Xeon X3430 vs i7-3520M

Place in the ranking	2003	2168
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Laptop	Server
Series	Intel Core i7	no data
Power efficiency	4.87	1.45
Architecture codename	Ivy Bridge (2012−2013)	no data
Release date	3 June 2012 (12 years ago)	1 July 2009 (15 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$346	no data

Detailed specifications

Core i7-3520M and Xeon X3430 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	4
Base clock speed	2.9 GHz	2.4 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.6 GHz	2.8 GHz
Bus rate	5 GT/s	no data
L1 cache	64K (per core)	no data
L2 cache	256K (per core)	no data
L3 cache	4 MB (shared)	8 MB Intel® Smart Cache
Chip lithography	22 nm	45 nm
Die size	118 mm²	no data
Maximum core temperature	105 °C	73 °C
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-3520M and Xeon X3430 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	FCBGA1023,FCPGA988	FCLGA1156,LGA1156
Power consumption (TDP)	35 Watt	95 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-3520M and Xeon X3430. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® AVX	Intel® SSE4.2
AES-NI	+	-
AVX	+	-
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
My WiFi	+	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	1.0
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	-
Idle States	+	+
Thermal Monitoring	+	-
Flex Memory Access	+	no data
Demand Based Switching	-	+
PAE	no data	36 Bit
FDI	+	no data
Fast Memory Access	+	no data

Security technologies

Core i7-3520M and Xeon X3430 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	+
EDB	+	+
Secure Key	+	no data
Identity Protection	+	-
Anti-Theft	+	no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-3520M and Xeon X3430 are enumerated here.

AMD-V	+	-
VT-d	+	+
VT-x	+	+
EPT	+	+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-3520M and Xeon X3430. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR3-800, DDR3-1066, DDR3-1333
Maximum memory size	32 GB	32 GB
Max memory channels	2	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s	21 GB/s
ECC memory support	-	+

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 Xeon X3430 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 Xeon X3430.

PCIe version	3.0	2.0
PCI Express lanes	16	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.

i7-3520M 1.81
+24%

Xeon X3430 1.46

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.

i7-3520M 2868
+24.4%

Xeon X3430 2305

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.

i7-3520M 574
+51.9%

Xeon X3430 378

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.

i7-3520M 1166
+8.6%

Xeon X3430 1074

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	1.81	1.46
Recency	3 June 2012	1 July 2009
Physical cores	2	4
Chip lithography	22 nm	45 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	35 Watt	95 Watt

i7-3520M has a 24% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, a 104.5% more advanced lithography process, and 171.4% lower power consumption.

Xeon X3430, on the other hand, has 100% more physical cores.

The Core i7-3520M is our recommended choice as it beats the Xeon X3430 in performance tests.

Be aware that Core i7-3520M is a notebook processor while Xeon X3430 is a server/workstation one.

Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-3520M and Xeon X3430, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.