Ryzen 5 3600 vs i3-4120U

Place in the ranking	2314	693
Place by popularity	not in top-100	9
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	no data	21.90
Market segment	Laptop	Desktop processor
Series	Intel Core i3	AMD Ryzen 5
Power efficiency	7.76	16.26
Architecture codename	Haswell (2013−2015)	Matisse (2019−2020)
Release date	14 April 2014 (10 years ago)	7 July 2019 (5 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$281	$199

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Core i3-4120U and Ryzen 5 3600 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)	6 (Hexa-Core)
Threads	4	12
Base clock speed	2 GHz	3.6 GHz
Boost clock speed	2 GHz	4.2 GHz
Bus rate	5 GT/s	no data
L1 cache	128 KB	96K (per core)
L2 cache	512 KB	512K (per core)
L3 cache	3 MB	32 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	22 nm	7 nm, 12 nm
Maximum core temperature	100 °C	no data
Number of transistors	no data	4,800 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	+
Unlocked multiplier	-	+

Compatibility

Information on Core i3-4120U and Ryzen 5 3600 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	FCBGA1168	AM4
Power consumption (TDP)	15 Watt	65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i3-4120U and Ryzen 5 3600. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2	no data
AES-NI	+	+
AVX	+	+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	-	no data
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	no data
Idle States	+	no data
Thermal Monitoring	+	-
GPIO	+	no data
Smart Connect	+	no data
FDI	-	no data
AMT	9.5	no data
Matrix Storage	-	no data
HD Audio	+	no data
RST	+	no data
Precision Boost 2	no data	+

Security technologies

Core i3-4120U and Ryzen 5 3600 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

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

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i3-4120U and Ryzen 5 3600 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 i3-4120U and Ryzen 5 3600. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR4 Dual-channel
Maximum memory size	16 GB	128 GB
Max memory channels	2	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s	51.196 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	Intel HD Graphics 4400	-
Max video memory	2 GB	-
Quick Sync Video	+	-
Clear Video HD	+	-
Graphics max frequency	1 GHz	-
InTru 3D	+	-

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i3-4120U and Ryzen 5 3600 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported	3	-
eDP	+	-
DisplayPort	+	-
HDMI	+	-

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i3-4120U and Ryzen 5 3600 integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

Max resolution over HDMI 1.4	3200x2000@60Hz	-
Max resolution over DisplayPort	3200x2000@60Hz	-
Max resolution over VGA	N/A	-

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i3-4120U and Ryzen 5 3600 integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX	11.2/12	-
OpenGL	4.3	-

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i3-4120U and Ryzen 5 3600.

PCIe version	2.0	no data
PCI Express lanes	12	no data
PCI support	-	no data
USB revision	3.0	no data
Total number of SATA ports	4	no data
Max number of SATA 6 Gb/s Ports	4	no data
Integrated IDE	-	no data
Number of USB ports	4	no data
Integrated LAN	-	no data
UART	+	no 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.

i3-4120U 1.23

Ryzen 5 3600 11.17
+808%

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.

i3-4120U 1948

Ryzen 5 3600 17747
+811%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	1.23	11.17
Recency	14 April 2014	7 July 2019
Physical cores	2	6
Threads	4	12
Chip lithography	22 nm	7 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	15 Watt	65 Watt

i3-4120U has 333.3% lower power consumption.

Ryzen 5 3600, on the other hand, has a 808.1% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 5 years, 200% more physical cores and 200% more threads, and a 214.3% more advanced lithography process.

The Ryzen 5 3600 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i3-4120U in performance tests.

Be aware that Core i3-4120U is a notebook processor while Ryzen 5 3600 is a desktop one.

Should you still have questions on choice between Core i3-4120U and Ryzen 5 3600, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.