i5-3470S vs i5-2500

Place in the ranking	1737	1696
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.66	0.48
Market segment	Desktop processor	Desktop processor
Power efficiency	2.58	4.04
Architecture codename	Sandy Bridge (2011−2013)	Ivy Bridge (2012−2013)
Release date	9 January 2011 (13 years ago)	1 June 2012 (12 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$85	$200

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

i5-2500 has 38% better value for money than i5-3470S.

Detailed specifications

Core i5-2500 and Core i5-3470S 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	4 (Quad-Core)	4 (Quad-Core)
Threads	4	4
Base clock speed	3.3 GHz	2.9 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.7 GHz	3.6 GHz
Bus rate	5 GT/s	5 GT/s
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	64 KB (per core)
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	256 KB (per core)
L3 cache	6144 KB (shared)	6 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	32 nm	22 nm
Die size	216 mm²	133 mm²
Maximum core temperature	73 °C	no data
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	no data	69 °C
Number of transistors	1,160 million	no data
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-

Compatibility

Information on Core i5-2500 and Core i5-3470S 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	LGA1155	FCLGA1155
Power consumption (TDP)	95 Watt	65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-2500 and Core i5-3470S. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX
AES-NI	+	+
AVX	+	+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	2.0
Hyper-Threading Technology	-	-
Idle States	+	+
Thermal Monitoring	+	+
Flex Memory Access	+	no data
FDI	+	+
Fast Memory Access	+	no data

Security technologies

Core i5-2500 and Core i5-3470S technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

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

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i5-2500 and Core i5-3470S are enumerated here.

VT-d	+	+
VT-x	+	+
EPT	+	+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i5-2500 and Core i5-3470S. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR3
Maximum memory size	32 GB	32 GB
Max memory channels	2	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	21 GB/s	25.6 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card Compare	Intel HD Graphics 2000	Intel HD Graphics 2500
Quick Sync Video	+	+
Clear Video HD	+	+
Graphics max frequency	1.1 GHz	1.1 GHz
InTru 3D	+	+

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i5-2500 and Core i5-3470S integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-2500 and Core i5-3470S.

PCIe version	2.0	3.0
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.

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.

i5-2500 2.59

i5-3470S 2.77
+6.9%

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.

i5-2500 4113

i5-3470S 4396
+6.9%

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.

i5-2500 592

i5-3470S 599
+1.2%

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.

i5-2500 1689

i5-3470S 1720
+1.8%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	2.59	2.77
Integrated graphics card	0.55	0.69
Recency	9 January 2011	1 June 2012
Chip lithography	32 nm	22 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	95 Watt	65 Watt

i5-3470S has a 6.9% higher aggregate performance score, 25.5% faster integrated GPU, an age advantage of 1 year, a 45.5% more advanced lithography process, and 46.2% lower power consumption.

Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between Core i5-2500 and Core i5-3470S.

Should you still have questions on choice between Core i5-2500 and Core i5-3470S, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.