i3-7020U vs i7-3540M
Aggregate performance score
Core i7-3540M outperforms Core i3-7020U by a moderate 15% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Core i7-3540M and Core i3-7020U processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 1972 | 2078 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Laptop |
| Series | Intel Core i7 | Intel Core i3 |
| Power efficiency | 5.08 | 10.28 |
| Architecture codename | Ivy Bridge (2012−2013) | Kaby Lake (2016−2019) |
| Release date | 8 January 2013 (11 years ago) | 10 April 2018 (6 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $349 | $281 |
Detailed specifications
Core i7-3540M and Core i3-7020U 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) | 2 (Dual-core) |
| Threads | 4 | 4 |
| Base clock speed | 3 GHz | 2.3 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3.7 GHz | 2.3 GHz |
| Bus type | no data | OPI |
| Bus rate | 5 GT/s | 4 GT/s |
| Multiplier | no data | 23 |
| L1 cache | 64K (per core) | 128 KB |
| L2 cache | 256K (per core) | 512 KB |
| L3 cache | 4 MB (shared) | 3 MB |
| Chip lithography | 22 nm | 14 nm |
| Die size | 118 mm2 | no data |
| Maximum core temperature | 105 °C | 100 °C |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
Compatibility
Information on Core i7-3540M and Core i3-7020U 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 (Uniprocessor) |
| Socket | FCBGA1023,FCPGA988 | FCBGA1356,FC-BGA1356,FPBGA1356 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 35 Watt | 15 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-3540M and Core i3-7020U. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | Intel® AVX | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2 |
| AES-NI | + | + |
| AVX | + | + |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | + |
| Speed Shift | no data | + |
| My WiFi | + | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | 2.0 | - |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | + | + |
| Idle States | + | + |
| Thermal Monitoring | + | + |
| Flex Memory Access | + | + |
| Smart Response | no data | + |
| Demand Based Switching | - | no data |
| FDI | + | no data |
| Fast Memory Access | + | no data |
Security technologies
Core i7-3540M and Core i3-7020U technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | + | - |
| EDB | + | + |
| Secure Key | + | + |
| MPX | - | + |
| Identity Protection | + | + |
| SGX | no data | Yes with Intel® ME |
| OS Guard | no data | + |
| Anti-Theft | + | no data |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-3540M and Core i3-7020U are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | + | + |
| VT-d | + | + |
| VT-x | + | + |
| EPT | + | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-3540M and Core i3-7020U. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3 | DDR4 |
| Maximum memory size | 32 GB | 32 GB |
| Max memory channels | 2 | 2 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 25.6 GB/s | 34.134 GB/s |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card Compare | Intel HD Graphics 4000 | Intel HD Graphics 620 |
| Max video memory | no data | 32 GB |
| Quick Sync Video | + | + |
| Clear Video | no data | + |
| Clear Video HD | + | + |
| Graphics max frequency | 1.3 GHz | 1 GHz |
| InTru 3D | + | + |
Graphics interfaces
Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-3540M and Core i3-7020U integrated GPUs.
| Number of displays supported | 3 | 3 |
| eDP | + | + |
| DisplayPort | + | + |
| HDMI | + | + |
| DVI | no data | + |
| SDVO | + | no data |
| CRT | + | no data |
Graphics image quality
Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i7-3540M and Core i3-7020U integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.
| 4K resolution support | no data | + |
| Max resolution over HDMI 1.4 | no data | 4096x2304@24Hz |
| Max resolution over eDP | no data | 4096x2304@60Hz |
| Max resolution over DisplayPort | no data | 4096x2304@60Hz |
Graphics API support
APIs supported by Core i7-3540M and Core i3-7020U integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.
| DirectX | no data | 12 |
| OpenGL | no data | 4.5 |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-3540M and Core i3-7020U.
| PCIe version | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | 16 | 12 |
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.
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.
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.
TrueCrypt AES
TrueCrypt is a discontinued piece of software that was widely used for on-the-fly-encryption of disk partitions, now superseded by VeraCrypt. It contains several embedded performance tests, one of them being TrueCrypt AES, which measures data encryption speed using AES algorithm. Result is encryption speed in gigabytes per second.
x264 encoding pass 2
x264 Pass 2 is a slower variant of x264 video compression that produces a variable bit rate output file, which results in better quality since the higher bit rate is used when it is needed more. Benchmark result is still measured in frames per second.
x264 encoding pass 1
x264 version 4.0 is a video encoding benchmark uses MPEG 4 x264 compression method to compress a sample HD (720p) video. Pass 1 is a faster variant that produces a constant bit rate output file. Its result is measured in frames per second, which means how many frames of the source video file were encoded per second.
WinRAR 4.0
WinRAR 4.0 is an outdated version of a popular file archiver. It contains an internal speed test, using 'Best' setting of RAR compression on large chunks of randomly generated data. Its results are measured in kilobytes per second.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 1.88 | 1.63 |
| Integrated graphics card | 1.18 | 2.42 |
| Recency | 8 January 2013 | 10 April 2018 |
| Chip lithography | 22 nm | 14 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 35 Watt | 15 Watt |
i7-3540M has a 15.3% higher aggregate performance score.
i3-7020U, on the other hand, has 105.1% faster integrated GPU, an age advantage of 5 years, a 57.1% more advanced lithography process, and 133.3% lower power consumption.
The Core i7-3540M is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i3-7020U in performance tests.
Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-3540M and Core i3-7020U, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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