Pentium 3550M vs i3-3120M
Aggregate performance score
Core i3-3120M outperforms Pentium 3550M by a significant 28% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Core i3-3120M and Pentium 3550M processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 2406 | 2567 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Laptop |
| Series | Intel Core i3 | Intel Pentium |
| Power efficiency | 2.89 | 2.14 |
| Architecture codename | Ivy Bridge (2012−2013) | Haswell (2013−2015) |
| Release date | 30 September 2012 (12 years ago) | 1 September 2013 (11 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $160 | $134 |
Detailed specifications
Core i3-3120M and Pentium 3550M 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 | 2.3 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 2.5 GHz | 2.3 GHz |
| Bus rate | 5 GT/s | 5 GT/s |
| L1 cache | 64K (per core) | 64K (per core) |
| L2 cache | 256K (per core) | 256K (per core) |
| L3 cache | 3 MB (shared) | 2 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 22 nm | 22 nm |
| Die size | 118 mm2 | 118 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | 90C (PGA); 105C (BGA) | 100 °C |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | no data | 105 °C |
| Number of transistors | no data | 1,400 million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
Compatibility
Information on Core i3-3120M and Pentium 3550M 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 | FCBGA1023,FCPGA988 | FCPGA946 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 35 Watt | 37 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i3-3120M and Pentium 3550M. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | Intel® AVX | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2 |
| AVX | + | - |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | + |
| My WiFi | + | no data |
| Turbo Boost Technology | - | - |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | + | - |
| Idle States | + | no data |
| 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 Pentium 3550M technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | - | - |
| EDB | + | + |
| Secure Key | no data | + |
| Identity Protection | + | - |
| Anti-Theft | + | - |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i3-3120M and Pentium 3550M 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 Pentium 3550M. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3 | DDR3 |
| Maximum memory size | 32 GB | 32 GB |
| Max memory channels | 2 | 2 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 25.6 GB/s | 25.6 GB/s |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | Intel HD Graphics 4000 | Intel® HD Graphics for 4th Generation Intel® Processors |
| Quick Sync Video | + | - |
| Clear Video HD | + | - |
| Graphics max frequency | 1.1 GHz | 1.1 GHz |
| InTru 3D | + | no data |
Graphics interfaces
Available interfaces and connections of Core i3-3120M and Pentium 3550M integrated GPUs.
| Number of displays supported | 3 | 3 |
| eDP | + | + |
| DisplayPort | + | + |
| HDMI | + | + |
| VGA | no data | + |
| SDVO | + | no data |
| CRT | + | no data |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i3-3120M and Pentium 3550M.
| 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.
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 | 1.11 | 0.87 |
| Recency | 30 September 2012 | 1 September 2013 |
| Threads | 4 | 2 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 35 Watt | 37 Watt |
i3-3120M has a 27.6% higher aggregate performance score, 100% more threads, and 5.7% lower power consumption.
Pentium 3550M, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 11 months.
The Core i3-3120M is our recommended choice as it beats the Pentium 3550M in performance tests.
Should you still have questions on choice between Core i3-3120M and Pentium 3550M, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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