Celeron B840 vs Athlon II X2 235e

Celeron B840

2 Cores2 Thrd0 WWMax: 1.9 GHz2011

Athlon II X2 235e

2 Cores2 Thrd45 WWMax: 2.7 GHz2009

Performance Spectrum - CPU

Celeron B840

2 / 2

1,065

0.0%

1,079

+1.3%

Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3955WX

Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7955WX

Ryzen Threadripper 3990X

About PassMark

PassMark CPU Mark evaluates processor speed through complex mathematical computations. It provides a reliable metric to compare multi-core performance, where higher scores indicate faster processing for multitasking, gaming, and heavy workloads.

Value Upgrade Path

This is the official ChipVERSUS Value Rating, comparing raw performance (PassMark) per dollar. Components placed above yours deliver better value for money. The Celeron B840 is positioned at rank 1028 and the Athlon II X2 235e is on rank 888, so the Athlon II X2 235e offers better cost-efficiency for playing games.

MSRP is the manufacturer's suggested retail price.•
Avg price is the current average price collected from markets across the web.

Performance Per Dollar Celeron B840

#1016

Atom x5-Z8300

MSRP: $20|Avg: N/A

2370%

#1017

Atom Z3735G

MSRP: $17|Avg: N/A

2335%

#1018

Core i5-480M

MSRP: $81|Avg: $77

2144%

#1019

Core i5-460M

MSRP: $80|Avg: $129

2134%

#1020

Core i5-2540M

MSRP: $266|Avg: $10

2115%

#1022

Core i5-450M

MSRP: $32|Avg: $31

2042%

#1023

Core i3-380M

MSRP: $49|Avg: $25

1958%

#1024

Core i5-430M

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $33

1955%

#1025

Core 2 Duo T6600

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $4

1902%

#1028

Celeron B840

MSRP: $86|Avg: $15

100%

#1029

Celeron M 743

MSRP: $107|Avg: $15

100%

#1030

Core i7-3612QM

MSRP: $378|Avg: N/A

100%

#1031

Pentium 967

MSRP: $134|Avg: $10

99%

#1032

Core i5-4400E

MSRP: $266|Avg: $50

99%

#1034

Pentium Dual Core T4400

MSRP: $107|Avg: $5

97%

#1037

Core i7-8665UE

MSRP: $409|Avg: $409

96%

#1038

Celeron T3300

MSRP: $86|Avg: $15

94%

#1039

Celeron Dual-Core T3300

MSRP: $86|Avg: $30

94%

#1042

Core i7-3612QE

MSRP: $426|Avg: $50

93%

#1043

A10-7300

MSRP: $150|Avg: $50

93%

Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Per Dollar Athlon II X2 235e

Ryzen 9 7950X

MSRP: $194|Avg: $20

19931%

Core i9-10900T

MSRP: $120|Avg: $5

18832%

Ryzen 3 PRO 4355GE

MSRP: $423|Avg: $5

13674%

Ryzen Threadripper 3960X

MSRP: $1399|Avg: $85

4119%

Ryzen 9 9950X

MSRP: $649|Avg: $129

3263%

Ryzen 5 8400F

MSRP: $303|Avg: $55

2854%

Ryzen 7 PRO 2700

MSRP: $299|Avg: $60

1635%

Ryzen 5 2600X

MSRP: $229|Avg: $55

1614%

Ryzen 3 PRO 5350G

MSRP: $150|Avg: $60

1469%

#10

Core Ultra 5 245KF

MSRP: $294|Avg: $189

1469%

#11

Ryzen 5 5500

MSRP: $159|Avg: $85

1453%

#12

Ryzen 5 3600

MSRP: $199|Avg: $80

1413%

#13

Core i3-9100E

MSRP: $202|Avg: $30

1394%

#14

Core Ultra 5 245K

MSRP: $319|Avg: $200

1388%

#15

Core i3-8300T

MSRP: $138|Avg: $25

1375%

#299

Core i9-7980XE

MSRP: $1999|Avg: $300

95%

#888

Athlon II X2 235e

MSRP: $69|Avg: $15

100%

#889

Athlon II X2 250e

MSRP: $77|Avg: $15

100%

#890

Core i7-2600S

MSRP: $297|Avg: $99

100%

#891

Athlon II X2 250u

MSRP: $60|Avg: $15

100%

#892

Pentium G6951

MSRP: $89|Avg: $50

99%

#893

Core i3-2125

MSRP: $134|Avg: $15

99%

#895

Celeron G1820

MSRP: $110|Avg: $15

99%

#896

Celeron E1600

MSRP: $53|Avg: $10

98%

#897

Athlon II X2 270u

MSRP: $68|Avg: $10

98%

#898

Core i5-4570TE

MSRP: $202|Avg: $40

98%

#899

Core i3-2130

MSRP: $138|Avg: $138

96%

#902

Core i3-6100E

MSRP: $225|Avg: $50

94%

#903

Core i3-4330TE

MSRP: $138|Avg: $15

94%

Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Comparison

About PassMark

🏆 Chipversus Verdict

🚀 Performance Leadership

Performance Trade-off: The Celeron B840 leads in gaming performance. However, the Athlon II X2 235e is the stronger candidate for professional workloads, offering 1.3% greater multi-core processing power.

Insight	Celeron B840	Athlon II X2 235e
Gaming	✅ Superior gaming performance	❌ Lower gaming performance
Workstation	❌ Weaker in multi-core tasks	✅ Better multi-core power
Price	Equivalent pricing	Equivalent pricing
Longevity	🛑 Legacy (Sandy Bridge (2011−2013) / 32 nm)	🛑 Legacy (Regor (2009−2013) / 45 nm)

💎 Value Proposition

Efficiency: Even within a comparison of older hardware, the Athlon II X2 235e stands out as the superior choice. It is effectively 0% cheaper ($15 vs $15) while identifying as the stronger performer.

Insight	Celeron B840	Athlon II X2 235e
Cost Efficiency	❌ Lower cost efficiency	✅ Better overall value (+1%)
Upfront Cost	Equivalent pricing	Equivalent pricing

Performance Check

Paired with RTX 4090

To accurately isolate CPU performance, all benchmarks below use an NVIDIA RTX 4090 as the reference GPU. This eliminates GPU-side bottlenecks and highlights pure processing throughput differences between the CPUs.

Note: Real-world results may vary based on your actual GPU. CPU performance impact is more visible in processing-intensive titles and high-refresh-rate gaming scenarios.

Celeron B840 Benchmark Check

Athlon II X2 235e Benchmark Check

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Celeron B840 and Athlon II X2 235e

Celeron B840

The Celeron B840 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 1 July 2011 (14 years ago). It is based on the Sandy Bridge (2011−2013) architecture. It features 2 cores and 2 threads. Base frequency is 1.9 GHz, with boost up to 1.9 GHz. L3 cache: 2 MB (total). L2 cache: 256K (per core). Built on 32 nm process technology. Socket: PGA988. Thermal design power (TDP): 35 Watt. Memory support: DDR3. Passmark benchmark score: 1,065 points. Launch price was $86.

Athlon II X2 235e

The Athlon II X2 235e is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 20 October 2009 (16 years ago). It is based on the Regor (2009−2013) architecture. It features 2 cores and 2 threads. Base frequency is 2.7 GHz, with boost up to 2.7 GHz. L3 cache: 0 kB. L2 cache: 1 MB. Built on 45 nm process technology. Socket: AM3. Thermal design power (TDP): 45 Watt. Memory support: DDR3. Passmark benchmark score: 1,079 points. Launch price was $84.

⚡

Processing Power

Both the Celeron B840 and Athlon II X2 235e share an identical 2-core/2-thread configuration. Boost clocks reach 1.9 GHz on the Celeron B840 versus 2.7 GHz on the Athlon II X2 235e — a 34.8% clock advantage for the Athlon II X2 235e (base: 1.9 GHz vs 2.7 GHz). The Celeron B840 uses the Sandy Bridge (2011−2013) architecture (32 nm), while the Athlon II X2 235e uses Regor (2009−2013) (45 nm). In PassMark, the Celeron B840 scores 1,065 against the Athlon II X2 235e's 1,079 — a 1.3% lead for the Athlon II X2 235e. Geekbench 6 single-core — the metric most relevant to gaming — records 450 vs 240, a 60.9% lead for the Celeron B840 that directly translates to higher frame rates. Multi-core Geekbench: 790 vs 450 (54.8% advantage for the Celeron B840). L3 cache: 2 MB (total) on the Celeron B840 vs 0 kB on the Athlon II X2 235e.

Feature	Celeron B840	Athlon II X2 235e
Cores / Threads	2 / 2	2 / 2
Boost Clock	1.9 GHz	2.7 GHz+42%
Base Clock	1.9 GHz	2.7 GHz+42%
L3 Cache	2 MB (total)	0 kB
L2 Cache	256K (per core)	1 MB+300%
Process	32 nm-29%	45 nm
Architecture	Sandy Bridge (2011−2013)	Regor (2009−2013)
PassMark	1,065	1,079+1%
Geekbench 6 Single	450+88%	240
Geekbench 6 Multi	790+76%	450

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Celeron B840 uses the PGA988 socket (PCIe 2.0), while the Athlon II X2 235e uses AM3 (PCIe 2.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches 1333 on the Celeron B840 versus DDR3-1333 on the Athlon II X2 235e — the Celeron B840 supports 199.1% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. Both support up to 16 of RAM. Both feature 2-channel memory with ECC support. PCIe lanes: 16 (Celeron B840) vs 0 (Athlon II X2 235e) — the Celeron B840 offers 16 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: HM65,HM67,QM67 (Celeron B840) and 760G,780G,785G,790GX (Athlon II X2 235e).

Feature	Celeron B840	Athlon II X2 235e
Socket	PGA988	AM3
PCIe Generation	PCIe 2.0	PCIe 2.0
Max RAM Speed	1333+44333%	DDR3-1333
Max RAM Capacity	16	16 GB+104857500%
RAM Channels	2	2
ECC Support	❌	✅
PCIe Lanes	16	0

🔧

Advanced Features

Neither processor supports overclocking. Virtualization support: true (Celeron B840) vs AMD-V (Athlon II X2 235e). The Celeron B840 includes integrated graphics (Intel HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge)), while the Athlon II X2 235e requires a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Celeron B840 targets Budget, Athlon II X2 235e targets Energy Efficient Legacy Desktop. Direct competitor: Celeron B840 rivals Pentium B940; Athlon II X2 235e rivals Pentium E5300.

Feature	Celeron B840	Athlon II X2 235e
Integrated GPU	Yes	No
IGPU Model	Intel HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge)	—
Unlocked	No	No
AVX-512	No	No
Virtualization	true	AMD-V
Target Use	Budget	Energy Efficient Legacy Desktop

💰

Value Analysis

The Celeron B840 launched at $86 MSRP, while the Athlon II X2 235e debuted at $69. At current prices ($15 vs $15), the Athlon II X2 235e is $0 cheaper. In terms of value (PassMark points per dollar), the Celeron B840 delivers 71.0 pts/$ vs 71.9 pts/$ for the Athlon II X2 235e — making the Athlon II X2 235e the 1.3% better value option.