Processor N100 vs i3-390M

Place in the ranking	2592	1782
Place by popularity	not in top-100	65
Market segment	Laptop	Laptop
Series	Intel Core i3	Intel Alder Lake-N
Power efficiency	2.16	37.08
Architecture codename	Arrandale (2010−2011)	Alder Lake-N (2023)
Release date	11 January 2011 (13 years ago)	3 January 2023 (1 year ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$39	$128

Detailed specifications

Core i3-390M and Processor N100 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)	4 (Quad-Core)
Threads	4	4
Base clock speed	2.66 GHz	0.1 GHz
Boost clock speed	0.07 GHz	3.4 GHz
Bus type	DMI 1.0	no data
Bus rate	1 × 2.5 GT/s	no data
Multiplier	20	no data
L1 cache	128 KB	96 KB (per core)
L2 cache	512 KB	2 MB (shared)
L3 cache	3 MB (shared)	6 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	32 nm	10 nm
Die size	81+114 mm²	no data
Maximum core temperature	90 °C for rPGA, 105 °C for BGA	105 °C
Number of transistors	382+177 Million	no data
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	+

Compatibility

Information on Core i3-390M and Processor N100 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	BGA1288,PGA988	Intel BGA 1264
Power consumption (TDP)	35 Watt	6 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i3-390M and Processor N100. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2	no data
AES-NI	-	+
FMA	+	+
AVX	-	+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Turbo Boost Technology	-	no data
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	no data
Idle States	+	no data
Thermal Monitoring	+	-
Flex Memory Access	+	no data
PAE	36 Bit	no data
FDI	+	no data
Fast Memory Access	+	no data

Security technologies

Core i3-390M and Processor N100 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	-	+
EDB	+	no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i3-390M and Processor N100 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i3-390M and Processor N100. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR4, DDR5
Maximum memory size	8 GB	no data
Max memory channels	2	no data
Maximum memory bandwidth	17.051 GB/s	no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	Intel® HD Graphics for Previous Generation Intel® Processors	Intel UHD Graphics 24EUs (Alder Lake-N)
Clear Video	+	no data
Clear Video HD	+	no data
Graphics max frequency	667 MHz	no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i3-390M and Processor N100 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported

no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i3-390M and Processor N100.

PCIe version	2.0	3.0
PCI Express lanes	16	9

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.

i3-390M 0.83

Processor N100 2.44
+194%

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.

i3-390M 2829

Processor N100 4869
+72.1%

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.

i3-390M 6405

Processor N100 11207
+75%

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.

i3-390M 2811

Processor N100 4838
+72.1%

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.

i3-390M 22.5

Processor N100 16.22
+38.7%

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.

i3-390M 2

Processor N100 4
+94%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	0.83	2.44
Recency	11 January 2011	3 January 2023
Physical cores	2	4
Chip lithography	32 nm	10 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	35 Watt	6 Watt

Processor N100 has a 194% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 11 years, 100% more physical cores, a 220% more advanced lithography process, and 483.3% lower power consumption.

The Processor N100 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i3-390M in performance tests.

Should you still have questions on choice between Core i3-390M and Processor N100, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.