Xeon E3-1220L v3 vs A8-3870K
Aggregate performance score
A8-3870K outperforms Xeon E3-1220L v3 by an impressive 65% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing A8-3870K and Xeon E3-1220L v3 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 2157 | 2537 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Market segment | Desktop processor | Server |
| Power efficiency | 1.39 | 5.24 |
| Architecture codename | Llano (2011−2012) | Haswell-WS (2013−2014) |
| Release date | 20 December 2011 (12 years ago) | 2 June 2013 (11 years ago) |
Detailed specifications
A8-3870K and Xeon E3-1220L v3 basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.
| Physical cores | 4 (Quad-Core) | 2 (Dual-core) |
| Threads | 4 | 4 |
| Base clock speed | 3 GHz | 1.1 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3 GHz | 1.5 GHz |
| Bus rate | no data | 5 GT/s |
| L1 cache | 128 KB (per core) | 64 KB (per core) |
| L2 cache | 1 MB (per core) | 256 KB (per core) |
| L3 cache | 0 KB | 4096 KB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | 22 nm |
| Die size | 228 mm2 | 160 mm2 |
| Number of transistors | 1,178 million | 1,400 million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
| Unlocked multiplier | + | - |
Compatibility
Information on A8-3870K and Xeon E3-1220L v3 compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.
| Number of CPUs in a configuration | 1 | 1 |
| Socket | FM1 | FCLGA1150 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 100 Watt | 13 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by A8-3870K and Xeon E3-1220L v3. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | no data | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2 |
| AES-NI | - | + |
| AVX | - | + |
| vPro | no data | + |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | no data | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | no data | 2.0 |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | no data | + |
| TSX | - | + |
| Idle States | no data | + |
| Thermal Monitoring | - | + |
| Flex Memory Access | no data | + |
| SIPP | - | + |
| Fast Memory Access | no data | + |
Security technologies
A8-3870K and Xeon E3-1220L v3 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | no data | + |
| EDB | no data | + |
| Secure Key | no data | + |
| Identity Protection | - | + |
| OS Guard | no data | + |
| Anti-Theft | no data | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by A8-3870K and Xeon E3-1220L v3 are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | + | - |
| VT-d | no data | + |
| VT-x | no data | + |
| EPT | no data | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by A8-3870K and Xeon E3-1220L v3. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3 | DDR3, DDR4 |
| Maximum memory size | no data | 32 GB |
| Max memory channels | no data | 2 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | no data | 25.6 GB/s |
| ECC memory support | - | + |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | AMD Radeon HD 6550D | no data |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by A8-3870K and Xeon E3-1220L v3.
| PCIe version | no data | 3.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | no data | 16 |
Synthetic benchmark performance
Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.
Combined synthetic benchmark score
This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.
Passmark
Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 1.52 | 0.92 |
| Recency | 20 December 2011 | 2 June 2013 |
| Physical cores | 4 | 2 |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | 22 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 100 Watt | 13 Watt |
A8-3870K has a 65.2% higher aggregate performance score, and 100% more physical cores.
Xeon E3-1220L v3, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 1 year, a 45.5% more advanced lithography process, and 669.2% lower power consumption.
The A8-3870K is our recommended choice as it beats the Xeon E3-1220L v3 in performance tests.
Note that A8-3870K is a desktop processor while Xeon E3-1220L v3 is a server/workstation one.
Should you still have questions on choice between A8-3870K and Xeon E3-1220L v3, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
Similar processor comparisons
We picked several similar comparisons of processors in the same market segment and performance relatively close to those reviewed on this page.
