Intel Pentium 2020M vs AMD Phenom II X2 521

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Pentium 2020M CPU1 vs CPU2 AMD Phenom II X2 521
Intel Pentium 2020M AMD Phenom II X2 521

CPU comparison

Intel Pentium 2020M or AMD Phenom II X2 521 - 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 Pentium 2020M has 2 cores with 2 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 2.40 GHz. Up to 32 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Intel Pentium 2020M was released in Q3/2012.

The AMD Phenom II X2 521 has 2 cores with 2 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.50 GHz. The CPU supports up to GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The AMD Phenom II X2 521 was released in Q2/2011.
Intel Pentium (150) Family AMD Phenom II (52)
Intel Pentium 2000 (5) CPU group AMD Phenom II - 500 (2)
4 Generation 1
Ivy Bridge U Architecture Regor (K10)
Mobile Segment Desktop / Server
-- Predecessor --
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Pentium 2020M has 2 CPU cores and can calculate 2 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Intel Pentium 2020M is 2.40 GHz while the AMD Phenom II X2 521 has 2 CPU cores and 2 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the AMD Phenom II X2 521 is at 3.50 GHz.

Intel Pentium 2020M Characteristic AMD Phenom II X2 521
2 Cores 2
2 Threads 2
normal Core architecture normal
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? Yes
2.40 GHz Frequency 3.50 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 Pentium 2020M Characteristic AMD Phenom II X2 521
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

The Intel Pentium 2020M or AMD Phenom II X2 521 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 (Ivy Bridge GT1) GPU no iGPU
0.65 GHz GPU frequency --
1.10 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
7 GPU Generation --
22 nm Technology
3 Max. displays
6 Compute units --
48 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 (Ivy Bridge GT1) 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 Pentium 2020M can use up to 32 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 25.6 GB/s. The AMD Phenom II X2 521 supports up to GB of memory in 2 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 21.3 GB/s.

Intel Pentium 2020M Characteristic AMD Phenom II X2 521
DDR3L-1333, DDR3L-1600, DDR3-1333, 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 --
2.00 MB L3 Cache 2.00 MB
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 Pentium 2020M is 35 W, while the AMD Phenom II X2 521 has a TDP of 65 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.

Intel Pentium 2020M Characteristic AMD Phenom II X2 521
35 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 65 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
90 °C Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Intel Pentium 2020M is manufactured in 22 nm and has 2.00 MB cache. The AMD Phenom II X2 521 is manufactured in 45 nm and has a 2.00 MB cache.

Intel Pentium 2020M 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 ISA extensions SSE3, SSE4a
PGA 988 Socket AM3
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d Virtualization AMD-V
Yes AES-NI No
Windows 10, Linux Operating systems Windows 10, Linux
Q3/2012 Release date Q2/2011
-- Release price 35 $
show more data show more data


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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 0 CPU benchmarks
Intel Pentium 2020M (0%)
AMD Phenom II X2 521 (0%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Intel Pentium 2020M (61%)
AMD Phenom II X2 521 (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 Pentium 2020M Intel Pentium 2020M
2C 2T @ 2.40 GHz
1371 (61%)
AMD Phenom II X2 521 AMD Phenom II X2 521
2C 2T @ 3.50 GHz
2253 (100%)

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 Pentium 2020M Intel Pentium 2020M
2C 2T @ 2.40 GHz
473 (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 Pentium 2020M Intel Pentium 2020M
2C 2T @ 2.40 GHz
886 (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 Pentium 2020M Intel Pentium 2020M
2C 2T @ 2.40 GHz
403 (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 Pentium 2020M Intel Pentium 2020M
2C 2T @ 2.40 GHz
731 (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 Pentium 2020M Intel Pentium 2020M
Intel HD Graphics (Ivy Bridge GT1) @ 1.10 GHz
106 (100%)
AMD Phenom II X2 521 AMD Phenom II X2 521
@ 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 Pentium 2020M Intel Pentium 2020M
2C 2T @ 2.40 GHz
465 (100%)
AMD Phenom II X2 521 AMD Phenom II X2 521
2C 2T @ 3.50 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 Pentium 2020M Intel Pentium 2020M
2C 2T @ 2.40 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Phenom II X2 521 AMD Phenom II X2 521
2C 2T @ 3.50 GHz
92 (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 Pentium 2020M Intel Pentium 2020M
2C 2T @ 2.40 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Phenom II X2 521 AMD Phenom II X2 521
2C 2T @ 3.50 GHz
177 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Pentium 2020M AMD Phenom II X2 521
Unknown Unknown

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