i3-3220 vs i7-4720HQ

VS

Aggregate performance score

Core i7-4720HQ
2015
4 cores / 8 threads, 47 Watt
3.61
+152%
Core i3-3220
2012
2 cores / 4 threads, 55 Watt
1.43

Core i7-4720HQ outperforms Core i3-3220 by a whopping 152% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-4720HQ and Core i3-3220 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking15082201
Place by popularitynot in top-10057
Cost-effectiveness evaluationno data0.21
Market segmentLaptopDesktop processor
SeriesIntel Core i7Intel Core i3 (Desktop)
Power efficiency7.272.46
Architecture codenameHaswell (2013−2015)Ivy Bridge (2012−2013)
Release date1 January 2015 (9 years ago)3 September 2012 (12 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$378$117

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Core i7-4720HQ and Core i3-3220 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)2 (Dual-core)
Threads84
Base clock speed2.6 GHz3.3 GHz
Boost clock speed3.6 GHz3.3 GHz
Bus rate5 GT/s5 GT/s
L1 cache256 KB64 KB (per core)
L2 cache1 MB256 KB (per core)
L3 cache6 MB3 MB (shared)
Chip lithography22 nm22 nm
Die size177 mm294 mm2
Maximum core temperature100 °C67 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)no data65 °C
Number of transistors1400 Millionno data
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-4720HQ and Core i3-3220 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
SocketFCBGA1364FCLGA1155
Power consumption (TDP)47 Watt55 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-4720HQ and Core i3-3220. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX
AES-NI+-
AVX++
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
My WiFino data+
Turbo Boost Technologyno data-
Hyper-Threading Technology++
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring++
FDI++

Security technologies

Core i7-4720HQ and Core i3-3220 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT-+
EDB++
Secure Key+-
Identity Protection++
Anti-Theft++

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-4720HQ and Core i3-3220 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-4720HQ and Core i3-3220. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR3
Maximum memory size32 GB32 GB
Max memory channels22
Maximum memory bandwidth25.6 GB/s25.6 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card
Compare
Intel HD Graphics 4600Intel HD Graphics 2500
Max video memory2 GBno data
Quick Sync Video++
Clear Video HD++
Graphics max frequency1.2 GHz1.05 GHz
InTru 3D++

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-4720HQ and Core i3-3220 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported33
eDP+no data
DisplayPort+-
HDMI+-
VGA+no data

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i7-4720HQ and Core i3-3220 integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

Max resolution over HDMI 1.43840x2160@30Hzno data
Max resolution over DisplayPort3840x2160@60Hzno data
Max resolution over VGA2880x1800@60Hzno data

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i7-4720HQ and Core i3-3220 integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX11.2/12no data
OpenGL4.3no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-4720HQ and Core i3-3220.

PCIe version32.0
PCI Express lanes16no data

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.

i7-4720HQ 3.61
+152%
i3-3220 1.43

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.

i7-4720HQ 5740
+153%
i3-3220 2267

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.

i7-4720HQ 1029
+94.9%
i3-3220 528

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.

i7-4720HQ 3077
+184%
i3-3220 1084

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.

i7-4720HQ 5145
+11.2%
i3-3220 4626

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.

i7-4720HQ 19580
+92.1%
i3-3220 10193

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.

i7-4720HQ 6930
+72.4%
i3-3220 4019

wPrime 32

wPrime 32M is a math multi-thread processor test, which calculates square roots of first 32 million integer numbers. Its result is measured in seconds, so that the less is benchmark result, the faster the processor.

i7-4720HQ 7.33
+100%
i3-3220 14.66

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.

i7-4720HQ 7
+112%
i3-3220 3

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.

i7-4720HQ 1.57
+13.8%
i3-3220 1.38

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.

i7-4720HQ 3.9
+1119%
i3-3220 0.3

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.

i7-4720HQ 4281
+58.8%
i3-3220 2695

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.  

i7-4720HQ 38
+101%
i3-3220 19

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.  

i7-4720HQ 152
+54.5%
i3-3220 99

3DMark Fire Strike Physics

i7-4720HQ 6520
+158%
i3-3220 2530

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 3.61 1.43
Integrated graphics card 1.84 0.69
Recency 1 January 2015 3 September 2012
Physical cores 4 2
Threads 8 4
Power consumption (TDP) 47 Watt 55 Watt

i7-4720HQ has a 152.4% higher aggregate performance score, 166.7% faster integrated GPU, an age advantage of 2 years, 100% more physical cores and 100% more threads, and 17% lower power consumption.

The Core i7-4720HQ is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i3-3220 in performance tests.

Be aware that Core i7-4720HQ is a notebook processor while Core i3-3220 is a desktop one.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-4720HQ and Core i3-3220, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Core i7-4720HQ
Core i7-4720HQ
Intel Core i3-3220
Core i3-3220

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Community ratings

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Questions & comments

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