Celeron G3900 vs i3-3120M
Aggregate performance score
Celeron G3900 outperforms Core i3-3120M by a significant 26% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Core i3-3120M and Celeron G3900 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 2412 | 2241 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | no data | 0.18 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Desktop processor |
| Series | Intel Core i3 | Intel Celeron |
| Power efficiency | 2.89 | 2.51 |
| Architecture codename | Ivy Bridge (2012−2013) | Skylake (2015−2016) |
| Release date | 30 September 2012 (12 years ago) | 1 September 2015 (9 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $160 | $42 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Core i3-3120M and Celeron G3900 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 | 2.5 GHz | 2.8 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 2.5 GHz | 2.8 GHz |
| Bus type | no data | DMI 3.0 |
| Bus rate | 5 GT/s | 4 × 8 GT/s |
| Multiplier | no data | 28 |
| L1 cache | 64K (per core) | 64 KB (per core) |
| L2 cache | 256K (per core) | 256 KB (per core) |
| L3 cache | 3 MB (shared) | 4 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 22 nm | 14 nm |
| Die size | 118 mm2 | 150 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | 90C (PGA); 105C (BGA) | no data |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | no data | 65 °C |
| Number of transistors | no data | 1,400 million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
Compatibility
Information on Core i3-3120M and Celeron G3900 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 (Uniprocessor) |
| Socket | FCBGA1023,FCPGA988 | FCLGA1151 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 35 Watt | 51 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i3-3120M and Celeron G3900. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | Intel® AVX | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2 |
| AES-NI | - | + |
| AVX | + | + |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | + |
| My WiFi | + | no data |
| Turbo Boost Technology | - | - |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | + | - |
| Idle States | + | + |
| Thermal Monitoring | + | + |
| Flex Memory Access | + | no data |
| Demand Based Switching | - | no data |
| FDI | + | no data |
| Fast Memory Access | + | no data |
Security technologies
Core i3-3120M and Celeron G3900 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | - | - |
| EDB | + | + |
| Secure Key | no data | + |
| Identity Protection | + | - |
| SGX | no data | Yes with Intel® ME |
| OS Guard | no data | - |
| Anti-Theft | + | no data |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i3-3120M and Celeron G3900 are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | + | - |
| VT-d | - | + |
| VT-x | + | + |
| EPT | + | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i3-3120M and Celeron G3900. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3 | DDR3, DDR4 |
| Maximum memory size | 32 GB | 64 GB |
| Max memory channels | 2 | 2 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 25.6 GB/s | 34.134 GB/s |
| ECC memory support | - | + |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card Compare | Intel HD Graphics 4000 | Intel HD Graphics 510 |
| Max video memory | no data | 64 GB |
| Quick Sync Video | + | + |
| Clear Video | no data | + |
| Clear Video HD | + | + |
| Graphics max frequency | 1.1 GHz | 950 MHz |
| InTru 3D | + | + |
Graphics interfaces
Available interfaces and connections of Core i3-3120M and Celeron G3900 integrated GPUs.
| Number of displays supported | 3 | 3 |
| eDP | + | + |
| DisplayPort | + | + |
| HDMI | + | + |
| DVI | no data | + |
| SDVO | + | no data |
| CRT | + | no data |
Graphics image quality
Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i3-3120M and Celeron G3900 integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.
| 4K resolution support | no data | + |
| Max resolution over HDMI 1.4 | no data | 4096x2304@24Hz |
| Max resolution over eDP | no data | 4096x2304@60Hz |
| Max resolution over DisplayPort | no data | 4096x2304@60Hz |
| Max resolution over VGA | no data | N/A |
Graphics API support
APIs supported by Core i3-3120M and Celeron G3900 integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.
| DirectX | no data | 12 |
| OpenGL | no data | 4.4 |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i3-3120M and Celeron G3900.
| PCIe version | 2.0 | 3.0 |
| 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.
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.
GeekBench 5 Single-Core
GeekBench 5 Single-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses only a single CPU core.
GeekBench 5 Multi-Core
GeekBench 5 Multi-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses all available CPU cores.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 1.07 | 1.35 |
| Integrated graphics card | 1.18 | 1.61 |
| Recency | 30 September 2012 | 1 September 2015 |
| Threads | 4 | 2 |
| Chip lithography | 22 nm | 14 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 35 Watt | 51 Watt |
i3-3120M has 100% more threads, and 45.7% lower power consumption.
Celeron G3900, on the other hand, has a 26.2% higher aggregate performance score, 36.4% faster integrated GPU, an age advantage of 2 years, and a 57.1% more advanced lithography process.
The Celeron G3900 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i3-3120M in performance tests.
Be aware that Core i3-3120M is a notebook processor while Celeron G3900 is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Core i3-3120M and Celeron G3900, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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