Pentium D 960 vs i5-2540M

Primary details

Comparing Core i5-2540M and Pentium D 960 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	2149	2872
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Laptop	Desktop processor
Series	Intel Core i5	no data
Power efficiency	4.03	0.37
Architecture codename	Sandy Bridge (2011−2013)	Presler (2005−2007)
Release date	1 February 2011 (13 years ago)	23 April 2006 (18 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$266	$523

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Detailed specifications

Core i5-2540M and Pentium D 960 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	2.6 GHz	3.6 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.3 GHz	3.6 GHz
Bus type	DMI 2.0	no data
Bus rate	4 × 5 GT/s	no data
Multiplier	26	no data
L1 cache	64K (per core)	16 KB (per core)
L2 cache	256K (per core)	2 MB (per die)
L3 cache	3 MB (shared)	0 KB
Chip lithography	32 nm	65 nm
Die size	149 mm2	2x 81 mm2
Maximum core temperature	100 °C	no data
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	no data	69 °C
Number of transistors	624 million	376 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
VID voltage range	no data	1.2V-1.3375V

Compatibility

Information on Core i5-2540M and Pentium D 960 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	FCBGA1023,PPGA988	LGA775,PLGA775
Power consumption (TDP)	35 Watt	130 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-2540M and Pentium D 960. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® AVX	no data
AES-NI	+	-
FMA	+	-
AVX	+	-
vPro	+	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	32 Bit
FDI	+	no data
Fast Memory Access	+	no data
FSB parity	no data	-

Security technologies

Core i5-2540M and Pentium D 960 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

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

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i5-2540M and Pentium D 960 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i5-2540M and Pentium D 960. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR1, DDR2, DDR3
Maximum memory size	16 GB	no data
Max memory channels	2	no data
Maximum memory bandwidth	21.335 GB/s	no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	Intel HD Graphics 3000	On certain motherboards (Chipset feature)
Quick Sync Video	+	-
Clear Video HD	+	no data
Graphics max frequency	1.3 GHz	no data
InTru 3D	+	no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i5-2540M and Pentium D 960 integrated GPUs.

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

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-2540M and Pentium D 960.

PCIe version	2.0	no data
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.

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Pros & cons summary

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Performance score	1.49	0.51
Recency	1 February 2011	23 April 2006
Threads	4	2
Chip lithography	32 nm	65 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	35 Watt	130 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Core i5-2540M and Pentium D 960, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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