i3-12100F vs i5-520M
Aggregate performance score
Core i3-12100F outperforms Core i5-520M by a whopping 722% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Core i5-520M and Core i3-12100F processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 2406 | 858 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | 5 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Desktop processor |
| Series | Intel Core i5 | no data |
| Power efficiency | 2.92 | 14.49 |
| Architecture codename | Arrandale (2010−2011) | Alder Lake-S (2022) |
| Release date | 7 January 2010 (14 years ago) | January 2022 (2 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $225 | no data |
Detailed specifications
Core i5-520M and Core i3-12100F 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) | 4 (Quad-Core) |
| Threads | 4 | 8 |
| Base clock speed | 2.4 GHz | 3.3 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 2.93 GHz | 4.3 GHz |
| Bus type | DMI 1.0 | no data |
| Bus rate | 1 × 2.5 GT/s | no data |
| Multiplier | 18 | no data |
| L1 cache | 128 KB | 80K (per core) |
| L2 cache | 512 KB | 1.25 MB (per core) |
| L3 cache | 3 MB | 12 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | Intel 7 nm |
| Die size | 81+114 mm2 | 163 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | 105 °C | 100 °C |
| Number of transistors | 382+177 Million | no data |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | + |
Compatibility
Information on Core i5-520M and Core i3-12100F 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 | BGA1288,PGA988 | FCLGA1700 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 35 Watt | 58 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-520M and Core i3-12100F. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2 | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2 |
| AES-NI | + | + |
| FMA | + | - |
| AVX | - | + |
| vPro | + | no data |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | + |
| Speed Shift | no data | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | + | 2.0 |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | + | + |
| TSX | - | + |
| Idle States | + | + |
| Thermal Monitoring | + | + |
| Flex Memory Access | + | no data |
| PAE | 36 Bit | no data |
| Turbo Boost Max 3.0 | no data | - |
| FDI | + | no data |
| Fast Memory Access | + | no data |
| Deep Learning Boost | - | + |
Security technologies
Core i5-520M and Core i3-12100F technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | + | + |
| EDB | + | + |
| Secure Key | no data | + |
| OS Guard | no data | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i5-520M and Core i3-12100F are enumerated here.
| VT-d | + | + |
| VT-x | + | + |
| EPT | + | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i5-520M and Core i3-12100F. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3-800, DDR3-1066 | DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200 |
| Maximum memory size | 8.3 GB | 128 GB |
| Max memory channels | 2 | 2 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 17.051 GB/s | 76.8 GB/s |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | Intel® HD Graphics for Previous Generation Intel® Processors | no data |
| Clear Video | + | no data |
| Clear Video HD | + | no data |
| Graphics max frequency | 766 MHz | no data |
Graphics interfaces
Available interfaces and connections of Core i5-520M and Core i3-12100F integrated GPUs.
| Number of displays supported | 2 | no data |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-520M and Core i3-12100F.
| PCIe version | 2.0 | 5.0 and 4.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | 16 | 20 |
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.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 1.08 | 8.88 |
| Physical cores | 2 | 4 |
| Threads | 4 | 8 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 35 Watt | 58 Watt |
i5-520M has 65.7% lower power consumption.
i3-12100F, on the other hand, has a 722.2% higher aggregate performance score, and 100% more physical cores and 100% more threads.
The Core i3-12100F is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i5-520M in performance tests.
Be aware that Core i5-520M is a notebook processor while Core i3-12100F is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Core i5-520M and Core i3-12100F, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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