i5-540M vs i7-3687U

Place in the ranking	2058	2374
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Laptop	Laptop
Series	Intel Core i7	Intel Core i5
Power efficiency	9.29	3.08
Architecture codename	Ivy Bridge (2012−2013)	Arrandale (2010−2011)
Release date	8 January 2013 (11 years ago)	7 January 2010 (14 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	no data	$257

Detailed specifications

Core i7-3687U and Core i5-540M 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	2.1 GHz	2.53 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.3 GHz	3.07 GHz
Bus type	no data	DMI 1.0
Bus rate	5 GT/s	1 × 2.5 GT/s
Multiplier	no data	19
L1 cache	64K (per core)	128 KB
L2 cache	256K (per core)	512 KB
L3 cache	4 MB (shared)	3 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	22 nm	32 nm
Die size	118 mm²	81+114 mm²
Maximum core temperature	105 °C	105 °C
Number of transistors	no data	382+177 Million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-3687U and Core i5-540M 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	BGA1288,PGA988
Power consumption (TDP)	17 Watt	35 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-3687U and Core i5-540M. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

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

Security technologies

Core i7-3687U and Core i5-540M 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 i7-3687U and Core i5-540M are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-3687U and Core i5-540M. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR3
Maximum memory size	32 GB	8 GB
Max memory channels	2	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s	17.051 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	Intel HD Graphics 4000	Intel® HD Graphics for Previous Generation Intel® Processors
Quick Sync Video	+	-
Clear Video	no data	+
Clear Video HD	+	+
Graphics max frequency	1.2 GHz	766 MHz
InTru 3D	+	no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-3687U and Core i5-540M integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported	3	2
eDP	+	no data
DisplayPort	+	-
HDMI	+	-
SDVO	+	no data
CRT	+	no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-3687U and Core i5-540M.

PCIe version	2.0	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.

i7-3687U 1.70
+46.6%

i5-540M 1.16

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.

i7-3687U 2645
+46.3%

i5-540M 1808

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.

i7-3687U 536
+42.9%

i5-540M 375

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.

i7-3687U 1066
+48.1%

i5-540M 720

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	1.70	1.16
Recency	8 January 2013	7 January 2010
Chip lithography	22 nm	32 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	17 Watt	35 Watt

i7-3687U has a 46.6% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 3 years, a 45.5% more advanced lithography process, and 105.9% lower power consumption.

The Core i7-3687U is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i5-540M in performance tests.

Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-3687U and Core i5-540M, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.