Intel
IntelBX80623I52500K
$246
  

4 Cores, 4 Threads @3.1 GHz, Haswell.
Release date ≤ Q1 2014.

 $246 

4 Cores, 4 Threads @3.3GHz, Sandy Bridge.
Release date: Q1 2011.

Real World Speed
Performance profile from 144,668 user samples
1,661 User Benchmarks
Best Bench: 79% Base clock 3.1 GHz, turbo 3.4 GHz (avg)
Worst Bench: 59% Base clock 3.1 GHz, turbo 3 GHz (avg)
Poor: 59% Great: 79%
SPEED RANK: 352nd / 1442
Gaming
Gaming 72%
Battleship
Desktop
Desktop 77%
Battleship
Workstation
Workstation 54%
Yacht
143,007 User Benchmarks
Best Bench: 79% Base clock 3.3 GHz, turbo 4.6 GHz (avg)
Worst Bench: 44% Base clock 3.3 GHz, turbo 0.5 GHz (avg)
Poor: 44% Great: 79%
SPEED RANK: 484th / 1442
Gaming
Gaming 66%
Battle cruiser
Desktop
Desktop 72%
Battleship
Workstation
Workstation 49%
Yacht
Effective Speed
Effective CPU Speed
72.4 % Slightly faster effective speed.
+10%
65.9 %
Memory
Avg. Memory Latency
82.8 Pts 83.1 Pts +0%
1-Core
Avg. Single Core Speed
100 Pts Faster single-core speed.
+13%
88.4 Pts
2-Core
Avg. Dual Core Speed
193 Pts Faster dual-core speed.
+11%
174 Pts
4-Core
Avg. Quad Core Speed
358 Pts Faster quad-core speed.
+27%
281 Pts
8-Core
Avg. Octa Core Speed
362 Pts Faster octa-core speed.
+21%
300 Pts
Memory
OC Memory Latency
92.2 Pts 94.9 Pts +3%
1-Core
OC Single Core Speed
111 Pts 114 Pts +3%
2-Core
OC Dual Core Speed
211 Pts 227 Pts Slightly faster OC dual-core speed.
+8%
4-Core
OC Quad Core Speed
398 Pts +5% 380 Pts
8-Core
OC Octa Core Speed
397 Pts 399 Pts +1%
Market Share
Based on 67,712,370 CPUs tested
Market Share
Market Share (trailing 30 days)
0 % 0.28 % Insanely higher market share.
+∞%
User Rating
UBM User Rating
51 % 76 % Much more popular.
+49%
Age
Newest
121+ Months More recent.
+24%
159 Months
64-Core
OC Multi Core Speed
397 Pts 407 Pts +3%
64-Core
Avg. Multi Core Speed
364 Pts Faster 64-core speed.
+20%
304 Pts
Launch Date
Launch Date
Q2'13 Q1'11
Instruction Set Extensions
Instruction Set Extensions
SSE4.1/4.2, AVX 2.0 SSE4.1/4.2, AVX
Lithography
Lithography
22 nm 32 nm
Recommended Price
Recommended Customer Price
$213.00 N/A
Max Turbo Frequency
Max Turbo Frequency
3.8 GHz 3.7 GHz
Bus Speed
Bus Speed
5 GT/s DMI2 5 GT/s DMI
Memory Types
Memory Types
DDR3-1333/1600, DDR3L-1333/1600 @ 1.5V DDR3 1066/1333
Memory Bandwidth
Max Memory Bandwidth
25.6 GB/s 21 GB/s
Processor Graphics
Processor Graphics ‡
Intel® HD Graphics 4600 Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Graphics Base Frequency
Graphics Base Frequency
350 MHz 850 MHz
Wireless Display
Intel® Wireless Display
Yes No
# of Displays Supported
# of Displays Supported ‡
3 2
Graphics Max Dynamic Frequency
Graphics Max Dynamic Frequency
1.2 GHz 1.1 GHz
Virtualization for Directed I/O (VT-d)
Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d) ‡
Yes No
vPro Tech
Intel® vPro™ Technology ‡
Yes No
Trusted Execution Tech
Intel® Trusted Execution Technology ‡
Yes No
PCI Express Revision
PCI Express Revision
Up to 3.0 2.0

More specs » More specs »
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The i5-2500K is a second generation Sandy Bridge processor which is currently two generations old and nearly three years out of date. The many users that had the good sense to purchase this processor should feel in no hurry to upgrade as it's still no slouch, even by today's standards. The benchmark figures indicate that, even at stock clock rates, in terms of real-world performance this processor is approximately 20% slower than the best currently available, not bad considering its age. Given that the 2500K has an unlocked multiplier upping its performance by 10% with stock cooling should not pose much of a problem for the majority of owners. Here is a detailed performance comparison of the 2500K vs 4670K.  [Jul '13 CPUPro]

MORE DETAILS

Processor Rankings (Price vs Performance) April 2024 CPU Rankings

We calculate effective speed which measures real world performance for typical users. Effective speed is adjusted by current prices to yield a value for money rating. Our calculated values are checked against thousands of individual user ratings. The customizable table below combines these factors to bring you the definitive list of top CPUs. [CPUPro]

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Group Test Results

  • Best user rated - User sentiment trumps benchmarks for this comparison.
  • Best value for money - Value for money is based on real world performance.
  • Fastest real world speed - Real World Speed measures performance for typical consumers.
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Welcome to our PC speed test tool. UserBenchmark will test your PC and compare the results to other users with the same components. You can quickly size up your PC, identify hardware problems and explore the best value for money upgrades.

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How it works

  • - Download and run UserBenchmark
  • - CPU tests include: integer, floating and string
  • - GPU tests include: six 3D game simulations
  • - Drive tests include: read, write, sustained write and mixed IO
  • - RAM tests include: single/multi core bandwidth and latency
  • - SkillBench (space shooter) tests user input accuracy
  • - Reports are generated and presented on userbenchmark.com
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 Frequently Asked Questions

 Best User Rated

The Best.
CPUGPUSSD
Intel Core i5-13600K $279Nvidia RTX 4060 $300Crucial MX500 250GB $40
Intel Core i5-12400F $134Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti $385Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $80
Intel Core i5-12600K $184Nvidia RTX 4070 $409Samsung 860 Evo 250GB $52
HDDRAMUSB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $39Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $40SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $35Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $43SanDisk Extreme 32GB $28
Seagate Barracuda 2TB (2016) $51G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $351SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $16
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