Pentium G2120 vs Core i5-3230M
Aggregate performance score
i5-3230M outperforms Pentium G2120 by a substantial 36% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Core i5-3230M and Pentium G2120 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in performance ranking | 2019 | 2274 |
| Place by popularity | 89 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | no data | 0.07 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Desktop processor |
| Series | Intel Core i5 | no data |
| Architecture codename | Ivy Bridge (2012−2013) | Ivy Bridge (2012−2013) |
| Release date | 1 January 2013 (11 years ago) | 3 September 2012 (11 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $225 | $88 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Core i5-3230M and Pentium G2120 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 | 3.1 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3.2 GHz | 3.1 GHz |
| L1 cache | 128 KB | 64 KB (per core) |
| L2 cache | 512 KB | 256 KB (per core) |
| L3 cache | 3 MB | 3 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 22 nm | 22 nm |
| Die size | 118 mm2 | 94 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | 105 °C | no data |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | no data | 65 °C |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
| Unlocked multiplier | No | No |
Compatibility
Information on Core i5-3230M and Pentium G2120 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 | FCPGA988 | 1155 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 35 Watt | 55 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-3230M and Pentium G2120. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| AES-NI | + | no data |
| AVX | + | no data |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | + |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | + | no data |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i5-3230M and Pentium G2120 are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | + | no data |
| VT-d | + | no data |
| VT-x | + | no data |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i5-3230M and Pentium G2120. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3 | DDR3 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 25.6 GB/s | 25.6 GB/s |
| ECC memory support | - | + |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | Intel HD Graphics 4000 | Intel HD |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-3230M and Pentium G2120.
| PCIe version | no data | 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.
Core i5-3230M outperforms Pentium G2120 by 36% based on our aggregate 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: 65%
Core i5-3230M outperforms Pentium G2120 by 35% 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: 40%
Pentium G2120 outperforms Core i5-3230M by 3% 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: 40%
Core i5-3230M outperforms Pentium G2120 by 11% in GeekBench 5 Multi-Core.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 1.66 | 1.22 |
| Recency | 1 January 2013 | 3 September 2012 |
| Threads | 4 | 2 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 35 Watt | 55 Watt |
i5-3230M has a 36.1% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 3 months, 100% more threads, and 57.1% lower power consumption.
The Core i5-3230M is our recommended choice as it beats the Pentium G2120 in performance tests.
Be aware that Core i5-3230M is a notebook processor while Pentium G2120 is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Core i5-3230M and Pentium G2120, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
Similar processor comparisons
We picked several similar comparisons of processors in the same market segment and performance relatively close to those reviewed on this page.
