Athlon 240GE vs Core i5-3450

The Athlon 240GE packs 2 cores / 4 threads, while the Core i5-3450 offers 4 cores / 4 threads — the Core i5-3450 has 2 more cores. Boost clocks reach 3.5 GHz on the Athlon 240GE versus 3.5 GHz on the Core i5-3450 — identical boost frequencies (base: 3.5 GHz vs 3.1 GHz). The Athlon 240GE uses the Zen (2017−2020) architecture (14 nm), while the Core i5-3450 uses Ivy Bridge (2012−2013) (22 nm). In PassMark, the Athlon 240GE scores 4,561 against the Core i5-3450's 4,517 — a 1% lead for the Athlon 240GE. L3 cache: 4 MB (total) on the Athlon 240GE vs 6144 kB (total) on the Core i5-3450.

The Athlon 240GE uses the AM4 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Core i5-3450 uses LGA1155 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches DDR4-2666 on the Athlon 240GE versus 1600 on the Core i5-3450 — the Core i5-3450 supports 199% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. The Athlon 240GE supports up to 64 GB of RAM compared to 32 — 66.7% more capacity for professional workloads. Both feature 2-channel memory with ECC support. PCIe lanes: 8 (Athlon 240GE) vs 16 (Core i5-3450) — the Core i5-3450 offers 8 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives.

Virtualization support: AMD-V (Athlon 240GE) vs true (Core i5-3450). Both include integrated graphics — Radeon Vega 3 (Athlon 240GE) and Intel HD Graphics 2500 (Core i5-3450) — useful as a fallback for troubleshooting or display output without a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Athlon 240GE targets Budget Desktop. Direct competitor: Athlon 240GE rivals Pentium Gold G5400.

The Athlon 240GE launched at $75 MSRP, while the Core i5-3450 debuted at $184. At current prices ($110 vs $95), the Core i5-3450 is $15 cheaper. In terms of value (PassMark points per dollar), the Athlon 240GE delivers 41.5 pts/$ vs 47.5 pts/$ for the Core i5-3450 — making the Core i5-3450 the 13.7% better value option.