD Athlon II X2 260u
2C 2T @ 1.80 GHz
250 (13%)

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 i9-12900HX Intel Core i9-12900HX
16C 24T @ 2.30 GHz
15474 (100%)
AMD Athlon II X2 260u AMD Athlon II X2 260u
2C 2T @ 1.80 GHz
476 (3%)

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 i9-12900HX Intel Core i9-12900HX
16C 24T @ 5.00 GHz
736 (100%)
AMD Athlon II X2 260u AMD Athlon II X2 260u
2C 2T @ 1.80 GHz
103 (14%)

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 i9-12900HX Intel Core i9-12900HX
16C 24T @ 2.30 GHz
7197 (100%)
AMD Athlon II X2 260u AMD Athlon II X2 260u
2C 2T @ 1.80 GHz
191 (3%)

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 i9-12900HX Intel Core i9-12900HX
16C 24T @ 2.30 GHz
35642 (100%)
AMD Athlon II X2 260u AMD Athlon II X2 260u
2C 2T @ 1.80 GHz
715 (2%)

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 i9-12900HX Intel Core i9-12900HX
16C 24T @ 5.00 GHz
2425 (100%)
AMD Athlon II X2 260u AMD Athlon II X2 260u
2C 2T @ 1.80 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 i9-12900HX Intel Core i9-12900HX
16C 24T @ 2.30 GHz
14620 (100%)
AMD Athlon II X2 260u AMD Athlon II X2 260u
2C 2T @ 1.80 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 i9-12900HX Intel Core i9-12900HX
Intel UHD Graphics 770 @ 1.55 GHz
794 (100%)
AMD Athlon II X2 260u AMD Athlon II X2 260u
@ 0.00 GHz
0 (0%)

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 i9-12900HX Intel Core i9-12900HX
16C 24T @ 5.00 GHz
274 (100%)
AMD Athlon II X2 260u AMD Athlon II X2 260u
2C 2T @ 1.80 GHz
0 (0%)

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 i9-12900HX Intel Core i9-12900HX
16C 24T @ 2.30 GHz
2894 (100%)
AMD Athlon II X2 260u AMD Athlon II X2 260u
2C 2T @ 1.80 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Core i9-12900HX AMD Athlon II X2 260u
Unknown Unknown

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