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Intel
IntelBX80623I52500K
$246

4 Cores, 4 Threads @3.2 GHz, Haswell.
Release date ≈ Q2 2014.

 $246 

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

Real World Speed
Performance profile from 145,149 user samples
2,142 User Benchmarks
Best Bench: 81% Base clock 3.2 GHz
Worst Bench: 57% Base clock 3.2 GHz, turbo 1 GHz (avg)
Poor: 57% Great: 81%
SPEED RANK: 354th / 1468
Gaming
Gaming 73%
Battleship
Desktop
Desktop 78%
Battleship
Workstation
Workstation 55%
Gunboat
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: 506th / 1468
Gaming
Gaming 66%
Battle cruiser
Desktop
Desktop 72%
Battleship
Workstation
Workstation 49%
Yacht
Effective Speed
Effective CPU Speed
73.2 % Faster effective speed.
+11%
65.9 %
Memory
Avg. Memory Latency
83.6 Pts +1% 83.1 Pts
1-Core
Avg. Single Core Speed
102 Pts Faster single-core speed.
+15%
88.4 Pts
2-Core
Avg. Dual Core Speed
197 Pts Faster dual-core speed.
+13%
174 Pts
4-Core
Avg. Quad Core Speed
363 Pts Faster quad-core speed.
+29%
281 Pts
8-Core
Avg. Octa Core Speed
371 Pts Faster octa-core speed.
+24%
300 Pts
Memory
OC Memory Latency
93 Pts 94.9 Pts +2%
1-Core
OC Single Core Speed
114 Pts 114 Pts
2-Core
OC Dual Core Speed
219 Pts 227 Pts +4%
4-Core
OC Quad Core Speed
411 Pts Slightly faster OC quad-core speed.
+8%
380 Pts
8-Core
OC Octa Core Speed
410 Pts +3% 399 Pts
Market Share
Based on 69,051,549 CPUs tested
Market Share
Market Share (trailing 30 days)
0.01 % 0.13 % Insanely higher market share.
+1,200%
Value
Value For Money
88.2 % Better value.
+29%
68.2 %
User Rating
UBM User Rating
51 % 76 % Much more popular.
+49%
Price
Price (score)
$141 Much cheaper.
+43%
$246
Age
Newest
125+ Months More recent.
+25%
166 Months
64-Core
OC Multi Core Speed
411 Pts +1% 407 Pts
64-Core
Avg. Multi Core Speed
371 Pts Faster 64-core speed.
+22%
304 Pts
Launch Date
Launch Date
Q2'14 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 - $224.00 N/A
Max Turbo Frequency
Max Turbo Frequency
3.9 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 »

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) November 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]

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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