i5-6600K vs i7-3720QM

Aggregate performance score

Core i7-3720QM
2012
4 cores / 8 threads, 45 Watt
3.71
Core i5-6600K
2015
4 cores / 4 threads, 91 Watt
4.13
+11.3%

Core i5-6600K outperforms Core i7-3720QM by a moderate 11% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-3720QM and Core i5-6600K processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking15061412
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluationno data0.77
Market segmentLaptopDesktop processor
SeriesIntel Core i7Intel Core i5 (Desktop)
Power efficiency7.524.14
Architecture codenameIvy Bridge (2012−2013)Skylake (2015−2016)
Release date29 April 2012 (12 years ago)5 August 2015 (9 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$378$242

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Core i7-3720QM and Core i5-6600K 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 cores4 (Quad-Core)4 (Quad-Core)
Threads84
Base clock speed2.6 GHz3.5 GHz
Boost clock speed3.6 GHz3.9 GHz
Bus typeno dataDMI 3.0
Bus rate5 GT/s4 × 8 GT/s
Multiplierno data35
L1 cache64K (per core)64 KB (per core)
L2 cache256K (per core)256 KB (per core)
L3 cache6 MB (shared)6 MB (shared)
Chip lithography22 nm14 nm
Die size160 mm2122 mm2
Maximum core temperature105 °Cno data
Maximum case temperature (TCase)no data64 °C
Number of transistors1,400 millionno data
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--
Unlocked multiplier-+

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-3720QM and Core i5-6600K 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 configuration11 (Uniprocessor)
SocketFCBGA1224,FCPGA988FCLGA1151
Power consumption (TDP)45 Watt91 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-3720QM and Core i5-6600K. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® AVXIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2
AES-NI++
AVX++
vProno data+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
My WiFi+no data
Turbo Boost Technology2.02.0
Hyper-Threading Technology+-
TSX-+
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring++
Flex Memory Access+no data
Demand Based Switching-no data
FDI+no data
Fast Memory Access+no data

Security technologies

Core i7-3720QM and Core i5-6600K technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT+-
EDB++
Secure Key++
MPX-+
Identity Protection++
SGXno dataYes with Intel® ME
OS Guardno data+
Anti-Theft+no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-3720QM and Core i5-6600K are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-3720QM and Core i5-6600K. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR3, DDR4
Maximum memory size32 GB64 GB
Max memory channels22
Maximum memory bandwidth25.6 GB/s34.134 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card
Compare
Intel HD Graphics 4000Intel HD Graphics 530
Max video memoryno data64 GB
Quick Sync Video++
Clear Videono data+
Clear Video HD++
Graphics max frequency1.25 GHz1.15 GHz
InTru 3D++

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-3720QM and Core i5-6600K integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported33
eDP++
DisplayPort++
HDMI++
DVIno data+
SDVO+no data
CRT+no data

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i7-3720QM and Core i5-6600K integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

4K resolution supportno data+
Max resolution over HDMI 1.4no data4096x2304@24Hz
Max resolution over eDPno data4096x2304@60Hz
Max resolution over DisplayPortno data4096x2304@60Hz
Max resolution over VGAno dataN/A

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i7-3720QM and Core i5-6600K integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectXno data12
OpenGLno data4.5

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-3720QM and Core i5-6600K.

PCIe version3.03.0
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.

i7-3720QM 3.71
i5-6600K 4.13
+11.3%

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.

i7-3720QM 5671
i5-6600K 6327
+11.6%

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.

i7-3720QM 602
i5-6600K 1432
+138%

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.

i7-3720QM 2044
i5-6600K 4042
+97.7%

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.

i7-3720QM 4821
i5-6600K 6188
+28.4%

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.

i7-3720QM 18879
i5-6600K 21324
+13%

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.

i7-3720QM 6642
i5-6600K 7413
+11.6%

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.

i7-3720QM 7
i5-6600K 7
+3%

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 15 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R15 which uses all the processor threads.

i7-3720QM 610
+1.4%
i5-6600K 602

Cinebench 15 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R15 (standing for Release 15) is a benchmark made by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version (sometimes called Single-Thread) only uses a single processor thread to render a room full of reflective spheres and light sources.

i7-3720QM 126
i5-6600K 166
+31.7%

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R11.5 is an old benchmark by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version loads a single thread with ray tracing to render a glossy room full of crystal spheres and light sources.

i7-3720QM 1.47
i5-6600K 1.88
+27.9%

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.

i7-3720QM 3.3
+3.1%
i5-6600K 3.2

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.  

i7-3720QM 37
i5-6600K 40
+8.4%

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.  

i7-3720QM 147
i5-6600K 196
+33.8%

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.

i7-3720QM 4365
+19.8%
i5-6600K 3643

Geekbench 3 32-bit multi-core

i7-3720QM 14452
+17.8%
i5-6600K 12270

Geekbench 3 32-bit single-core

i7-3720QM 3898
i5-6600K 4080
+4.7%

3DMark Fire Strike Physics

i7-3720QM 6190
i5-6600K 7370
+19.1%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 3.71 4.13
Integrated graphics card 1.18 2.59
Recency 29 April 2012 5 August 2015
Threads 8 4
Chip lithography 22 nm 14 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 45 Watt 91 Watt

i7-3720QM has 100% more threads, and 102.2% lower power consumption.

i5-6600K, on the other hand, has a 11.3% higher aggregate performance score, 119.5% faster integrated GPU, an age advantage of 3 years, and a 57.1% more advanced lithography process.

The Core i5-6600K is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i7-3720QM in performance tests.

Be aware that Core i7-3720QM is a notebook processor while Core i5-6600K is a desktop one.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-3720QM and Core i5-6600K, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Core i7-3720QM
Core i7-3720QM
Intel Core i5-6600K
Core i5-6600K

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Community ratings

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