Xeon W3503
VS
Athlon II X2 245e

Xeon W3503 vs Athlon II X2 245e

Intel

Xeon W3503

2 Cores2 Thrd130 WWMax: 2.4 GHz2009
VS
AMD

Athlon II X2 245e

2 Cores2 Thrd45 WWMax: 2.9 GHz2010

Performance Spectrum - CPU

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 Xeon W3503 is positioned at rank 978 and the Athlon II X2 245e is on rank 939, so the Athlon II X2 245e 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 Xeon W3503

#1
Xeon Platinum 8454H
MSRP: $6540|Avg: N/A
36913%
#6
Xeon Gold 6240R
MSRP: $2444|Avg: N/A
6970%
#10
Xeon 6337P
MSRP: $60|Avg: $5
6192%
#15
EPYC 9174F
MSRP: $194|Avg: $30
4784%
#978
Xeon W3503
MSRP: N/A|Avg: N/A
100%
#979
Xeon E5-2689
MSRP: $1800|Avg: $18
98%
#980
Xeon E5-2450L
MSRP: $1106|Avg: $78
97%
#981
Xeon X3480
MSRP: $612|Avg: $48
97%
#982
Xeon E5-2687W
MSRP: $1885|Avg: $70
94%
#983
Xeon E5-4610
MSRP: $1219|Avg: $50
94%
#985
Xeon X7550
MSRP: $1500|Avg: $1400
93%
#986
Xeon E7540
MSRP: $1980|Avg: $146
93%
#987
Xeon E7530
MSRP: $1391|Avg: $146
92%
#988
Xeon E5-4627 v4
MSRP: $2500|Avg: $200
92%
#989
Xeon E5-4627 v3
MSRP: $2225|Avg: $200
91%
#990
Xeon X5660
MSRP: $1219|Avg: $10
87%
#991
Xeon E5-2667
MSRP: $1552|Avg: $31
85%
#992
Xeon E5-2690
MSRP: $2057|Avg: $150
84%
#993
Xeon E3-1565L v5
MSRP: $1552|Avg: $120
84%
Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Per Dollar Athlon II X2 245e

#1
Ryzen 9 7950X
MSRP: $194|Avg: $20
23777%
#2
Core i9-10900T
MSRP: $120|Avg: $5
22467%
#3
Ryzen 3 PRO 4355GE
MSRP: $423|Avg: $5
16313%
#4
Ryzen Threadripper 3960X
MSRP: $1399|Avg: $85
4914%
#5
Ryzen 9 9950X
MSRP: $649|Avg: $129
3893%
#6
Ryzen 5 8400F
MSRP: $303|Avg: $55
3405%
#7
Ryzen 7 PRO 2700
MSRP: $299|Avg: $60
1950%
#8
Ryzen 5 2600X
MSRP: $229|Avg: $55
1925%
#9
Ryzen 3 PRO 5350G
MSRP: $150|Avg: $60
1753%
#10
Core Ultra 5 245KF
MSRP: $294|Avg: $189
1753%
#11
Ryzen 5 5500
MSRP: $159|Avg: $85
1733%
#12
Ryzen 5 3600
MSRP: $199|Avg: $80
1686%
#13
Core i3-9100E
MSRP: $202|Avg: $30
1663%
#14
Core Ultra 5 245K
MSRP: $319|Avg: $200
1656%
#15
Core i3-8300T
MSRP: $138|Avg: $25
1641%
#938
Core i3-3220T
MSRP: $149|Avg: $146
100%
#939
Athlon II X2 245e
MSRP: $87|Avg: $15
100%
#940
Athlon II X2 240e
MSRP: $77|Avg: $77
100%
#941
Pentium G630T
MSRP: $79|Avg: $15
100%
#942
Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition
MSRP: $990|Avg: $175
99%
#945
Core i5-650
MSRP: $176|Avg: $22
98%
#946
A10-6790B
MSRP: $122|Avg: $50
97%
#947
Phenom X3 8600
MSRP: $100|Avg: $20
97%
#948
Core i3-6100TE
MSRP: $250|Avg: $90
96%
#949
FX-4320
MSRP: $250|Avg: $100
96%
#950
Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition
MSRP: $990|Avg: $150
96%
#951
Celeron E1200
MSRP: $53|Avg: $98
96%
#953
Core i5-660
MSRP: $196|Avg: $150
95%
Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Comparison

About PassMark

🏆 Chipversus Verdict

🚀 Performance Leadership

Use Case Distinction: This is a comparison between a Professional Workstation processor ($0) and a Consumer Desktop CPU. The Xeon W3503 is engineered for massive parallel workloads (rendering, scientific simulations), offering significantly higher core counts.
InsightXeon W3503Athlon II X2 245e
Gaming
Lower gaming performance
Superior gaming performance
Workstation
Weaker in multi-core tasks
Better multi-core power
Price
More affordable ($0)
⚠️ Higher cost ($15)
Longevity
🛑 Legacy (Bloomfield (2008−2010) / 45 nm)
🛑 Legacy (Regor (2009−2013) / 45 nm)

💎 Value Proposition

The Athlon II X2 245e ($15), however, is optimized for mixed workloads and gaming. For most users, it offers superior single-thread performance and responsiveness at a fraction of the cost ($15 less, Infinity% cheaper), making it the better choice for daily use and gaming.
InsightXeon W3503Athlon II X2 245e
Cost Efficiency
Lower cost efficiency
Lower cost efficiency
Upfront Cost
More affordable ($0)
⚠️ Higher cost ($15)

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.

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Xeon W3503 and Athlon II X2 245e

Intel

Xeon W3503

The Xeon W3503 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 30 March 2009 (16 years ago). It is based on the Bloomfield (2008−2010) architecture. It features 2 cores and 2 threads. Base frequency is 2.4 GHz, with boost up to 2.4 GHz. L3 cache: 4 MB (total). L2 cache: 256 kB (per core). Built on 45 nm process technology. Socket: LGA1366. Thermal design power (TDP): 130 Watt. Memory support: DDR3. Passmark benchmark score: 1,125 points. Launch price was $65.

AMD

Athlon II X2 245e

The Athlon II X2 245e is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 11 May 2010 (15 years ago). It is based on the Regor (2009−2013) architecture. It features 2 cores and 2 threads. Base frequency is 2.9 GHz, with boost up to 2.9 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: 1,141 points. Launch price was $80.

Processing Power

Both the Xeon W3503 and Athlon II X2 245e share an identical 2-core/2-thread configuration. Boost clocks reach 2.4 GHz on the Xeon W3503 versus 2.9 GHz on the Athlon II X2 245e — a 18.9% clock advantage for the Athlon II X2 245e (base: 2.4 GHz vs 2.9 GHz). The Xeon W3503 uses the Bloomfield (2008−2010) architecture (45 nm), while the Athlon II X2 245e uses Regor (2009−2013) (45 nm). In PassMark, the Xeon W3503 scores 1,125 against the Athlon II X2 245e's 1,141 — a 1.4% lead for the Athlon II X2 245e. L3 cache: 4 MB (total) on the Xeon W3503 vs 0 kB on the Athlon II X2 245e.

FeatureXeon W3503Athlon II X2 245e
Cores / Threads
2 / 2
2 / 2
Boost Clock
2.4 GHz
2.9 GHz+21%
Base Clock
2.4 GHz
2.9 GHz+21%
L3 Cache
4 MB (total)
0 kB
L2 Cache
256 kB (per core)
1 MB+300%
Process
45 nm
45 nm
Architecture
Bloomfield (2008−2010)
Regor (2009−2013)
PassMark
1,125
1,141+1%
Geekbench 6 Single
319
Geekbench 6 Multi
741
🧠

Memory & Platform

The Xeon W3503 uses the LGA1366 socket (PCIe 2.0), while the Athlon II X2 245e uses AM3 (PCIe 2.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.

FeatureXeon W3503Athlon II X2 245e
Socket
LGA1366
AM3
PCIe Generation
PCIe 2.0
PCIe 2.0
Max RAM Speed
DDR3-1333
Max RAM Capacity
16 GB
RAM Channels
2
ECC Support
🔧

Advanced Features

Virtualization: not specified (Xeon W3503) / AMD-V (Athlon II X2 245e). Primary use case: Athlon II X2 245e targets Budget. Direct competitor: Athlon II X2 245e rivals Athlon II X2 270u.

FeatureXeon W3503Athlon II X2 245e
Integrated GPU
No
Unlocked
No
AVX-512
No
Virtualization
AMD-V
Target Use
Budget