Xeon X3460 vs i7-3720QM

Place in the ranking	1526	1993
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	no data	0.42
Market segment	Laptop	Server
Series	Intel Core i7	no data
Power efficiency	7.51	1.86
Architecture codename	Ivy Bridge (2012−2013)	Lynnfield (2009−2010)
Release date	29 April 2012 (12 years ago)	8 September 2009 (15 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$378	$316

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Core i7-3720QM and Xeon X3460 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	4 (Quad-Core)	4 (Quad-Core)
Threads	8	8
Base clock speed	2.6 GHz	2.8 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.6 GHz	3.46 GHz
Bus rate	5 GT/s	no data
L1 cache	64K (per core)	64 KB (per core)
L2 cache	256K (per core)	256 KB (per core)
L3 cache	6 MB (shared)	8 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	22 nm	45 nm
Die size	160 mm²	296 mm²
Maximum core temperature	105 °C	no data
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	no data	73 °C
Number of transistors	1,400 million	774 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-3720QM and Xeon X3460 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	FCBGA1224, FCPGA988	FCLGA1156,LGA1156
Power consumption (TDP)	45 Watt	95 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-3720QM and Xeon X3460. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® AVX	Intel® SSE4.2
AES-NI	+	-
AVX	+	-
vPro	+	no data
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 i7-3720QM and Xeon X3460 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 i7-3720QM and Xeon X3460 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 Xeon X3460. 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	N/A
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 i7-3720QM and Xeon X3460 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 i7-3720QM and Xeon X3460.

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.

i7-3720QM 3.57
+90.9%

Xeon X3460 1.87

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 5669
+90.7%

Xeon X3460 2972

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 598
+25.6%

Xeon X3460 476

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 2016
+36.2%

Xeon X3460 1480

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	3.57	1.87
Recency	29 April 2012	8 September 2009
Chip lithography	22 nm	45 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	45 Watt	95 Watt

i7-3720QM has a 90.9% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, a 104.5% more advanced lithography process, and 111.1% lower power consumption.

The Core i7-3720QM is our recommended choice as it beats the Xeon X3460 in performance tests.

Be aware that Core i7-3720QM is a notebook processor while Xeon X3460 is a server/workstation one.

Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-3720QM and Xeon X3460, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.