Core i5-2430M vs Athlon II X4 615e

Core i5-2430M

2 Cores4 Thrd35 WWMax: 3 GHz2011

Athlon II X4 615e

4 Cores4 Thrd45 WWMax: 2.5 GHz2010

Performance Spectrum - CPU

Core i5-2430M

2 / 4

2,015

0.0%

2,018

+0.1%

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 Core i5-2430M is positioned at rank 1106 and the Athlon II X4 615e is on rank 983, so the Athlon II X4 615e 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 Core i5-2430M

#1094

Atom x5-Z8300

MSRP: $20|Avg: N/A

3275%

#1095

Atom Z3735G

MSRP: $17|Avg: N/A

3227%

#1096

Core i5-480M

MSRP: $81|Avg: $77

2962%

#1097

Core i5-460M

MSRP: $80|Avg: $129

2949%

#1098

Core i5-2540M

MSRP: $266|Avg: $10

2922%

#1100

Core i5-450M

MSRP: $32|Avg: $31

2821%

#1101

Core i3-380M

MSRP: $49|Avg: $25

2705%

#1102

Core i5-430M

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $33

2701%

#1103

Core 2 Duo T6600

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $4

2628%

#1106

Core i5-2430M

MSRP: $225|Avg: N/A

100%

#1108

Pentium Dual Core T4500

MSRP: $150|Avg: $30

99%

#1109

Celeron B820

MSRP: $86|Avg: $15

99%

#1110

Pentium B980

MSRP: $125|Avg: $35

98%

#1111

Celeron 867

MSRP: $86|Avg: $15

98%

#1112

Pentium B970

MSRP: $125|Avg: $39

98%

#1113

Core i5-2410M

MSRP: $225|Avg: N/A

97%

#1114

Pentium T2370

MSRP: $86|Avg: $10

97%

#1115

Pentium N3710

MSRP: $161|Avg: $50

96%

#1116

Core m3-7Y30

MSRP: $281|Avg: $281

96%

#1117

Pentium 977

MSRP: $134|Avg: $10

96%

#1118

Core i7-2715QE

MSRP: $378|Avg: $50

95%

#1120

VIA Nano U2250

MSRP: $50|Avg: $10

95%

#1121

Core i5-560M

MSRP: $225|Avg: N/A

94%

Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Per Dollar Athlon II X4 615e

Ryzen 9 7950X

MSRP: $194|Avg: $20

28729%

Core i9-10900T

MSRP: $120|Avg: $5

27147%

Ryzen 3 PRO 4355GE

MSRP: $423|Avg: $5

19711%

Ryzen Threadripper 3960X

MSRP: $1399|Avg: $85

5938%

Ryzen 9 9950X

MSRP: $649|Avg: $129

4704%

Ryzen 5 8400F

MSRP: $303|Avg: $55

4115%

Ryzen 7 PRO 2700

MSRP: $299|Avg: $60

2357%

Ryzen 5 2600X

MSRP: $229|Avg: $55

2326%

Ryzen 3 PRO 5350G

MSRP: $150|Avg: $60

2118%

#10

Core Ultra 5 245KF

MSRP: $294|Avg: $189

2118%

#11

Ryzen 5 5500

MSRP: $159|Avg: $85

2094%

#12

Ryzen 5 3600

MSRP: $199|Avg: $80

2037%

#13

Core i3-9100E

MSRP: $202|Avg: $30

2009%

#14

Core Ultra 5 245K

MSRP: $319|Avg: $200

2001%

#15

Core i3-8300T

MSRP: $138|Avg: $25

1983%

#304

Core i7-6950X

MSRP: $1723|Avg: $180

94%

#983

Athlon II X4 615e

MSRP: $186|Avg: $30

100%

#984

Athlon X2 BE-2350

MSRP: $90|Avg: $10

100%

#985

Core 2 Quad Q8300

MSRP: $179|Avg: $10

99%

#986

Core i7-860

MSRP: $284|Avg: $30

98%

#987

Core i7-870

MSRP: $300|Avg: $80

97%

#988

Athlon 64 X2 5000+

MSRP: $136|Avg: $42

97%

#989

Core i3-6102E

MSRP: $225|Avg: $35

96%

#990

Pentium Dual-Core E2160

MSRP: $84|Avg: $5

96%

#991

Pentium Dual-Core E2210

MSRP: $98|Avg: $15

95%

#992

Core 2 Duo E7500

MSRP: $113|Avg: $10

94%

#993

Core 2 Quad Q9505

MSRP: $213|Avg: $150

94%

#996

Core i7-930

MSRP: $294|Avg: $20

94%

#997

Core i7-920

MSRP: $284|Avg: $79

93%

#998

Core i7-4960X

MSRP: $990|Avg: $136

93%

Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Comparison

About PassMark

🏆 Chipversus Verdict

🚀 Performance Leadership

Performance Trade-off: The Core i5-2430M leads in gaming performance. However, the Athlon II X4 615e is the stronger candidate for professional workloads, offering 0.1% greater multi-core processing power.

Insight	Core i5-2430M	Athlon II X4 615e
Gaming	✅ Superior gaming performance	❌ Lower gaming performance
Workstation	❌ Weaker in multi-core tasks	✅ Better multi-core power
Price	⚠️ Higher cost ($225)	✅ More affordable ($30)
Longevity	🛑 Legacy (Sandy Bridge (2011−2013) / 32 nm)	🛑 Legacy (Propus (2009−2011) / 45 nm)

💎 Value Proposition

Efficiency: Even within a comparison of older hardware, the Athlon II X4 615e stands out as the superior choice. It is effectively 87% cheaper ($30 vs $225) while identifying as the stronger performer.

Insight	Core i5-2430M	Athlon II X4 615e
Cost Efficiency	❌ Lower cost efficiency	✅ Better overall value (+651%)
Upfront Cost	⚠️ Higher cost ($225)	✅ More affordable ($30)

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.

Core i5-2430M Benchmark Check

Athlon II X4 615e Benchmark Check

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Core i5-2430M and Athlon II X4 615e

Core i5-2430M

The Core i5-2430M is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 1 October 2011 (14 years ago). It is based on the Sandy Bridge (2011−2013) architecture. It features 2 cores and 4 threads. Base frequency is 2.4 GHz, with boost up to 3 GHz. L3 cache: 3 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: 2,015 points. Launch price was $225.

Athlon II X4 615e

The Athlon II X4 615e is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 21 September 2010 (15 years ago). It is based on the Propus (2009−2011) architecture. It features 4 cores and 4 threads. Base frequency is 2.5 GHz, with boost up to 2.5 GHz. L3 cache: 0 kB. L2 cache: 512 kB (per core). Built on 45 nm process technology. Socket: AM3. Thermal design power (TDP): 45 Watt. Memory support: DDR3. Passmark benchmark score: 2,018 points. Launch price was $59.

⚡

Processing Power

The Core i5-2430M packs 2 cores / 4 threads, while the Athlon II X4 615e offers 4 cores / 4 threads — the Athlon II X4 615e has 2 more cores. Boost clocks reach 3 GHz on the Core i5-2430M versus 2.5 GHz on the Athlon II X4 615e — a 18.2% clock advantage for the Core i5-2430M (base: 2.4 GHz vs 2.5 GHz). The Core i5-2430M uses the Sandy Bridge (2011−2013) architecture (32 nm), while the Athlon II X4 615e uses Propus (2009−2011) (45 nm). In PassMark, the Core i5-2430M scores 2,015 against the Athlon II X4 615e's 2,018 — a 0.1% lead for the Athlon II X4 615e. L3 cache: 3 MB (total) on the Core i5-2430M vs 0 kB on the Athlon II X4 615e.

Feature	Core i5-2430M	Athlon II X4 615e
Cores / Threads	2 / 4	4 / 4+100%
Boost Clock	3 GHz+20%	2.5 GHz
Base Clock	2.4 GHz	2.5 GHz+4%
L3 Cache	3 MB (total)	0 kB
L2 Cache	256K (per core)	512 kB (per core)+100%
Process	32 nm-29%	45 nm
Architecture	Sandy Bridge (2011−2013)	Propus (2009−2011)
PassMark	2,015	2,018
Cinebench R23 Multi	—	1,161
Geekbench 6 Single	—	331
Geekbench 6 Multi	—	1,161

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Core i5-2430M uses the PGA988 socket (PCIe 2.0), while the Athlon II X4 615e uses AM3 (PCIe 2.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches 1333 on the Core i5-2430M versus DDR3-1333 on the Athlon II X4 615e — the Core i5-2430M 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. Both provide 16 PCIe lanes. Chipset compatibility: HM65,HM67,QM67,QS67 (Core i5-2430M) and AMD 870,AMD 880G,AMD 890FX,AMD 990FX (Athlon II X4 615e).

Feature	Core i5-2430M	Athlon II X4 615e
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	16

🔧

Advanced Features

Only the Athlon II X4 615e has an unlocked multiplier for overclocking — a significant advantage for enthusiasts seeking extra performance. Virtualization support: true (Core i5-2430M) vs AMD-V (Athlon II X4 615e). The Core i5-2430M includes integrated graphics (Intel HD Graphics 3000), while the Athlon II X4 615e requires a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Athlon II X4 615e targets Gaming. Direct competitor: Core i5-2430M rivals AMD A8-3500M; Athlon II X4 615e rivals Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300.