AMD Athlon PRO 3045B vs Intel Core i3-6100 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data splits these two processors along clear workload lines. The AMD Athlon PRO 3045B takes the majority of the wins, five out of the seven recorded head-to-head tests, and all of its victories come in the Cinebench suite. The Intel Core i3-6100 counters with two wins, both in Geekbench, and one of those is a decisive margin.

For multi-threaded rendering workloads, the AMD part is consistently ahead. In Cinebench R15 multicore, the Athlon PRO 3045B scores 237 against the Intel's 224, a 5.5% advantage. That lead carries through Cinebench R20 multicore, where AMD posts 988 versus 934, again a 5.5% gap, and Cinebench R23 multicore, where the AMD scores 2354 against 2226, a 5.4% edge. The pattern is consistent across every Cinebench iteration in the database. If the workload is a Cinebench-style render, the AMD Athlon PRO 3045B is the pick.

Single-threaded Cinebench tests also favor AMD, though the margins are similar. The Athlon PRO 3045B scores 139 in Cinebench R20 single-core against the Intel's 131, a 5.8% difference, and 332 versus 314 in Cinebench R23 single-core, a 5.4% gap. These are not huge margins, but they are uniform across all Cinebench tests.

The Intel Core i3-6100 wins the Geekbench tests, and the multicore result is emphatic. The Intel scores 1605 in Geekbench multicore against the AMD's 1287, a 24.7% advantage. That is the single largest delta in the entire head-to-head dataset. The single-core Geekbench result is closer: Intel at 785, AMD at 766, a 2.5% edge.

So the use-case split is this: Cinebench rendering, both single and multi-threaded, belongs to AMD. Geekbench, particularly the multicore test, belongs to Intel, and by a very wide margin. The average benchmark scores reflect the overall balance: the Intel Core i3-6100 averages 888 across all benchmarks, while the AMD Athlon PRO 3045B averages 872. That is a 1.8% difference in favor of Intel, driven almost entirely by the Geekbench multicore outlier.

Architecture Differences

The two chips come from different design philosophies despite both being 14 nm parts. The Intel Core i3-6100 is built on the Skylake architecture, fabricated by Intel itself, while the AMD Athlon PRO 3045B uses the Zen architecture under the Dali codename, fabricated by GlobalFoundries. Both use the same process node at 14 nm, but the transistor counts are very different. The AMD chip packs 3,500 million transistors on a 148 mm² die, while the Intel chip has 1,400 million transistors on a slightly larger 150 mm² die. That is a 2.5x transistor density advantage for the AMD design on essentially the same die size.

Core and thread counts are identical: 2 cores and 4 threads on both processors. The base clock speeds, however, differ substantially. The Intel Core i3-6100 runs at 3.70 GHz with no boost clock listed. The AMD Athlon PRO 3045B has a base clock of 2.30 GHz but boosts up to 3.20 GHz. Even at full boost, the AMD part runs 0.50 GHz lower than the Intel's fixed clock. The Intel chip compensates with higher sustained frequency, while the AMD chip relies on its Zen architecture efficiency.

Cache layouts also differ. The Intel Core i3-6100 has 64 KB of L1 cache per core and 256 KB of L2 per core, with 4 MB of shared L3. The AMD Athlon PRO 3045B has larger per-core caches: 96 KB of L1 per core and 512 KB of L2 per core, again with 4 MB of shared L3. The AMD part has 33% more L1 per core and double the L2 per core, which helps explain its Cinebench strength.

Memory support is dual-channel DDR4 on both, but the AMD part has a higher theoretical memory bandwidth at 38.4 GB/s versus Intel's 34.1 GB/s. The AMD chip also supports ECC memory, a feature absent from the Intel part. PCIe lane counts differ too: the Intel provides Gen 3 with 16 lanes from the CPU, while the AMD provides Gen 3 with 12 lanes.

The integrated graphics differ as well. The Intel Core i3-6100 carries Intel HD 530, while the AMD Athlon PRO 3045B has Radeon Vega with 2 compute units. The power envelope is a major differentiator: the Intel chip has a TDP of 51 watts, while the AMD chip is rated at just 15 watts. That is a 36-watt gap in favor of AMD, more than a 3x efficiency difference on paper. The Intel uses the Socket 1151 platform, while the AMD uses Socket FP5 and is classified as a mobile segment part despite being a desktop-capable chip.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Cinebench suite is entirely AMD territory. In Cinebench R15 multicore, the Athlon PRO 3045B scores 237 against the Intel's 224, a 5.5% win. Cinebench R20 multicore shows the same 5.5% delta, with AMD at 988 and Intel at 934. Cinebench R23 multicore narrows slightly to a 5.4% gap, AMD at 2354, Intel at 2226. The single-core Cinebench tests follow the same script. Cinebench R20 single-core has AMD at 139 versus Intel at 131, a 5.8% margin. Cinebench R23 single-core has AMD at 332 versus Intel at 314, a 5.4% margin. In every Cinebench test, the AMD chip leads by roughly 5.5%, regardless of single or multi-threaded operation.

The Geekbench results flip the script. Geekbench multicore is a blowout for Intel: 1605 versus 1287, a 24.7% advantage. That is the largest delta in the entire comparison and it single-handedly lifts the Intel's average benchmark score above the AMD chip's. Geekbench single-core is much closer, with Intel at 785 and AMD at 766, a 2.5% margin.

The pattern suggests that Cinebench and Geekbench measure different aspects of performance. Cinebench rewards the AMD's larger per-core caches and Zen architecture, while Geekbench multicore appears to favor the Intel's higher sustained clock speed of 3.70 GHz. The Intel's fixed 3.70 GHz clock, with no boost variance, likely helps in Geekbench's mixed workload. The AMD's boost clock of 3.20 GHz may not hold as consistently under the Geekbench multicore load.

The wins break down as 5 for AMD and 2 for Intel. But the magnitude matters. The AMD wins are clustered around 5.5%, while the Intel's Geekbench multicore win is nearly 25%. The average benchmark scores reflect this: Intel at 888, AMD at 872. The Intel's nearest rivals include the Xeon X5550 at 888, the Pentium G4560T at 887, and the AMD PRO A8-8650B at 887. The AMD Athlon PRO 3045B's nearest rivals include the Atom C5315 at 871, the Core i3-5157U at 877, and the Core i7-3540M at 867.

The Verdict

The data points to a split decision based on workload priority. For Cinebench-style rendering, the AMD Athlon PRO 3045B is the better choice. It wins every Cinebench test by a consistent 5.4% to 5.8%, in both single and multi-threaded variants. Its larger L2 cache and higher memory bandwidth appear to serve rendering workloads well.

For Geekbench-style mixed workloads, the Intel Core i3-6100 is the better choice. Its 24.7% multicore Geekbench win is the most significant performance gap in the entire dataset. The Intel also edges AMD in Geekbench single-core by 2.5%. The higher base clock of 3.70 GHz, with no boost dependency, gives the Intel an edge in these tests.

The overall average benchmark score favors the Intel Core i3-6100, 888 versus 872, a 1.8% aggregate advantage. That puts the Intel at the 24th percentile of all CPUs in the database, versus the AMD at the 23rd percentile. The difference is small in percentile terms, but the Intel's lead is real.

Power consumption is the other major factor. The AMD Athlon PRO 3045B has a 15-watt TDP versus the Intel's 51-watt TDP. That is a 36-watt difference, making the AMD part dramatically more power-efficient. The AMD also supports ECC memory, which the Intel does not. For a system where power draw or ECC support matters, the AMD is the clear choice. For raw Geekbench performance and a higher aggregate score, the Intel is the pick.

The production status for both is listed as Active, so both remain available in the market. The Intel launched in late August 2015, while the AMD has no recorded release date in the database. Neither chip has a recorded launch MSRP, so no price comparison is possible from the data.

FAQ

Q: Which processor wins more benchmark tests in the head-to-head comparison?

A: The AMD Athlon PRO 3045B wins 5 of the 7 head-to-head tests, all in the Cinebench suite. The Intel Core i3-6100 wins 2 tests, both in Geekbench.

Q: What is the largest performance gap between the two chips?

A: The largest gap is in Geekbench multicore, where the Intel Core i3-6100 scores 1605 against the AMD Athlon PRO 3045B's 1287, a 24.7% advantage for Intel.

Q: How do the cache sizes compare between the two processors?

A: The AMD Athlon PRO 3045B has 96 KB of L1 cache per core and 512 KB of L2 per core. The Intel Core i3-6100 has 64 KB of L1 per core and 256 KB of L2 per core. Both have 4 MB of shared L3 cache.

Q: Which chip has the lower power consumption?

A: The AMD Athlon PRO 3045B has a TDP of 15 watts, while the Intel Core i3-6100 has a TDP of 51 watts. The AMD part consumes 36 watts less on paper.

Q: Does either processor support ECC memory?

A: Yes, the AMD Athlon PRO 3045B supports ECC memory. The Intel Core i3-6100 does not support ECC memory.

Q: What are the clock speeds of the two processors?

A: The Intel Core i3-6100 has a base clock of 3.70 GHz with no boost clock. The AMD Athlon PRO 3045B has a base clock of 2.30 GHz and a boost clock of 3.20 GHz.

Q: Which processor has the higher average benchmark score in the database?

A: The Intel Core i3-6100 has an average benchmark score of 888, while the AMD Athlon PRO 3045B has an average of 872. The Intel leads by 1.8% in aggregate terms.