i3-3120M vs i5-3550
Aggregate performance score
Core i5-3550 outperforms Core i3-3120M by a whopping 182% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Core i5-3550 and Core i3-3120M processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 1642 | 2427 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 0.56 | no data |
| Market segment | Desktop processor | Laptop |
| Series | Intel Core i5 (Desktop) | Intel Core i3 |
| Power efficiency | 3.71 | 2.89 |
| Architecture codename | Ivy Bridge (2012−2013) | Ivy Bridge (2012−2013) |
| Release date | 29 April 2012 (12 years ago) | 30 September 2012 (12 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $205 | $160 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Core i5-3550 and Core i3-3120M 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) | 2 (Dual-core) |
| Threads | 4 | 4 |
| Base clock speed | 3.3 GHz | 2.5 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3.7 GHz | 2.5 GHz |
| Bus rate | 5 GT/s | 5 GT/s |
| L1 cache | 64 KB (per core) | 64K (per core) |
| L2 cache | 256K (per core) | 256K (per core) |
| L3 cache | 6 MB (shared) | 3 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 22 nm | 22 nm |
| Die size | 160 mm2 | 118 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | 67 °C | 90C (PGA); 105C (BGA) |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | 67 °C | no data |
| Number of transistors | 1,400 million | no data |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
Compatibility
Information on Core i5-3550 and Core i3-3120M 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 | FCLGA1155 | FCBGA1023,FCPGA988 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 77 Watt | 35 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-3550 and Core i3-3120M. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX | Intel® AVX |
| AES-NI | + | - |
| AVX | + | + |
| 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 | no data | - |
| FDI | + | + |
| Fast Memory Access | no data | + |
Security technologies
Core i5-3550 and Core i3-3120M technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | + | - |
| EDB | + | + |
| Secure Key | + | no data |
| Identity Protection | + | + |
| Anti-Theft | + | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i5-3550 and Core i3-3120M are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | - | + |
| VT-d | + | - |
| VT-x | + | + |
| EPT | + | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i5-3550 and Core i3-3120M. 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 | 25.6 GB/s | 25.6 GB/s |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card Compare | Intel HD Graphics 2500 | Intel HD Graphics 4000 |
| Quick Sync Video | + | + |
| Clear Video HD | + | + |
| Graphics max frequency | 1.15 GHz | 1.1 GHz |
| InTru 3D | + | + |
Graphics interfaces
Available interfaces and connections of Core i5-3550 and Core i3-3120M integrated GPUs.
| Number of displays supported | 3 | 3 |
| eDP | no data | + |
| DisplayPort | - | + |
| HDMI | - | + |
| SDVO | no data | + |
| CRT | no data | + |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-3550 and Core i3-3120M.
| PCIe version | 3.0 | 2.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | no data | 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.
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.
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.
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.
Cinebench 10 32-bit single-core
Cinebench R10 is an ancient ray tracing benchmark for processors by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. Its single core version uses just one CPU thread to render a futuristic looking motorcycle.
Cinebench 10 32-bit multi-core
Cinebench Release 10 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R10 using all the processor threads. Possible number of threads is limited by 16 in this version.
3DMark06 CPU
3DMark06 is a discontinued DirectX 9 benchmark suite from Futuremark. Its CPU part contains two scenarios, one dedicated to artificial intelligence pathfinding, another to game physics using PhysX package.
wPrime 32
wPrime 32M is a math multi-thread processor test, which calculates square roots of first 32 million integer numbers. Its result is measured in seconds, so that the less is benchmark result, the faster the processor.
Cinebench 11.5 64-bit multi-core
Cinebench Release 11.5 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R11.5 which uses all the processor threads. A maximum of 64 threads is supported in this version.
Cinebench 11.5 64-bit single-core
Cinebench R11.5 is an old benchmark by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version loads a single thread with ray tracing to render a glossy room full of crystal spheres and light sources.
TrueCrypt AES
TrueCrypt is a discontinued piece of software that was widely used for on-the-fly-encryption of disk partitions, now superseded by VeraCrypt. It contains several embedded performance tests, one of them being TrueCrypt AES, which measures data encryption speed using AES algorithm. Result is encryption speed in gigabytes per second.
Geekbench 2
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 3.02 | 1.07 |
| Integrated graphics card | 0.69 | 1.18 |
| Recency | 29 April 2012 | 30 September 2012 |
| Physical cores | 4 | 2 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 77 Watt | 35 Watt |
i5-3550 has a 182.2% higher aggregate performance score, and 100% more physical cores.
i3-3120M, on the other hand, has 71% faster integrated GPU, an age advantage of 5 months, and 120% lower power consumption.
The Core i5-3550 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i3-3120M in performance tests.
Note that Core i5-3550 is a desktop processor while Core i3-3120M is a notebook one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Core i5-3550 and Core i3-3120M, 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.
