Core i3-550 vs Core i5-2450M

Place in performance ranking	2126	2310
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-Effectiveness Evaluation	no data	0.04
Market segment	Laptop	Desktop processor
Series	Intel Core i5	no data
Architecture codename	Sandy Bridge (2011−2013)	Clarkdale (2010−2011)
Release date	1 January 2012 (12 years ago)	30 May 2010 (13 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$225	$101
Current price	$84 (0.4x MSRP)	$197 (2x MSRP)

Cost-Effectiveness Evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed Specifications

Core i5-2450M and Core i3-550 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	4
Base clock speed	2.5 GHz	3.2 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.1 GHz	3.2 GHz
L1 cache	64K (per core)	64 KB (per core)
L2 cache	256K (per core)	256 KB (per core)
L3 cache	3 MB (shared)	4 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	32 nm	32 nm
Die size	149 mm²	81 mm²
Maximum core temperature	100 °C	73 °C
Number of transistors	624 million	382 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
Unlocked multiplier	No	No

Compatibility

Information on Core i5-2450M and Core i3-550 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,PPGA988	FCLGA1156
Power consumption (TDP)	35 Watt	73 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-2450M and Core i3-550. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® AVX	Intel® SSE4.2
AES-NI	+	-
FMA	+	no data
AVX	+	no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
My WiFi	+	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	-
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	+
Idle States	+	+
Thermal Monitoring	+	-
Flex Memory Access	+	no data
Demand Based Switching	-	-
PAE	no data	36 Bit
FDI	+	+
Fast Memory Access	+	no data
Status	Discontinued	Discontinued

Security technologies

Core i5-2450M and Core i3-550 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

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

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i5-2450M and Core i3-550 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i5-2450M and Core i3-550. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR3
Maximum memory size	16 GB	16.38 GB
Max memory channels	2	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	21.3 GB/s	21 GB/s
ECC memory support	-	no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	Intel HD Graphics 3000	Intel® HD Graphics for Previous Generation Intel® Processors
Quick Sync Video	+	no data
Clear Video HD	+	+
Graphics max frequency	1.3 GHz	no data
InTru 3D	+	no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i5-2450M and Core i3-550 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported	2	2
eDP	+	no data
DisplayPort	+	no data
HDMI	+	no data
SDVO	+	no data
CRT	+	no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-2450M and Core i3-550.

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.

i5-2450M 1.34
+28.8%

i3-550 1.04

Core i5-2450M outperforms Core i3-550 by 29% based on our aggregated benchmark results.

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.

Benchmark coverage: 68%

i5-2450M 2077
+28.8%

i3-550 1612

Core i5-2450M outperforms Core i3-550 by 29% in Passmark.

GeekBench 5 Single-Core

GeekBench 5 Single-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses only a single CPU core.

Benchmark coverage: 42%

i5-2450M 456
+7.8%

i3-550 423

Core i5-2450M outperforms Core i3-550 by 8% in GeekBench 5 Single-Core.

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses all available CPU cores.

Benchmark coverage: 42%

i5-2450M 882
+1.1%

i3-550 872

Core i5-2450M outperforms Core i3-550 by 1% in GeekBench 5 Multi-Core.