Pentium 2117U vs i5-540M

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Aggregate performance score

Core i5-540M
2010
2 cores / 4 threads, 35 Watt
1.13
+76.6%
Pentium 2117U
2012
2 cores / 2 threads, 17 Watt
0.64

Core i5-540M outperforms Pentium 2117U by an impressive 77% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i5-540M and Pentium 2117U processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking23942768
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
SeriesIntel Core i5Intel Pentium
Power efficiency3.063.56
Architecture codenameArrandale (2010−2011)Ivy Bridge (2012−2013)
Release date7 January 2010 (14 years ago)1 September 2012 (12 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$257$134

Detailed specifications

Core i5-540M and Pentium 2117U 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 cores2 (Dual-core)2 (Dual-core)
Threads42
Base clock speed2.53 GHz1.8 GHz
Boost clock speed3.07 GHz1.8 GHz
Bus typeDMI 1.0no data
Bus rate1 × 2.5 GT/s5 GT/s
Multiplier19no data
L1 cache64K (per core)64K (per core)
L2 cache256K (per core)256K (per core)
L3 cache3 MB (shared)2 MB (shared)
Chip lithography32 nm22 nm
Die size81+114 mm2118 mm2
Maximum core temperature105 °C105 °C
Number of transistors382+177 Million1,400 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--

Compatibility

Information on Core i5-540M and Pentium 2117U 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 configuration1 (Uniprocessor)1
SocketBGA1288,PGA988FCBGA1023
Power consumption (TDP)35 Watt17 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-540M and Pentium 2117U. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2
AES-NI+-
FMA+-
vPro+no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
My WiFino data+
Turbo Boost Technology+-
Hyper-Threading Technology+-
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring++
Flex Memory Access++
Demand Based Switchingno data-
PAE36 Bitno data
FDI++
Fast Memory Access++

Security technologies

Core i5-540M and Pentium 2117U technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT+-
EDB++
Anti-Theftno data-

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i5-540M and Pentium 2117U are enumerated here.

VT-d+-
VT-x++
EPT++

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i5-540M and Pentium 2117U. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR3
Maximum memory size8 GB32 GB
Max memory channels22
Maximum memory bandwidth17.051 GB/s25.6 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardIntel HD Graphics for Previous Generation Intel ProcessorsIntel HD Graphics for 3rd Generation Intel Processors
Clear Video+-
Clear Video HD+-
Graphics max frequency766 MHz1 GHz

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i5-540M and Pentium 2117U integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported23
eDPno data+
DisplayPort-+
HDMI-+
SDVOno data+
CRTno data+

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-540M and Pentium 2117U.

PCIe version2.02.0
PCI Express lanes1616

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.

i5-540M 1.13
+76.6%
Pentium 2117U 0.64

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.

i5-540M 1802
+76.3%
Pentium 2117U 1022

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.

i5-540M 377
+30%
Pentium 2117U 290

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.

i5-540M 724
+48.4%
Pentium 2117U 488

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.

i5-540M 3133
+32.5%
Pentium 2117U 2365

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.

i5-540M 7031
+58.9%
Pentium 2117U 4425

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.

i5-540M 2826
+50%
Pentium 2117U 1885

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.

i5-540M 18.5
+119%
Pentium 2117U 40.43

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.

i5-540M 2
+59%
Pentium 2117U 1

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 1.13 0.64
Recency 7 January 2010 1 September 2012
Threads 4 2
Chip lithography 32 nm 22 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 35 Watt 17 Watt

i5-540M has a 76.6% higher aggregate performance score, and 100% more threads.

Pentium 2117U, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 2 years, a 45.5% more advanced lithography process, and 105.9% lower power consumption.

The Core i5-540M is our recommended choice as it beats the Pentium 2117U in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i5-540M and Pentium 2117U, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Core i5-540M
Core i5-540M
Intel Pentium 2117U
Pentium 2117U

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Community ratings

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Questions & comments

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