i7-2960XM Extreme vs i5-540M

Primary details

Comparing Core i5-540M and Core i7-2960XM Extreme processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	2372	not rated
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Laptop	Laptop
Series	Intel Core i5	Intel Core i7EE
Power efficiency	3.07	no data
Architecture codename	Arrandale (2010−2011)	Sandy Bridge (2011−2013)
Release date	7 January 2010 (14 years ago)	4 September 2011 (13 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$257	$1,096

Detailed specifications

Core i5-540M and Core i7-2960XM Extreme 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	2.53 GHz	no data
Boost clock speed	3.07 GHz	2.7 GHz
Bus type	DMI 1.0	DMI 2.0
Bus rate	1 × 2.5 GT/s	4 × 5 GT/s
Multiplier	19	27
L1 cache	128 KB	256 KB
L2 cache	512 KB	1 MB
L3 cache	3 MB (shared)	8 MB
Chip lithography	32 nm	32 nm
Die size	81+114 mm2	216 mm2
Maximum core temperature	105 °C	no data
Number of transistors	382+177 Million	1160 Million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-

Compatibility

Information on Core i5-540M and Core i7-2960XM Extreme 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 (Uniprocessor)
Socket	BGA1288,PGA988	Socket G2
Power consumption (TDP)	35 Watt	55 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-540M and Core i7-2960XM Extreme. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2	no data
AES-NI	+	+
FMA	+	+
AVX	-	+
vPro	+	+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Turbo Boost Technology	+	no data
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	no data
Idle States	+	no data
Thermal Monitoring	+	-
Flex Memory Access	+	no data
PAE	36 Bit	no data
FDI	+	no data
Fast Memory Access	+	no data

Security technologies

Core i5-540M and Core i7-2960XM Extreme technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	+
EDB	+	no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i5-540M and Core i7-2960XM Extreme are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i5-540M and Core i7-2960XM Extreme. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR3-1600
Maximum memory size	8 GB	32 GB
Max memory channels	2	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	17.051 GB/s	25.598 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	Intel® HD Graphics for Previous Generation Intel® Processors	Intel HD Graphics 3000
Clear Video	+	no data
Clear Video HD	+	no data
Graphics max frequency	766 MHz	no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i5-540M and Core i7-2960XM Extreme integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported

2

no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-540M and Core i7-2960XM Extreme.

PCIe version	2.0	no data
PCI Express lanes	16	no data

Pros & cons summary

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Recency	7 January 2010	4 September 2011
Physical cores	2	4
Threads	4	8
Power consumption (TDP)	35 Watt	55 Watt

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