Pentium G850 vs Core i3-540

Primary Details

Comparing Core i3-540 and Pentium G850 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking	2347	2397
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-Effectiveness Evaluation	0.11	19.07
Market segment	Desktop processor	Desktop processor
Architecture codename	Clarkdale (2010−2011)	Sandy Bridge (2011−2013)
Release date	7 January 2010 (14 years ago)	22 May 2011 (12 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$45	$27
Current price	$29 (0.6x MSRP)	$42 (1.6x MSRP)

Cost-Effectiveness Evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Pentium G850 has 17236% better value for money than i3-540.

Detailed Specifications

Core i3-540 and Pentium G850 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	3.06 GHz	2.9 GHz
Boost clock speed	0.07 GHz	2.9 GHz
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	64 KB (per core)
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	256 KB (per core)
L3 cache	4 MB (shared)	3 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	32 nm	32 nm
Die size	81 mm2	131 mm2
Maximum core temperature	73 °C	69 °C
Number of transistors	382 million	504 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
Unlocked multiplier	No	No

Compatibility

Information on Core i3-540 and Pentium G850 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	FCLGA1156	FCLGA1155
Power consumption (TDP)	73 Watt	65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i3-540 and Pentium G850. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

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

Security technologies

Core i3-540 and Pentium G850 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	-	-
EDB	+	+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i3-540 and Pentium G850 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i3-540 and Pentium G850. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR3
Maximum memory size	16.38 GB	32 GB
Max memory channels	2	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	21 GB/s	21 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	Intel® HD Graphics for Previous Generation Intel® Processors	Intel® HD Graphics for 2nd Generation Intel® Processors
Clear Video HD	+	-
Graphics max frequency	no data	1.1 GHz

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i3-540 and Pentium G850 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported

2

2

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i3-540 and Pentium G850.

PCIe version	2.0	2.0
PCI Express lanes	16	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.

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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.

Core i3-540 outperforms Pentium G850 by 6% based on our aggregated benchmark results.

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Pros & Cons Summary

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Performance score	0.99	0.93
Recency	7 January 2010	22 May 2011
Threads	4	2
Cost	$45	$27
Power consumption (TDP)	73 Watt	65 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Core i3-540 and Pentium G850, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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