Pentium 3558U vs i3-3120M

VS

Aggregate performance score

Core i3-3120M
2012
2 cores / 4 threads, 35 Watt
1.07
+64.6%
Pentium 3558U
2014
2 cores / 2 threads, 15 Watt
0.65

Core i3-3120M outperforms Pentium 3558U by an impressive 65% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i3-3120M and Pentium 3558U processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking24252761
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
SeriesIntel Core i3Intel Pentium
Power efficiency2.894.10
Architecture codenameIvy Bridge (2012−2013)Haswell (2013−2015)
Release date30 September 2012 (12 years ago)1 January 2014 (10 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$160$161

Detailed specifications

Core i3-3120M and Pentium 3558U 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 cores2 (Dual-core)2 (Dual-core)
Threads42
Base clock speed2.5 GHzno data
Boost clock speed2.5 GHz1.7 GHz
Bus rate5 GT/s5 GT/s
L1 cache64K (per core)128 KB
L2 cache256K (per core)512 KB
L3 cache3 MB (shared)2 MB
Chip lithography22 nm22 nm
Die size118 mm2no data
Maximum core temperature90C (PGA); 105C (BGA)100 °C
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--

Compatibility

Information on Core i3-3120M and Pentium 3558U 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 configuration1no data
SocketFCBGA1023,FCPGA988FCBGA1168
Power consumption (TDP)35 Watt15 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i3-3120M and Pentium 3558U. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® AVXno data
AVX+-
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)+no data
My WiFi+no data
Turbo Boost Technology-no data
Hyper-Threading Technology+no data
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 3558U technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT-no data
EDB+no data
Identity Protection+-
Anti-Theft+no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i3-3120M and Pentium 3558U 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 Core i3-3120M and Pentium 3558U. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR3
Maximum memory size32 GBno data
Max memory channels2no data
Maximum memory bandwidth25.6 GB/sno data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card
Compare
Intel HD Graphics 4000Intel HD Graphics (Haswell) (200 - 1000 MHz)
Quick Sync Video+-
Clear Video HD+no data
Graphics max frequency1.1 GHzno data
InTru 3D+no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i3-3120M and Pentium 3558U integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported3no data
eDP+no data
DisplayPort+-
HDMI+-
SDVO+no data
CRT+no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i3-3120M and Pentium 3558U.

PCIe version2.0no data
PCI Express lanes16no 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.

i3-3120M 1.07
+64.6%
Pentium 3558U 0.65

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.

i3-3120M 1699
+63.4%
Pentium 3558U 1040

Cinebench 10 32-bit single-core

Cinebench R10 is an ancient ray tracing benchmark for processors by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. Its single core version uses just one CPU thread to render a futuristic looking motorcycle.

i3-3120M 3428
+36.6%
Pentium 3558U 2510

Cinebench 10 32-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 10 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R10 using all the processor threads. Possible number of threads is limited by 16 in this version.

i3-3120M 6867
+41.5%
Pentium 3558U 4852

3DMark06 CPU

3DMark06 is a discontinued DirectX 9 benchmark suite from Futuremark. Its CPU part contains two scenarios, one dedicated to artificial intelligence pathfinding, another to game physics using PhysX package.

i3-3120M 3057
+58.7%
Pentium 3558U 1926

wPrime 32

wPrime 32M is a math multi-thread processor test, which calculates square roots of first 32 million integer numbers. Its result is measured in seconds, so that the less is benchmark result, the faster the processor.

i3-3120M 22.02
+110%
Pentium 3558U 46.24

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 11.5 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R11.5 which uses all the processor threads. A maximum of 64 threads is supported in this version.

i3-3120M 2
+69%
Pentium 3558U 1

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R11.5 is an old benchmark by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version loads a single thread with ray tracing to render a glossy room full of crystal spheres and light sources.

i3-3120M 0.96
+29.7%
Pentium 3558U 0.74

TrueCrypt AES

TrueCrypt is a discontinued piece of software that was widely used for on-the-fly-encryption of disk partitions, now superseded by VeraCrypt. It contains several embedded performance tests, one of them being TrueCrypt AES, which measures data encryption speed using AES algorithm. Result is encryption speed in gigabytes per second.

i3-3120M 0.3
+92.3%
Pentium 3558U 0.1

Geekbench 2

i3-3120M 5113
+63.5%
Pentium 3558U 3127

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 1.07 0.65
Integrated graphics card 1.18 0.84
Recency 30 September 2012 1 January 2014
Threads 4 2
Power consumption (TDP) 35 Watt 15 Watt

i3-3120M has a 64.6% higher aggregate performance score, 40.5% faster integrated GPU, and 100% more threads.

Pentium 3558U, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 1 year, and 133.3% lower power consumption.

The Core i3-3120M is our recommended choice as it beats the Pentium 3558U in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i3-3120M and Pentium 3558U, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Core i3-3120M
Core i3-3120M
Intel Pentium 3558U
Pentium 3558U

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Community ratings

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