i3-12100F vs Atom C3958
Aggregate performance score
Core i3-12100F outperforms Atom C3958 by a whopping 260% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Atom C3958 and Core i3-12100F processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 1750 | 859 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | 5 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 0.55 | no data |
| Market segment | Server | Desktop processor |
| Series | Intel Atom | no data |
| Power efficiency | 7.54 | 14.49 |
| Architecture codename | Goldmont (2016−2017) | Alder Lake-S (2022) |
| Release date | 15 August 2017 (7 years ago) | January 2022 (2 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $449 | no data |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Atom C3958 and Core i3-12100F 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 | 16 (Hexadeca-Core) | 4 (Quad-Core) |
| Threads | 16 | 8 |
| Base clock speed | 2 GHz | 3.3 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 2 GHz | 4.3 GHz |
| Multiplier | 20 | no data |
| L1 cache | 896 KB | 80K (per core) |
| L2 cache | 16 MB | 1.25 MB (per core) |
| L3 cache | 16 MB | 12 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 14 nm | Intel 7 nm |
| Die size | no data | 163 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | 83 °C | 100 °C |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | + |
Compatibility
Information on Atom C3958 and Core i3-12100F 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 (Uniprocessor) | 1 |
| Socket | FCBGA1310 | FCLGA1700 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 31 Watt | 58 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Atom C3958 and Core i3-12100F. 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 | - | + |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | + |
| QuickAssist | + | no data |
| Speed Shift | no data | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | - | 2.0 |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | - | + |
| TSX | - | + |
| Idle States | no data | + |
| Thermal Monitoring | - | + |
| Turbo Boost Max 3.0 | no data | - |
| Deep Learning Boost | - | + |
Security technologies
Atom C3958 and Core i3-12100F technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | no data | + |
| EDB | + | + |
| Secure Boot | + | no data |
| Secure Key | + | + |
| SGX | - | no data |
| OS Guard | + | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Atom C3958 and Core i3-12100F are enumerated here.
| VT-d | + | + |
| VT-x | + | + |
| EPT | + | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Atom C3958 and Core i3-12100F. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR4: 2400 | DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200 |
| Maximum memory size | 256 GB | 128 GB |
| Max memory channels | 2 | 2 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 38.397 GB/s | 76.8 GB/s |
| ECC memory support | + | - |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Atom C3958 and Core i3-12100F.
| PCIe version | 3 | 5.0 and 4.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | 16 | 20 |
| USB revision | 3 | no data |
| Total number of SATA ports | 16 | no data |
| Max number of SATA 6 Gb/s Ports | 16 | no data |
| Number of USB ports | 8 | no data |
| Integrated LAN | 4x10/2.5/1 GBE | no data |
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 | 2.47 | 8.88 |
| Physical cores | 16 | 4 |
| Threads | 16 | 8 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 31 Watt | 58 Watt |
Atom C3958 has 300% more physical cores and 100% more threads, and 87.1% lower power consumption.
i3-12100F, on the other hand, has a 259.5% higher aggregate performance score.
The Core i3-12100F is our recommended choice as it beats the Atom C3958 in performance tests.
Be aware that Atom C3958 is a server/workstation processor while Core i3-12100F is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Atom C3958 and Core i3-12100F, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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