Phenom II X3 N870 vs i7-3520M
Aggregate performance score
Core i7-3520M outperforms Phenom II X3 N870 by an impressive 70% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Core i7-3520M and Phenom II X3 N870 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 2000 | 2416 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Laptop |
| Series | Intel Core i7 | 3x AMD Phenom II |
| Power efficiency | 4.87 | 2.87 |
| Architecture codename | Ivy Bridge (2012−2013) | Champlain (2010−2011) |
| Release date | 3 June 2012 (12 years ago) | 16 December 2010 (13 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $346 | no data |
Detailed specifications
Core i7-3520M and Phenom II X3 N870 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) | 3 (Tri-Core) |
| Threads | 4 | 3 |
| Base clock speed | 2.9 GHz | no data |
| Boost clock speed | 3.6 GHz | 2.3 GHz |
| Bus rate | 5 GT/s | 3600 MHz |
| L1 cache | 64K (per core) | 384 KB |
| L2 cache | 256K (per core) | 1.5 MB |
| L3 cache | 4 MB (shared) | no data |
| Chip lithography | 22 nm | 45 nm |
| Die size | 118 mm2 | no data |
| Maximum core temperature | 105 °C | no data |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
Compatibility
Information on Core i7-3520M and Phenom II X3 N870 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 | no data |
| Socket | FCBGA1023,FCPGA988 | S1 (S1g4) |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 35 Watt | 35 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-3520M and Phenom II X3 N870. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | Intel® AVX | 86x MMX(+), 3DNow!(+), SSE(1,2,3,4A),-64, AMD-V |
| AES-NI | + | - |
| AVX | + | - |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | no data |
| My WiFi | + | no data |
| Turbo Boost Technology | 2.0 | no data |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | + | no data |
| Idle States | + | no data |
| Thermal Monitoring | + | - |
| Flex Memory Access | + | no data |
| Demand Based Switching | - | no data |
| FDI | + | no data |
| Fast Memory Access | + | no data |
Security technologies
Core i7-3520M and Phenom II X3 N870 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | + | no data |
| EDB | + | no data |
| Secure Key | + | no data |
| Identity Protection | + | - |
| Anti-Theft | + | no data |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-3520M and Phenom II X3 N870 are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | + | + |
| VT-d | + | no data |
| VT-x | + | no data |
| EPT | + | no data |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-3520M and Phenom II X3 N870. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3 | DDR3 |
| Maximum memory size | 32 GB | no data |
| Max memory channels | 2 | no data |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 25.6 GB/s | no data |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | Intel HD Graphics 4000 | no data |
| Quick Sync Video | + | - |
| Clear Video HD | + | no data |
| Graphics max frequency | 1.25 GHz | no data |
| InTru 3D | + | no data |
Graphics interfaces
Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-3520M and Phenom II X3 N870 integrated GPUs.
| Number of displays supported | 3 | no data |
| eDP | + | no data |
| DisplayPort | + | - |
| HDMI | + | - |
| SDVO | + | no data |
| CRT | + | no data |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-3520M and Phenom II X3 N870.
| PCIe version | 3.0 | no data |
| 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.
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.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 1.87 | 1.10 |
| Recency | 3 June 2012 | 16 December 2010 |
| Physical cores | 2 | 3 |
| Threads | 4 | 3 |
| Chip lithography | 22 nm | 45 nm |
i7-3520M has a 70% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 1 year, 33.3% more threads, and a 104.5% more advanced lithography process.
Phenom II X3 N870, on the other hand, has 50% more physical cores.
The Core i7-3520M is our recommended choice as it beats the Phenom II X3 N870 in performance tests.
Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-3520M and Phenom II X3 N870, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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