AMD Athlon 240GE vs Intel Core i5-3570T Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data presents a clear and consistent picture: the AMD Athlon 240GE wins every recorded head-to-head test against the Intel Core i5-3570T. Across five Cinebench workloads, the Athlon 240GE holds a lead that never dips below 14.8% and reaches as high as 15.1%. This is not a marginal victory; it is a systematic outperformance across both multi-core and single-core rendering tasks.

In Cinebench R15 multi-core, the Athlon 240GE scores 390 against the i5-3570T's 331, a 15.1% advantage. The R20 multi-core test shows a similar gap: 1627 for the Athlon against 1383 for Intel, a 15% difference. The R23 multi-core result repeats the pattern exactly, with the Athlon scoring 3876 and the Intel chip 3293, again a 15% gap. In single-core workloads, the story is unchanged. Cinebench R20 single-core gives the Athlon 229 points versus 195 for the i5-3570T, a 14.8% lead, while R23 single-core shows 547 against 465, a 15% margin.

What makes this interesting is the architectural context. The Intel part is a quad-core, four-thread Ivy Bridge design from 2012, while the AMD part is a dual-core, four-thread Zen design from 2018. Despite having half the physical cores, the Athlon 240GE's newer Zen architecture and higher base clock of 3.50 GHz (the i5-3570T runs at 2.30 GHz base, 3.30 GHz boost) allow it to outrun the older Intel chip in every test. The data shows that the single-core performance advantage is just as large as the multi-core one, which indicates the Athlon's per-thread efficiency is substantially better, not merely its core count or clock speed.

The average benchmark scores reinforce this. The i5-3570T records an average benchmark score of 1136, while the Athlon 240GE sits at 1121. That is a 1.3% gap in favor of Intel in the aggregate, which seems to contradict the head-to-head results. The explanation lies in the benchmark sets. The i5-3570T's average includes Geekbench scores (1705 multi-core, 578 single-core), which are not present in the Athlon's recorded benchmark list. The Athlon's average is computed only from Cinebench results, so the two averages are not directly comparable. When the same Cinebench tests are run on both, the Athlon wins every time.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Athlon 240GE wins in every category where both processors were measured. Multi-core rendering, single-core rendering, all Cinebench versions: the Athlon is ahead by roughly 15% across the board. This makes it the straightforward choice for users whose workloads resemble Cinebench's rendering engine, which stresses both integer and floating-point throughput. The consistency of the margin, 14.8% to 15.1%, suggests the advantage is structural rather than workload-specific. The Zen architecture's higher instructions per clock and the Athlon's 3.50 GHz clock speed contribute to this uniform lead.

The Intel Core i5-3570T does have one recorded advantage: its average benchmark score of 1136 is higher than the Athlon's 1121, but this is an artifact of the different test sets used for each CPU. The i5-3570T's Geekbench results, 1705 multi-core and 578 single-core, inflate its average relative to the Athlon's Cinebench-only average. If a user relies on Geekbench as a metric, the i5-3570T appears competitive, but the head-to-head Cinebench data does not support that conclusion. The i5-3570T also offers four physical cores, which may help in workloads that scale with core count rather than thread count, but no benchmark in the database tests such a scenario directly.

For modern software that benefits from newer instruction sets and higher per-core throughput, the Athlon 240GE is the clear winner. For legacy applications that are single-threaded and older, the i5-3570T's 3.30 GHz boost clock and Ivy Bridge architecture may still be adequate, but the recorded data shows the Athlon is faster even in single-core tests. The Athlon's 35 W TDP also gives it an efficiency edge over the i5-3570T's 45 W TDP, which matters for small form factor builds or systems where heat output is a concern.

FAQ

Q: Which processor is faster in Cinebench R23 multi-core?

A: The AMD Athlon 240GE scores 3876 versus 3293 for the Intel Core i5-3570T, a 15% lead for AMD.

Q: Does the Intel Core i5-3570T win any benchmark in the head-to-head comparison?

A: No. The Athlon 240GE wins all five recorded head-to-head tests: Cinebench R15 multi-core, R20 multi-core, R20 single-core, R23 multi-core, and R23 single-core.

Q: How does the single-core performance compare?

A: The Athlon 240GE leads by 14.8% in Cinebench R20 single-core (229 vs 195) and by 15% in R23 single-core (547 vs 465).

Q: What are the average benchmark scores for each processor?

A: The i5-3570T has an average benchmark score of 1136, while the Athlon 240GE has an average of 1121. Note that these averages are based on different test sets, so they are not directly comparable.

Q: Which CPU has a higher base clock?

A: The AMD Athlon 240GE runs at 3.50 GHz base clock, while the Intel Core i5-3570T has a 2.30 GHz base clock and a 3.30 GHz boost clock.

Q: What is the TDP difference?

A: The Athlon 240GE has a 35 W TDP, while the i5-3570T has a 45 W TDP.

Specification Differences

The two processors differ in nearly every major specification category. The Intel Core i5-3570T uses 4 cores and 4 threads, while the AMD Athlon 240GE uses 2 cores and 4 threads. Clock speeds differ significantly: the i5-3570T has a 2.30 GHz base clock and a 3.30 GHz boost clock, whereas the Athlon 240GE has a 3.50 GHz base clock and no boost clock listed. TDP also favors AMD: 35 W for the Athlon, 45 W for Intel.

Memory support is a major differentiator. The i5-3570T supports DDR3 memory, while the Athlon 240GE supports DDR4. Both use dual-channel memory buses, but the Athlon lists a memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s, a figure not provided for the Intel part. Sockets are incompatible: Intel uses Socket 1155, AMD uses Socket AM4. PCIe lanes differ as well, with Intel offering Gen 3, 16 Lanes (CPU only) and AMD offering Gen 3, 8 Lanes (CPU only).

Integrated graphics also differ. Intel pairs the i5-3570T with Intel HD 2500, while AMD equips the Athlon 240GE with Radeon Vega 3. Neither processor has an unlocked multiplier. The i5-3570T was released on 2012-04-28, while the Athlon 240GE launched on 2018-12-20. The Athlon 240GE has a launch MSRP of $75. Production status differs: the Athlon is listed as Active, while the i5-3570T has no production status listed. The Intel part number is SR0P1, and the AMD part number is YD240GC6M2OFB.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two CPUs spans six years of process technology and design philosophy. The Intel Core i5-3570T is built on Ivy Bridge, a 22 nm process from Intel's own foundry. It packs 1,400 million transistors into a 160 mm² die. The AMD Athlon 240GE uses the Zen architecture (Raven Ridge) on a 14 nm process from GlobalFoundries, with 4,950 million transistors on a 209.8 mm² die. The transistor count difference is stark: AMD's chip has more than three times the transistor count of Intel's, which reflects both the newer process and the integrated Vega graphics.

Cache hierarchies differ as well. The i5-3570T has 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 256 KB of L2 cache per core, and 6 MB of shared L3 cache. The Athlon 240GE has 96 KB of L1 cache per core, 512 KB of L2 cache per core, and 4 MB of shared L3 cache. AMD's larger per-core L1 and L2 caches help compensate for its smaller L3 pool, particularly in single-threaded workloads. The i5-3570T's 6 MB L3 gives it an advantage in shared-cache scenarios, but the recorded benchmarks show the Athlon still wins overall.

The i5-3570T belongs to Intel's Core i5 (Ivy Bridge) generation, while the Athlon 240GE is part of AMD's Athlon (Zen (Raven Ridge)) generation. Both are desktop-market parts with integrated graphics, but the Radeon Vega 3 in the Athlon is a more modern GPU than Intel HD 2500. Neither supports ECC memory. The i5-3570T's PCIe implementation offers 16 lanes versus 8 lanes on the Athlon, which can matter for users with multiple expansion cards, though the Athlon's newer PCIe Gen 3 implementation may be more efficient per lane.

The Verdict

The data points in one direction: the AMD Athlon 240GE is the faster processor in every head-to-head benchmark recorded. If a user's priority is raw performance in Cinebench-style workloads, multi-core or single-core, the Athlon wins by approximately 15% across the board. It also does so at a lower TDP, 35 W versus 45 W, and supports DDR4 memory, which offers better bandwidth and future upgrade potential. The Athlon's 3.50 GHz base clock, despite having only 2 physical cores, is enough to outpace the i5-3570T's 4 cores at 2.30 GHz base and 3.30 GHz boost in all tested scenarios.

The Intel Core i5-3570T retains a few practical advantages. It has 4 physical cores, which may be preferable for workloads that are core-count sensitive rather than thread-count sensitive, and its 6 MB of shared L3 cache is larger than the Athlon's 4 MB. The i5-3570T also offers 16 PCIe lanes, double the Athlon's 8 lanes, which matters for users planning to install multiple PCIe devices. Its average benchmark score of 1136 is slightly higher than the Athlon's 1121, though this is due to the inclusion of Geekbench results in its test set.

Users building a new system today should pick the AMD Athlon 240GE for its superior performance, lower power draw, modern DDR4 support, and active production status. Users locked into an Intel Socket 1155 platform with DDR3 memory who cannot justify a platform swap may still find the i5-3570T serviceable, but the recorded data shows the Athlon is faster in every measurable way. For anyone choosing between upgrading an existing i5-3570T system or building a new Athlon 240GE machine, the benchmarks make the choice straightforward: the newer AMD part delivers consistently higher scores while consuming less power.