Pentium 957 vs i3-2310M

Primary details

Comparing Core i3-2310M and Pentium 957 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	2609	not rated
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Laptop	Laptop
Series	Intel Core i3	Intel Pentium
Architecture codename	Sandy Bridge (2011−2013)	Sandy Bridge (2011−2013)
Release date	1 February 2011 (13 years ago)	13 June 2011 (13 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$225	$134

Detailed specifications

Core i3-2310M and Pentium 957 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	2 (Dual-core)	2 (Dual-core)
Threads	4	2
Base clock speed	2.1 GHz	1.2 GHz
Boost clock speed	2.1 GHz	1.2 GHz
Bus type	DMI 2.0	DMI 2.0
Bus rate	4 × 5 GT/s	4 × 5 GT/s
Multiplier	21	12
L1 cache	128 KB	128 KB
L2 cache	512 KB	512 KB
L3 cache	3 MB (shared)	2 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	32 nm	32 nm
Die size	149 mm2	131 mm2
Maximum core temperature	85C (PGA); 100C (BGA)	100 °C
Number of transistors	624 million	504 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-

Compatibility

Information on Core i3-2310M and Pentium 957 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 (Uniprocessor)
Socket	FCBGA1023,PPGA988	FCBGA1023
Power consumption (TDP)	35 Watt	17 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i3-2310M and Pentium 957. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® AVX	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2
FMA	+	+
AVX	+	-
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
My WiFi	+	-
Turbo Boost Technology	-	-
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	-
Idle States	+	+
Thermal Monitoring	+	+
Flex Memory Access	+	+
Demand Based Switching	-	-
FDI	+	+
Fast Memory Access	+	+
Status	Discontinued	Discontinued

Security technologies

Core i3-2310M and Pentium 957 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	-	-
EDB	+	+
Identity Protection	+	-
Anti-Theft	+	-

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i3-2310M and Pentium 957 are enumerated here.

AMD-V	+	-
VT-d	-	-
VT-x	+	-
EPT	+	no data

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i3-2310M and Pentium 957. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR3
Maximum memory size	16 GB	8.01 GB
Max memory channels	2	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	21.335 GB/s	21.335 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card Compare	Intel HD Graphics 3000	Intel HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge)
Quick Sync Video	+	-
Clear Video HD	+	-
Graphics max frequency	1.1 GHz	800 MHz
InTru 3D	+	-

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i3-2310M and Pentium 957 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported	2	2
eDP	+	+
DisplayPort	+	+
HDMI	+	+
SDVO	+	+
CRT	+	+

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i3-2310M and Pentium 957.

PCIe version	2.0	2.0
PCI Express lanes	16	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.

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Pros & cons summary

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Recency	1 February 2011	13 June 2011
Threads	4	2
Power consumption (TDP)	35 Watt	17 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Core i3-2310M and Pentium 957, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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